Articles | Volume 29, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2167-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-2167-2025
© Author(s) 2025. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
08 May 2025
Research article |
| 08 May 2025
| 08 May 2025
Interdecadal cycles in Australian annual rainfall
Tobias F. Selkirk
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Australia
Andrew W. Western
Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Australia
J. Angus Webb
Department of Infrastructure Engineering, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3052, Australia
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Short summary
This study investigated rainfall in eastern Australia to search for patterns that may aid in predicting flood and drought. The current popular consensus is that such cycles do not exist. We analysed 130 years of rainfall using a very modern technique for identifying cycles in complex signals. The results showed strong evidence of three clear cycles of 12.9, 20.4 and 29.1 years with a confidence of 99.99 %. When combined, they showed an 80 % alignment with years of extremely high and low rainfall.
This study investigated rainfall in eastern Australia to search for patterns that may aid in...
