To develop intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves, it is necessary to calculate annual maximum rainfall intensities for different durations. Traditionally, these intensities have been calculated from the analysis of traces recorded by rain gauges on pluviograph strip charts (PSCs). For many years, these charts have been recorded and analyzed by the personnel who operate and maintain the pluviograph gauges, thus the reliability of the observational analysis depends exclusively on the professional experience of the person performing the analysis. Traditionally, the analyzed PSCs are physically stored in data repository centers. After storing rainfall data on aging paper for many years, the risk of losing rainfall records is very high. Therefore, the conversion of PSC records to digital format is crucial to preserve and improve the historical instrumental data base of these records. We conducted the first “Data Rescue Initiative” (DRI) for central Chile using a pluviograph strip charts reader (PSCR), a tool that uses a scanner-type device combined with digital image processing techniques to estimate maximum rainfall intensities for different durations for each paper band (>80,000 paper bands). On the paper bands, common irregularities associated with excess ink, annotations, or blemishes can affect the scanning process; this system was designed with a semi-automatic module that allows users to edit the detected trace to improve the recognition of the data from each PSC. The PSCR’s semi-automatic characteristics were designed to read many PSCs in a short period of time. The tool also allows for the calculation of rainfall intensities in durations ranging between 15 min to 1 h. This capability improves the value of the data for water infrastructure design, since intense storms of shorter duration often have greater impacts than longer but less intense storms. In this study, the validation of the PSCR against records obtained from observational analysis showed no significant differences between maximum rainfall intensities for durations of 1 h, 6 h, and 24 h.

中文翻译：

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智利中部降雨强度数据救援计划利用雨量带状图读取器 (PSCR)

为了开发强度-持续时间-频率 (IDF) 曲线，有必要计算不同持续时间的年最大降雨强度。传统上，这些强度是通过分析雨量计在雨量条带图 (PSC) 上记录的痕迹来计算的。多年来，这些图表一直由操作和维护雨量计的人员记录和分析，因此观察分析的可靠性完全取决于执行分析人员的专业经验。传统上，分析的 PSC 物理存储在数据存储中心。在老化的纸上存储降雨数据多年后，丢失降雨记录的风险非常高。所以，将 PSC 记录转换为数字格式对于保存和改进这些记录的历史仪器数据库至关重要。我们使用雨量带状图阅读器 (PSCR) 在智利中部开展了第一个“数据救援计划”(DRI)，该工具使用扫描仪型设备结合数字图像处理技术来估计每个时段不同持续时间的最大降雨强度。纸带（> 80,000 纸带）。在纸带上，与过量墨水、注释或瑕疵相关的常见不规则性会影响扫描过程；该系统设计有一个半自动模块，允许用户编辑检测到的轨迹，以提高对每个 PSC 数据的识别。PSCR 的半自动特性旨在在短时间内读取许多 PSC。该工具还允许计算持续时间介于 15 分钟到 1 小时之间的降雨强度。此功能提高了水基础设施设计数据的价值，因为持续时间较短的强风暴通常比持续时间较长但强度较小的风暴具有更大的影响。在这项研究中，根据观察分析获得的记录对 PSCR 的验证表明，1 小时、6 小时和 24 小时的持续时间的最大降雨强度之间没有显着差异。