Bootstrap Pettitt test for detecting change points in hydroclimatological data: case study of Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant, Brazil

The Pettitt test is widely used in climate change and hydrological analyses. However, studies show difficulties of this test in detecting change points, especially in small samples. This study presents a bootstrap application of the Pettitt test, and compares it numerically with the classical Pettitt test by an extensive Monte Carlo simulation. The proposed test outperforms the classical test in all simulated scenarios. An application of the tests is conducted on the historical series of naturalized flows of the Itaipu Hydroelectric Plant in Brazil, for which several studies have shown a change point in the 1970s. When the series is split into shorter sub-series, to simulate actual situations of small samples, the proposed test is more powerful than the classical Pettitt test in detecting the change point. The proposed test can be an important tool for detecting abrupt changes in water availability, in support of hydroclimatological resources decision making.