Polar plotting of seasonal hydrologic and climatic data

A polar plot form for visualizing changes in seasonal data is presented. This representation treats time as a cyclical variable and removes the winter year-boundary discontinuity created by standard Cartesian plotting methods. Polar plots facilitate visual presentation of changes in the magnitude and phase of environmental Variables and allow effective visualization of seasonal patterns. Examples of polar plots are presented using streamflow data from two streams in British Columbia. This method is particularly useful for comparing and contrasting systems that exhibit different patterns of seasonal shifts.