Using a new integrated drought monitoring index to improve drought detection in mid-eastern China

Author(s):  
Lei Zhou ◽  
Jian-Jun Wu ◽  
Song Leng ◽  
Ming Liu ◽  
Jie Zhang ◽  
...  
Sensors ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 19 (24) ◽  
pp. 5566 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qingzhi Zhao ◽  
Xiongwei Ma ◽  
Wanqiang Yao ◽  
Yang Liu ◽  
Zheng Du ◽  
...  

Standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) is an acknowledged drought monitoring index, and the evapotranspiration (ET) used to calculated SPEI is obtained based on the Thornthwaite (TH) model. However, the SPEI calculated based on the TH model is overestimated globally, whereas the more accurate ET derived from the Penman–Monteith (PM) model recommended by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is unavailable due to the lack of a large amount of meteorological data at most places. Therefore, how to improve the accuracy of ET calculated by the TH model becomes the focus of this study. Here, a revised TH (RTH) model is proposed using the temperature (T) and precipitable water vapor (PWV) data. The T and PWV data are derived from the reanalysis data and the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) observation, respectively. The initial value of ET for the RTH model is calculated based on the TH model, and the time series of ET residual between the TH and PM models is then obtained. Analyzed results reveal that ET residual is highly correlated with PWV and T, and the correlate coefficient between PWV and ET is −0.66, while that between T and ET for cases of T larger or less than 0 °C are −0.54 and 0.59, respectively. Therefore, a linear model between ET residual and PWV/T is established, and the ET value of the RTH model can be obtained by combining the TH-derived ET and estimated ET residual. Finally, the SPEI calculated based on the RTH model can be obtained and compared with that derived using PM and TH models. Result in the Loess Plateau (LP) region reveals the good performance of the RTH-based SPEI when compared with the TH-based SPEI over the period of 1979–2016. A case analysis in April 2013 over the LP region also indicates the superiority of the RTH-based SPEI at 88 meteorological and 31 GNSS stations when the PM-based SPEI is considered as the reference.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 2993
Author(s):  
Linyong Wei ◽  
Shanhu Jiang ◽  
Liliang Ren ◽  
Linqi Zhang ◽  
Menghao Wang ◽  
...  

This study evaluated the suitability of the latest retrospective Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement V06 (IMERG) Final Run product with a relatively long period (beginning from June 2000) for drought monitoring over mainland China. First, the accuracy of IMERG was evaluated by using observed precipitation data from 807 meteorological stations at multiple temporal (daily, monthly, and yearly) and spatial (pointed and regional) scales. Second, the IMERG-based standardized precipitation index (SPI) was validated and analyzed through statistical indicators. Third, a light–extreme–light drought-event process was adopted as the case study to dissect the latent performance of IMERG-based SPI in capturing the spatiotemporal variation of drought events. Our results demonstrated a sufficient consistency and small error of the IMERG precipitation data against the gauge observations with the regional mean correlation coefficient (CC) at the daily (0.7), monthly (0.93), and annual (0.86) scales for mainland China. The IMERG possessed a strong capacity for estimating intra-annual precipitation changes; especially, it performed well at the monthly scale. There was a strong agreement between the IMERG-based SPI values and gauge-based SPI values for drought monitoring in most regions in China (with CCs above 0.8). In contrast, there was a comparatively poorer capability and notably higher heterogeneity in the Xinjiang and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau regions with more widely varying statistical metrics. The IMERG featured the advantage of satisfactory spatiotemporal accuracy in terms of depicting the onset and extinction of representative drought disasters for specific consecutive months. Furthermore, the IMERG has obvious drought monitoring abilities, which was also complemented when compared with the Precipitation Estimation from the Remotely Sensed Information using Artificial Neural Networks Climate Data Record (PERSIANN-CDR), Climate Hazards Group Infrared Precipitation with Stations (CHIRPS), and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission Multi-satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42V7. The outcomes of this study demonstrate that the retrospective IMERG can provide a more competent data source and potential opportunity for better drought monitoring utility across mainland China, particularly for eastern China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 4153
Author(s):  
Shuai Cheng ◽  
Weiguang Wang ◽  
Zhongbo Yu

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the applicability of medium and long-term satellite rainfall estimation (SRE) precipitation products for drought monitoring over mainland China. Four medium and long-term (19 a) SREs, i.e., the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) Multi-Satellite Precipitation Analysis (TMPA) 3B42V7, the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement V06 post-real time Final Run precipitation products (IMF6), Global Rainfall Map in Near-real-time Gauge-calibrated Rainfall Product (GSMaP_Gauge_NRT) for product version 6 (GNRT6) and gauge-adjusted Global Satellite Mapping of Precipitation V6 (GGA6) were considered. The accuracy of the four SREs was first evaluated against ground observation precipitation data. The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) based on four SREs was then compared at multiple temporal and spatial scales. Finally, four typical drought-influenced regions, i.e., the Northeast China Plain (NEC), Huang-Huai-Hai Plain (3HP), Yunnan–Guizhou Plateau (YGP) and South China (SC) were chosen as examples to analyze the ability of four SREs to capture the temporal and spatial changes of typical drought events. The results show that compared with GNRT6, the precipitation estimated by GGA6, IMF6 and 3B42V7 are in better agreement with the ground observation results. In the evaluation using SPEI, the four SREs performed well in eastern China but have large uncertainty in western China. GGA6 and IMF6 perform superior to GNRT6 and 3B42V7 in estimating SPEI and identifying typical drought events and behave almost the same. In general, GPM precipitation products have great potential to substitute TRMM precipitation products for drought monitoring. Both GGA6 and IMF6 are suitable for historical drought analysis. Due to the shorter time latency of data release and good performance in the eastern part of mainland China, GNRT6 and GGA6 might play a role for near real-time drought monitoring in the area. The results of this research will provide reference for the application of the SREs for drought monitoring in the GPM era.


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