scholarly journals An Intercomparison of Drought Indicators Based on Thermal Remote Sensing and NLDAS-2 Simulations with U.S. Drought Monitor Classifications

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1035-1056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha C. Anderson ◽  
Christopher Hain ◽  
Jason Otkin ◽  
Xiwu Zhan ◽  
Kingtse Mo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Fast Response ◽  
Rapid Onset ◽  
Cold Season ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Thermal Remote Sensing ◽  
Temporal Correlations ◽  
The North

Abstract Comparison of multiple hydrologic indicators, derived from independent data sources and modeling approaches, may improve confidence in signals of emerging drought, particularly during periods of rapid onset. This paper compares the evaporative stress index (ESI)—a diagnostic fast-response indicator describing evapotranspiration (ET) deficits derived within a thermal remote sensing energy balance framework—with prognostic estimates of soil moisture (SM), ET, and runoff anomalies generated with the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS). Widely used empirical indices based on thermal remote sensing [vegetation health index (VHI)] and precipitation percentiles [standardized precipitation index (SPI)] were also included to assess relative performance. Spatial and temporal correlations computed between indices over the contiguous United States were compared with historical drought classifications recorded in the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM). Based on correlation results, improved forms for the ESI were identified, incorporating a Penman–Monteith reference ET scaling flux and implementing a temporal smoothing algorithm at the pixel level. Of all indices evaluated, anomalies in the NLDAS ensemble-averaged SM provided the highest correlations with USDM drought classes, while the ESI yielded the best performance of the remote sensing indices. The VHI provided reasonable correlations, except under conditions of energy-limited vegetation growth during the cold season and at high latitudes. Change indices computed from ESI and SM time series agree well, and in combination offer a good indicator of change in drought severity class in the USDM, often preceding USDM class deterioration by several weeks. Results suggest that a merged ESI–SM change indicator may provide valuable early warning of rapidly evolving “flash drought” conditions.

Climate Variability in the North Central Region: Characterizing Drought Severity Patterns

2003 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stuart H. Gage
Keyword(s):  
Central Region ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
North Central Region ◽  
North Central ◽  
The North ◽  
Groundwater Aquifers ◽  
One Year

This chapter examines the spatial and temporal variability and patterns of climate for the period 1972–1991 in the North Central Region of North America (NCR). Since the mid-1970s, climate has become more variable in the region, compared to the more benign period 1950–1970. The regional perspective presented in this chapter characterizes the general climatology of the NCR from 1972 to 1991 and compares the climate to a severe drought that occurred in 1988. This one-year drought was one of the most substantial in the region’s recent history, and it had a significant impact on the region’s agricultural economy and ecosystems. Petersen et al. (1995) characterize the 1988 drought with respect to solar radiation, and Zangvil et al. (2001) consider this drought from the perspective of a large-scale atmosphere moisture budget. A major reason for the seriousness of the drought in 1988 was the fact that May and June were unusually dry and hot (Kunkel and Angel 1989). Drought is defined as a condition of moisture deficit sufficient to adversely affect vegetation, animals, and humans over a sizeable area (Warwick 1975). The condition of drought may be considered from a meteorological, agricultural, and hydrologic perspective. Meteorological drought is a period of abnormally dry weather sufficiently prolonged to a point where the lack of water causes a serious hydrologic imbalance in the affected area (Huschke 1959). Agricultural drought is a climatic digression involving a shortage of precipitation sufficient to adversely affect crop production or the range of production (Rosenberg 1980). Hydrologic drought is a period of below-average water content in streams, reservoirs, groundwater aquifers, lakes, and soils (Yevjevich et al. 1977). All of these drought conditions are mutually linked. The objectives of this chapter are to (1) address the issues of climatic spatial scale to quantify variability of climate in the NCR, (2) examine the characteristics of the 1988 drought as it relates to characteristics of an ecoregion, (3) illustrate a means to quantify drought through a potential plant stress index, and (4) examine the link of regional drought to ecosystem processes. This analysis will provide background and methodology for ecologists, agriculturalists, and others interested in spatial and temporal characterization of climate patterns within large geographic regions.

Flash Drought in CMIP5 Models

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Hoffmann ◽  
Ailie J. E. Gallant ◽  
Mike Hobbins
Keyword(s):  
Soil Moisture ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Rapid Onset ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Similar Proportion ◽  
Evaporative Demand

Abstract‘Flash drought’ (FD) describes the rapid onset of drought on sub-seasonal times scales. It is of particular interest for agriculture as it can deplete soil moisture for crop growth in just a few weeks. To better understand the processes causing FD, we evaluate the importance of evaporative demand and precipitation by comparing three different drought indices that estimate this hazard using meteorological and hydrological parameters from the CMIP5 suite of models. We apply the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI); the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI), derived from evaporative demand (E0); and the Evaporative Stress Index (ESI), which connects atmospheric and soil moisture conditions by measuring the ratio of actual and potential evaporation. The results show moderate-to-strong relationships (r2 > 0.5) between drought indices and upper level soil moisture on daily time scales, especially in drought-prone regions. We find that all indices are able to identify FD in the top 10-cm layer of soil moisture in a similar proportion to that in the models’ climatologies. However, there is significant inter-model spread in the characteristics of the FDs identified. This spread is mainly caused by an overestimation of E0, indicating stark differences in the land surface models and coupling in individual CMIP5 models. Of all indices, the SPI provides the highest skill in predicting FD prior to or at the time of onset in soil moisture, while both EDDI and ESI show significantly lower skill. The results highlight that the lack of precipitation is the main contributor to FDs in climate models, with E0 playing a secondary role.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Analysis of Droughts over Different Climate Regions using Hybrid Clustering Method

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyoumars Roushangar ◽  
Roghayeh Ghasempour ◽  
Vahid Nourani
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Spatiotemporal Analysis ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Spatiotemporal Pattern ◽  
Discrete Wavelet ◽  
Drought Duration ◽  
Time Frequency ◽  
The North ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index

Abstract Drought spatiotemporal variations assessment is an efficient method for implementing drought mitigation strategies and reducing its negative impacts. In this study, the spatiotemporal pattern of short to long-term droughts was assessed for an area with different climates. 31 stations located in Iran were considered and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) series with timescales of 3, 6, and 12 months were calculated during the 1951-2016 period. A hybrid methodology namely Maximal Overlap Discrete Wavelet Transform (MODWT) was applied to obtain the SPIs time-frequency properties and multiscale zoning was done via K-means clustering approach. The energy amounts of decomposed subseries via the MODWT were used as inputs for K-means approach. Also, the statistics in drought features (i.e. drought duration, severity, and peak) were assessed and the results showed that shorter term droughts (i.e. SPI-3 and -6) were more frequent and severe in the north parts where the lowest values of drought duration were obtained. It was observed that the regions with more droughts frequency had the highest energy values. For shorter term droughts a direct relationship was obtained between the energy values and mean SPI, drought severity, and drought peak, whereas an inverse relationship was obtained for longer term drought. It was found that with increasing the degree of SPI, the similarity of the stations of each cluster increased too and the homogeneity of stations for the SPI-12 was slightly higher than the SPI-3 and -6.

scholarly journals Analysis of Temporal-Spatial Variation Characteristics of Drought: A Case Study from Xinjiang, China

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 741 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qiang An ◽  
Huaxiang He ◽  
Juanjuan Gao ◽  
Qianwen Nie ◽  
Yingjie Cui ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Comprehensive Evaluation ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Animal Husbandry ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index

It is of great significance to study the characteristics and change trends of drought in Xinjiang to provide a basis for implementing local strategies. Based on monthly precipitation and temperature data from 95 meteorological stations in Xinjiang, from 1960 to 2018, the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) was calculated, and the characteristics and trends of drought in Xinjiang were analysed, in details. Furthermore, a comprehensive evaluation index, i.e., Regional Drought Severity (RDS), was proposed to analyse the effects of duration of the drought and the extent of the drought affected area. The results from our study suggested: (1) In consideration of global warming, droughts in Xinjiang have intensified during the past 59 years, and the frequency and range of droughts have increased significantly; (2) During the plant growing season, spring, summer, and autumn, a drying trend was observed, while, a wetting trend was identified for winter season; (3) The drought-prone months shifted from January and December to March-November in the 1970s, and April was identified as a month with the highest frequency of droughts; (4) The meteorological change occurred a period near 1997. It can be speculated that the intensified droughts can be triggered by the excessive temperature rise, through comparing the changes in SPEI and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), before and after the meteorological change; (5) After the meteorological change, the frequency of droughts with different levels had significantly increased, in addition, the drought-prone areas shifted from the north-west to the south-east. The results from this research provide important support for drought management in Xinjiang, also offer scientific basis for the formulation of relevant policies on agricultural and animal husbandry production.

scholarly journals Examining Rapid Onset Drought Development Using the Thermal Infrared–Based Evaporative Stress Index

2013 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 1057-1074 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Otkin ◽  
Martha C. Anderson ◽  
Christopher Hain ◽  
Iliana E. Mladenova ◽  
Jeffrey B. Basara ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Early Warning ◽  
Thermal Infrared ◽  
Early Warning Systems ◽  
The United States ◽  
Rapid Onset ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
The North ◽  
Thermal Infrared Imagery ◽  
Drying Conditions ◽  
Crop Condition

Abstract Reliable indicators of rapid drought onset can help to improve the effectiveness of drought early warning systems. In this study, the evaporative stress index (ESI), which uses remotely sensed thermal infrared imagery to estimate evapotranspiration (ET), is compared to drought classifications in the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) and standard precipitation-based drought indicators for several cases of rapid drought development that have occurred across the United States in recent years. Analysis of meteorological time series from the North American Regional Reanalysis indicates that these events are typically characterized by warm air temperature and low cloud cover anomalies, often with high winds and dewpoint depressions that serve to hasten evaporative depletion of soil moisture reserves. Standardized change anomalies depicting the rate at which various multiweek ESI composites changed over different time intervals are computed to more easily identify areas experiencing rapid changes in ET. Overall, the results demonstrate that ESI change anomalies can provide early warning of incipient drought impacts on agricultural systems, as indicated in crop condition reports collected by the National Agricultural Statistics Service. In each case examined, large negative change anomalies indicative of rapidly drying conditions were either coincident with the introduction of drought in the USDM or lead the USDM drought depiction by several weeks, depending on which ESI composite and time-differencing interval was used. Incorporation of the ESI as a data layer used in the construction of the USDM may improve timely depictions of moisture conditions and vegetation stress associated with flash drought events.

scholarly journals Variabilidad espacio-temporal de las sequías en la cuenca Pacífico Norte de México (1961-2010)

2016 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Serrano-Barrios ◽  
S. M. Vicente-Serrano ◽  
H. Flores-Magdaleno ◽  
L. Tijerina-Chávez ◽  
D. Vázquez-Soto
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Evaporative Demand ◽  
The North ◽  
Weather Stations ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
Spatio Temporal ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index

This article analyses the spatio-temporal variability of droughts in the North Pacific Basin of México between 1961 and 2010, using two drought indices: the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). We used data from 48 weather stations with available data of precipitation and monthly minimum and maximum temperature. In 22 of the weather stations, time series of Piché evaporation were also available. The reference evapotranspiration, necessary to obtain the SPEI, was calculated by means of the Hargreaves equation. Results show that major droughts occurred in the 1980s and 2000s, although there is a noticeable spatial variability across the region. Finally, the potential impact of the atmospheric evaporative demand on drought severity observed by the different drought indices is discussed, and the possible implications for an appropriate risk assessment.

scholarly journals Remote Sensing Indices for Spatial Monitoring of Agricultural Drought in South Asian Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 2059
Author(s):  
Muhammad Shahzaman ◽  
Weijun Zhu ◽  
Muhammad Bilal ◽  
Birhanu Asmerom Habtemicheal ◽  
Farhan Mustafa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Vegetation Indices ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Agricultural Drought ◽  
Stress Index ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Drought Assessment ◽  
The North

Drought is an intricate atmospheric phenomenon with the greatest impacts on food security and agriculture in South Asia. Timely and appropriate forecasting of drought is vital in reducing its negative impacts. This study intended to explore the performance of the evaporative stress index (ESI), vegetation health index (VHI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI), and standardized anomaly index (SAI) based on satellite remote sensing data from 2002–2019 for agricultural drought assessment in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh. The spatial maps were generated against each index, which indicated a severe agricultural drought during the year 2002, compared to the other years. The results showed that the southeast region of Pakistan, and the north, northwest, and southwest regions of India and Afghanistan were significantly affected by drought. However, Bangladesh faced substantial drought in the northeast and northwest regions during the drought year (2002). The longest drought period of seven months was observed in India followed by Pakistan and Afghanistan with six months, while, only three months were perceived in Bangladesh. The correlation between drought indices and climate variables such as soil moisture has remained a significant drought-initiating variable. Furthermore, this study confirmed that the evaporative stress index (ESI) is a good agricultural drought indicator, being quick and with greater sensitivity, and thus advantageous compared to the VHI, EVI, and SAI vegetation indices.

Monitoring multiscale drought using remote sensing in a Mediterranean arid region.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hadri Abdessamad ◽  
Saidi Mohamed El Mehdi ◽  
Boudhar Abdelghani
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Time Scale ◽  
Pearson Correlation ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Entire Study ◽  
Vegetation Activity ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Entire Study Area

<p>During the last few decades, the frequency of drought has significantly increased in Morocco especially for arid and semi-arid regions, leading to a rising of several environmental and economic issues. In this work, we analyse the spatial and temporal relationship between vegetation activity and drought severity at different moments of the year, across an arid area in the western Haouz plain in Morocco. Our approach is based on the use of a set of more than thirty satellite Landsat images data acquired for the period from 2008 to 2017, combined with the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) at different time scales and Standardized water-level Index (SWI). The Mann-Kendall and Sen’s slopes methods were used to estimate SPI trends and the Pearson correlation between NDVI and SPI were calculated to assess the sensitivity of vegetation types to drought. Results demonstrated that SPI experienced an overall upward trend in the Chichaoua-Mejjate region, except for 3-months time scale SPI in summer. The vegetation activity is largely controlled by the drought with clear differences between seasons and timesclaes at which drought is assessed. Positives correlations between the NDVI and SPI are dominant across the entire study area except in June when almost half of correlations is negative. More than 80% of the study domain exhibit a correlation exceeding 0.4 for SPI3 and SPI6 in March. Importantly, this study stresses that the irrigation status of land can introduce some uncertainties on the remote sensing drought monitoring. A weak correlation between the SPI and the SWI was observed at different time-scale. The fluctuations of the piezometric levels are strongly affected by the anthropogenic overexploitation of aquifers and proliferation of irrigated plots.</p>

scholarly journals The extreme drought of 1842 in Europe as described by both documentary data and instrumental measurements

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1861-1884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rudolf Brázdil ◽  
Gaston R. Demarée ◽  
Andrea Kiss ◽  
Petr Dobrovolný ◽  
Kateřina Chromá ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Severity Index ◽  
Extreme Drought ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Documentary Data ◽  
Annual Variations ◽  
The North ◽  
Societal Impacts ◽  
The North Atlantic Oscillation

Abstract. Extreme droughts are weather phenomena of considerable importance, involving significant environmental and societal impacts. While those that have occurred in the comparatively recent period of instrumental measurement are identified and dated on the basis of systematic, machine-standardized meteorological and hydrological observations, droughts that took place in the pre-instrumental period are usually described only through the medium of documentary evidence. The extreme drought of 1842 in Europe presents a case in which information from documentary data can be combined with systematic instrumental observations. Seasonal, gridded European precipitation totals are used herein to describe general DJF, MAM, and JJA precipitation patterns. Annual variations in monthly temperatures and precipitation at individual stations are expressed with respect to a 1961–1990 reference period, supplemented by calculation of selected drought indices (Standardized Precipitation Index, SPI; Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, SPEI; and Palmer Z index). The mean circulation patterns during the driest months are elucidated by means of sea-level pressure (SLP) maps, the North Atlantic Oscillation Index (NAOI), and the Central European Zonal Index (CEZI). Generally drier patterns in 1842 prevailed in January–February and at various intensities between April and August. The driest patterns in 1842 occurred in a broad zonal belt extending from France to eastern central Europe. A range of documentary data is used to describe the peculiarities of agricultural, hydrological, and socio-economic droughts, with particular attention to environmental and societal impacts and human responses to them. Although overall grain yields were not very strongly influenced, a particularly bad hay harvest, no aftermath (hay from a second cut), and low potato yields led to severe problems, especially for those who raised cattle. Finally, the 1842 drought is discussed in terms of long-term drought variability, European tree-ring-based scPDSI (self-calibrated Palmer Drought Severity Index) reconstruction, and the broader context of societal impacts.

scholarly journals Comparison of Some Drought Indices in Iraq

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Usama Sameer Nedham ◽  
Ahmed Sami Hassan
Keyword(s):  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Precipitation Anomaly ◽  
Drought Indices ◽  
Drought Severity ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Wet Season ◽  
Future Period ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
The North ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index

Drought in Iraq was assessed using three drought indices for two different time periods, past period from 1970 to 2015, and future period from 2016 to 2050 for 4 stations in Iraq. These indices named: the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Percentage of Precipitation Anomaly (PPA), and Z-Score Index (ZSI). The main sources of data were the monthly rainfall archive from Iraqi Meteorological Organization and Seismology (IMOS) for past period, and projection monthly precipitation data from Representative Concentration Pathway scenario (RCP4.5) for Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) affiliate to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for future period. The results shown good correlation of among 3 indices, with different rank of them, were lowest rank was 0.85. The three indices refer to were good evaluate the drought severity of Iraq. Found too the best index was PPA during past period, and the significant index was ZSI for the future period. The North of Iraq (Mosul Station) was the least vulnerable to drought from the analysis of the results of the three indices for the last period, where the number of dry seasons were 12 on the basis of the PPA classification. South of Iraq (Basra station) has the highest number of wet season on the PPA rating were (15) season.

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