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Drought planning and management: using high spatial resolution as part of the solution
Leslie Lyons Duncan1, Debra Perrone, John H Jacobi
1Vanderbilt Institute for Energy and the Environment, Vanderbilt University , PMB 407702, 2301 Vanderbilt Place, Nashville, Tennessee 37240-7702, United States.
Environmental Science & Technology
|January 22, 2015
Summary
Regional drought indices often misrepresent local conditions, impacting water management. Finer resolution drought assessments are crucial for accurate drought mitigation and adaptation strategies.
Area of Science:
- Climatology
- Hydrology
- Environmental Science
Background:
- Drought significantly impacts society across all climate zones, exacerbating water scarcity.
- The Palmer drought indices are standard tools for drought assessment but are often used at a regional scale.
- There is a recognized need for higher-resolution drought data to inform local water management policies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the discrepancies between regional and finer-resolution Palmer drought indices.
- To highlight the limitations of regional drought indices for local water management in the Pacific Northwest U.S.
Main Methods:
- Comparison of Palmer drought indices calculated at regional (U.S. climate divisions) and finer (0.5° by 0.5° latitude/longitude) spatial resolutions.
- Case study conducted in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
Main Results:
- Regional Palmer drought index values poorly represent finer-resolution index values.
- Drought conditions depicted by regional and finer-resolution indices differ significantly over 30% of the time in half the study area.
- This discrepancy leads to a lack of clarity for water managers regarding drought severity.
Conclusions:
- Current regional drought index usage can lead to a misunderstanding of local drought severity.
- Inaccurate drought assessments have serious implications for effective drought mitigation and adaptation planning.
- Finer-resolution drought monitoring is essential for informed water resource management.
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