Accounting for the climatology of drought characteristics in the contiguous United States
Topics: Climatology and Meteorology
, Water Resources and Hydrology
, Physical Geography
Keywords: Drought, Hydroclimatology, Soil Moisture, U.S. Drought Monitor
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Sunday
Session Start / End Time: 2/27/2022 08:00 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/27/2022 09:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 47
Authors:
Zhiying Li, Department of Geography, Dartmouth College
Justin Mankin, Department of Geography, Dartmouth College
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Abstract
Drought characteristics, such as spatial extent, severity, or the speed with which a drought is established or ended tend to be unique to each drought event, shaped by myriad factors such as weather, climate, land surface conditions, and their interactions. Yet despite such heterogeneity, consistent features in drought characteristics do emerge when analyzed holistically and across multiple datasets, with important insights for drought monitoring and prediction. Here we combine data from the U.S. Drought Monitor (USDM) and the North American Land Data Assimilation System (NLDAS) to assess the spatiotemporal features in drought duration, frequency, and severity in the Contiguous United States from 2000 to 2014. We find distinct differences in drought characteristics in the Western U.S. (longitude<100°) versus the Eastern U.S. (longitude >=100°), with longer-lasting and more severe droughts in the West than in the East. Spatial composites of biogeophysical variables such as precipitation, soil moisture (surface, 1 meter, 2 meters), runoff, evapotranspiration, canopy water flux, vapor pressure deficit, leaf area index, and canopy conductance provide a basis to evaluate shared factors to account for the climatology in drought characteristics we identify. Our work provides implications for a better understanding of spatial patterns of drought characteristics in the U.S. and how vegetation and drought jointly shape each other in historical drought events.
Accounting for the climatology of drought characteristics in the contiguous United States
Category
Virtual Paper Abstract
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