Drought as a natural disaster

Maybank, J.; Bonsai, Barrie R.; Jones, Keith; Lawford, R. G.; O'Brien, E.G.; Ripley, E. A.; Wheaton, Elaine

doi:10.1080/07055900.1995.9649532

Cited by 104 publications

(75 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The composite analysis showed that the spatial pattern of anomalies in surface temperature, OLR, potential evapotranspiration, and relative humidity were quite similar. As the literature suggests, surface boundary-layer conditions seem to play an important role in initiating and sustaining drought conditions on the Canadian prairies through feedback processes between the surface and the atmosphere (Maybank et al, 1995;Herring, 2000). Generally, the atmospheric and oceanic anomalies are opposite during the negative (anomalously dry conditions) and positive (anomalously wet conditions) phases of PC1.…”

Section: Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the spatial and temporal variability of June–July moisture conditions in the Canadian prairies

Quiring

Papakyriakou

2005

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Palmer's moisture anomaly index (Z-index) was used to characterize the frequency, severity, and spatial extent of June-July moisture anomalies for 43 crop districts across the Canadian prairies during 1920-99. In addition, the main modes of spatial and temporal variability in moisture conditions were identified and used to elucidate the physical mechanisms responsible for causing these moisture anomalies to occur. The crop districts were divided into five relatively homogeneous moisture regions using cluster analysis, and moisture anomaly statistics were analysed for each region.The single most severe June-July drought on the Canadian prairies occurred in 1961. This drought covered more than 86% of the study region and had a mean severity (Z-index) of −5.67. Other severe June-July droughts occurred in the Canadian prairies (in order of severity) in 1988, 1936, 1929, and 1937. The results demonstrated that the severity and spatial extent of moisture anomalies on the Canadian prairies are strongly correlated, indicating that the more severe events tend to affect larger areas. The most drought-prone regions experienced moisture conditions detrimental to crop production in approximately one year out of every six years.The spatial analysis revealed the existence of three preferred spatial patterns of moisture variability on the Canadian prairies and each pattern can be attributed to a unique set of atmospheric and oceanic forcings. The temporal analysis verified the presence of coherent periodicities (in particular quasi-2, -4, and -10-15 year oscillations) in the moisture time series.

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Section: Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the spatial and temporal variability of June–July moisture conditions in the Canadian prairies

Quiring

Papakyriakou

2005

Intl Journal of Climatology

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“…The year 1961 has been identified as the most extensive single-year Prairie drought of the twentieth century (Maybank et al, 1995). The SPI and PDSI in Fig.…”

Section: -1962 Droughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It can also be frequently intensified by anomalously high temperatures that increase evapotranspiration. Meteorological drought often leads to other types of drought, including agricultural (periods during which soil moisture is insufficient to support crops), hydrological (prolonged periods of unusually low surface runoff and shallow groundwater levels) and socio-economic droughts (an unusual shortage of water that produces an adverse effect on society and the economy) (Maybank et al, 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterizing the Surface Features of the 1999–2005 Canadian Prairie Drought in Relation to Previous Severe Twentieth Century Events

et al. 2011

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The Canadian Prairie drought of 1999-2005 negatively affected several activities including agriculture, stream flow, hydro-electric production and forest fires. However, surface drought conditions and associated impacts were neither spatially nor temporally uniform. Following an assessment of several gridded temperature and precipitation datasets, this study incorporates the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) to characterize the surface features of the 1999-2005 Prairie drought in terms of its origin, spatial propagation, persistence and termination. This includes the development and application of a newly proposed multi-stage concept to characterize and classify drought. These characteristics are then compared to previous major Prairie droughts in the instrumental record.

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“…The drought indices all compare conditions to some concept of normality for the particular place under consideration (Wilhite and Glantz, 1985;Maybank et al, 1995). The basis for comparison may be the climate normals (i.e., thirty years of record) or longer (Dracup et al, 1980).…”

Section: Operational Definitions Of Droughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Lakes and locations on the northern Great Plains mentioned in the text. Table based on Wilhite and Glantz (1985), Maybank et al (1995), Byun and Wilhite (1999), Hayes et al (1999), andHayes (2002). Clark et al (2002) Diatoms Assemblage changes reflecting salinity changes Fritz et al (1991Fritz et al ( , 1994, Laird et al (1996aLaird et al ( , b, 2003, Leavitt et al (nda, ndb, ndc) Ostracodes Assemblage changes relating to salinity changes Vance et al (1997), Smith et al (1997) Ostracodes Changes in element ratios (Mg/Ca, Sr/Ca) in shells reflecting water temperature and salinity changes Nelson (1991), Fritz et al (1994), Haskell et al (1996), Yu and Ito (1999) Plant macroremains Assemblage changes reflecting lake level fluctuations (e.g., increased salinity -> increased Ruppia) and shoreline shifts Vance et al (1992Vance et al ( , 1993 Dean and Schwalb (2000) Tree rings Narrow rings compared to adjacent rings in standardized record.…”

Section: Vernacular and Conceptual Definitions Of Droughtmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Identification and Characterization of Drought and Aridity in Postglacial Paleoenvironmental Records from the Northern Great Plains

Beaudoin

2004

gpq

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The Northern Great Plains region is especially sensitive to drought and is likely to be even more drought-prone under projected global warming. Drought has been invoked as an explanatory factor for changes seen in postglacial paleoenvironmental records. These proxy records may extend drought history derived from instrumental data. Moreover, in the last decade, some paleoenvironmental studies have been expressly undertaken for the examination of long-term drought history. Nevertheless, few such studies explicitly define drought. This makes it difficult to compare results or to understand what the results mean in terms of the operational drought definitions that are used in resource management. Operational drought is defined as usually short-term; longer sustained dry intervals reflect a shift to aridity. Therefore, high resolution paleoenvironmental proxies (annual or subdecadal) are best for the investigation of drought history. Such proxies include tree rings and some lake records. However, most lake-based records are sampled at lower resolution (decadal or subcentury) and are therefore providing aridity signals.Les Grandes Plaines du Nord sont particulièrement sensibles à la sécheresse et seront vraisemblablement grandement touchées par le réchauffement climatique prévu. La sécheresse est un facteur qui peut expliquer les changements observés dans les relevés paléoenvironmentaux postglaciaires. Ces derniers permettent de comprendre, sur une plus longue période, l’évolution de la sécheresse révélée par les données climatiques modernes. Au cours de la dernière décennie, plusieurs études paléoenvironnementales ont été expressément entreprises dans ce but. Toutefois, peu d’entre elles présentent une définition précise de la sécheresse. Cela complique la comparaison et l’interprétation des résultats en ce qui a trait à la définition de la sécheresse en phase active. La sécheresse active n’est habituellement que de courte durée ; les épisodes secs plus longs reflètent un passage à l’aridité. Les indicateurs paléoenvironnementaux de haute résolution (annuels ou de moins d’une décennie) sont les meilleurs pour suivre l’évolution de la sécheresse. Ces indicateurs comprennent les cernes de croissance des arbres et certaines données lacustres. Cependant, les données lacustres d’une résolution inférieure (à l’échelle de la décennie ou de la fraction de siècle) tendent à donner des signaux d’aridité.La región de las grandes praderas de Norteamérica es particularmente sensible a la sequía y será sin duda afectada por el calentamiento global por venir. Se ha propuesto que la sequía puede ser el factor que explique los cambios observados en el registro de paleoambientes postglaciares. Dicho registro permite comprender la evolución de la sequía obtenida a partir de datos cuantitativos modernos, durante un periodo mas largo de tiempo. Mas aun, en la ultima década algunos estudios paleoambientales se han llevado a cabo expresamente para examinar la evolución de la sequía a largo plazo. Sin embargo, pocos son los estudios que defi...

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Drought as a natural disaster

Cited by 104 publications

References 41 publications

Characterizing the spatial and temporal variability of June–July moisture conditions in the Canadian prairies

Characterizing the spatial and temporal variability of June–July moisture conditions in the Canadian prairies

Characterizing the Surface Features of the 1999–2005 Canadian Prairie Drought in Relation to Previous Severe Twentieth Century Events

On the Identification and Characterization of Drought and Aridity in Postglacial Paleoenvironmental Records from the Northern Great Plains

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