scholarly journals Drought Index as Indicator of Salinization of the Salento Aquifer (Southern Italy)

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (7) ◽  
pp. 1927
Author(s):  
Maria Rosaria Alfio ◽  
Gabriella Balacco ◽  
Alessandro Parisi ◽  
Vincenzo Totaro ◽  
Maria Dolores Fidelibus
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Karst Aquifer ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
High Water ◽  
Qualitative Assessment ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
Groundwater Drought

Salento peninsula (Southern Italy) hosts a coastal carbonate and karst aquifer. The semi-arid climate is favourable to human settlement and the development of tourism and agricultural activities, which involve high water demand and groundwater exploitation rates, in turn causing groundwater depletion and salinization. In the last decades these issues worsened because of the increased frequency of droughts, which emerges from the analysis of Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), calculated during 1949–2011 on the base of monthly precipitation. Groundwater level series and chloride concentrations, collected over the extreme drought period 1989–1990, allow a qualitative assessment of groundwater behaviour, highlighting the concurrent groundwater drought and salinization.

scholarly journals Evaluating Impacts of Irrigation and Drought on River, Groundwater and a Terminal Wetland in the Zayanderud Basin, Iran

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1302
Author(s):  
Nizar Abou Zaki ◽  
Ali Torabi Haghighi ◽  
Pekka M. Rossi ◽  
Mohammad J. Tourian ◽  
Alireza Bakhshaee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Water Mass ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Hydrological Drought ◽  
Groundwater Depletion ◽  
Groundwater Exploitation ◽  
In Situ Data ◽  
Surface Water Resources ◽  
Mass Depletion

The Zayanderud Basin is an important agricultural area in central Iran. In the Basin, irrigation consumes more than 90 percent of the water used, which threatens both the downstream historical city of Isfahan and the Gavkhuni Wetland reserve—the final recipient of the river water. To analyze impacts of land use changes and the occurrence of metrological and hydrological drought, we used groundwater data from 30 wells, the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the streamflow drought index (SDI). Changes in the wetland were analyzed using normalized difference water index (NDWI) values and water mass depletion in the Basin was also assessed with gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE)-derived data. The results show that in 45 out of studied 50 years, the climate can be considered as normal in respect to mean precipitation amount, but hydrological droughts exist in more than half of the recorded years. The hydrological drought occurrence increased after the 1970s when large irrigation schemes were introduced. In recent decades, the flow rate reached zero in the downstream part of the Zayanderud River. NDWI values confirmed the severe drying of the Gavkhuni Wetland on several occasions, when compared to in situ data. The water mass depletion rate in the Basin is estimated to be 30 (±5) mm annually; groundwater exploitation has reached an average of 365 Mm3 annually, with a constant annual drop of 1 to 2.5 meters in the groundwater level annually. The results demonstrate the connection between groundwater and surface water resources management and highlight that groundwater depletion and the repeated occurrence of the Zayanderud River hydrological drought are directly related to human activities. The results can be used to assess sustainability of water management in the Basin.

scholarly journals Groundwater Drought Analysis under Data Scarcity: The Case of the Salento Aquifer (Italy)

2022 ◽  
Vol 14 (2) ◽  
pp. 707
Author(s):  
Gabriella Balacco ◽  
Maria Rosaria Alfio ◽  
Maria Dolores Fidelibus
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Karst Aquifer ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Precipitation Variability ◽  
Data Scarcity ◽  
Groundwater Levels ◽  
Monitoring Wells ◽  
Groundwater Drought ◽  
Long Time ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index

Salento is a regional coastal karst aquifer located in Southern Italy with a highly complex geological, geomorphological, and hydrogeological structure. High and unruly exploitation of groundwater from licensed and unlicensed wells for irrigation and drinking purposes affects groundwater, with consequent degradation of its qualitative and quantitative status. The increased frequency of meteorological droughts and rising temperatures may only worsen the already compromised situation. The absence of complete and enduring monitoring of groundwater levels prevents the application of some methodologies, which require long time series. The analysis of climate indexes to describe the groundwater level variation is a possible approach under data scarcity. However, this approach may not be obvious for complex aquifers (in terms of scale, intrinsic properties, and boundary conditions) where the response of the groundwater to precipitation is not necessarily linear. Thus, the proposed research deals with the assessment of the response of the Salento aquifer to precipitation variability based on correlations between the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation and Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and groundwater levels for nine monitoring wells from July 2007 to December 2011. The study aims at evaluating the ability of the above indicators to explain the behavior of groundwater on complex aquifers. Moreover, it has the general aim to verify their more general reliable application. Results of three different correlation factors outline direct and statistically significant correlations between the time series. They describe the Salento aquifer as a slow filter, with a notable inertial behavior in response to meteorological events. The SPI 18-months demonstrates to be a viable candidate to predict the groundwater response to precipitation variability for the Salento aquifer.

scholarly journals An Assessment of Drought Stress in Tea Estates Using Optical and Thermal Remote Sensing

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 2730
Author(s):  
Animesh Chandra Das ◽  
Ryozo Noguchi ◽  
Tofael Ahamed
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Drought Stress ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Drought Frequency ◽  
Moisture Index ◽  
Area Index ◽  
Drought Period

Drought is one of the detrimental climatic factors that affects the productivity and quality of tea by limiting the growth and development of the plants. The aim of this research was to determine drought stress in tea estates using a remote sensing technique with the standardized precipitation index (SPI). Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS images were processed to measure the land surface temperature (LST) and soil moisture index (SMI). Maps for the normalized difference moisture index (NDMI), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and leaf area index (LAI), as well as yield maps, were developed from Sentinel-2 satellite images. The drought frequency was calculated from the classification of droughts utilizing the SPI. The results of this study show that the drought frequency for the Sylhet station was 38.46% for near-normal, 35.90% for normal, and 25.64% for moderately dry months. In contrast, the Sreemangal station demonstrated frequencies of 28.21%, 41.02%, and 30.77% for near-normal, normal, and moderately dry months, respectively. The correlation coefficients between the SMI and NDMI were 0.84, 0.77, and 0.79 for the drought periods of 2018–2019, 2019–2020 and 2020–2021, respectively, indicating a strong relationship between soil and plant canopy moisture. The results of yield prediction with respect to drought stress in tea estates demonstrate that 61%, 60%, and 60% of estates in the study area had lower yields than the actual yield during the drought period, which accounted for 7.72%, 11.92%, and 12.52% yield losses in 2018, 2019, and 2020, respectively. This research suggests that satellite remote sensing with the SPI could be a valuable tool for land use planners, policy makers, and scientists to measure drought stress in tea estates.

scholarly journals Seasonal forecasts of droughts in African basins using the Standardized Precipitation Index

2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (6) ◽  
pp. 2359-2373 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Dutra ◽  
F. Di Giuseppe ◽  
F. Wetterhall ◽  
F. Pappenberger
Keyword(s):  
Real Time ◽  
Lead Time ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Precipitation Index ◽  
Seasonal Forecasting ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Seasonal Forecasts ◽  
Blue Nile ◽  
Forecasting System ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index

Abstract. Vast parts of Africa rely on the rainy season for livestock and agriculture. Droughts can have a severe impact in these areas, which often have a very low resilience and limited capabilities to mitigate drought impacts. This paper assesses the predictive capabilities of an integrated drought monitoring and seasonal forecasting system (up to 5 months lead time) based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The system is constructed by extending near-real-time monthly precipitation fields (ECMWF ERA-Interim reanalysis and the Climate Anomaly Monitoring System–Outgoing Longwave Radiation Precipitation Index, CAMS-OPI) with monthly forecasted fields as provided by the ECMWF seasonal forecasting system. The forecasts were then evaluated over four basins in Africa: the Blue Nile, Limpopo, Upper Niger, and Upper Zambezi. There are significant differences in the quality of the precipitation between the datasets depending on the catchments, and a general statement regarding the best product is difficult to make. The generally low number of rain gauges and their decrease in the recent years limits the verification and monitoring of droughts in the different basins, reinforcing the need for a strong investment on climate monitoring. All the datasets show similar spatial and temporal patterns in southern and north-western Africa, while there is a low correlation in the equatorial area, which makes it difficult to define ground truth and choose an adequate product for monitoring. The seasonal forecasts have a higher reliability and skill in the Blue Nile, Limpopo and Upper Niger in comparison with the Zambezi. This skill and reliability depend strongly on the SPI timescale, and longer timescales have more skill. The ECMWF seasonal forecasts have predictive skill which is higher than using climatology for most regions. In regions where no reliable near-real-time data is available, the seasonal forecast can be used for monitoring (first month of forecast). Furthermore, poor-quality precipitation monitoring products can reduce the potential skill of SPI seasonal forecasts in 2 to 4 months lead time.

scholarly journals Caractérisation à l’aide du SPI de la Sécheresse climatique dans le bassin versant de Ziz (Sud-Est, Maroc)

2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (21) ◽  
pp. 177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Radouan Mehdaoui ◽  
El-Mostafa Mili ◽  
Aziz Seghir
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Winter Season ◽  
Spatial And Temporal Variability ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
North Eastern ◽  
Edge Part ◽  
The Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Bassin Versant ◽  
Eastern Edge

This paper analyzes the spatial and temporal variability of drought in winter season in an arid geographical gradient located in the eastern edge part of the Moroccan High Atlas especially at the Ziz watershed. Drought period between 1975 and 2013 were analyzed using the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) over 12 months for a 38-year scale. The results indicate that the most important drought by intensity and duration occurred during the 1982/84, 1983/84, 2000/01, and 2004/05 periods are generalized on all stations of the basin with a minimum SPI reached -2.77 at the Taous station. The results indicate that drought in winter have been tied to the dominance of dry circulation with the exception of the frequency of thermodynamic and north-eastern disturbances which are considered unstable aerological conditions. Which occur frequently between February and April of each year for the Errachidia station, Hassan Adakhil Dam, Foum Zaabal, Tillicht, M'Zizl, Arfoud and Taouz.

scholarly journals Application of TRMM Precipitation Data to Evaluate Drought and Its Effects on Water Resources Instability

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (24) ◽  
pp. 5377
Author(s):  
Ata Amini ◽  
Abdolnabi Abdeh Kolahchi ◽  
Nadhir Al-Ansari ◽  
Mehdi Karami Moghadam ◽  
Thamer Mohammad
Keyword(s):  
Water Resources ◽  
Standardized Precipitation Index ◽  
Remote Sensing Data ◽  
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission ◽  
Monthly Precipitation ◽  
Precipitation Data ◽  
Discharge Data ◽  
Satellite Precipitation ◽  
Discharge Rates ◽  
Trmm Precipitation

The present research was carried out to study drought and its effects upon water resources using remote sensing data. To this end, the tropical rainfall measuring mission (TRMM) satellite precipitation, the synoptic stations, and fountain discharge data were employed. For monitoring of drought in the study area, in Kermanshah province, Iran, the monthly precipitation data of the synoptic stations along with TRMM satellite precipitation datasets were collected and processed in the geographic information system (GIS) environment. Statistical indicators were applied to evaluate the accuracy of TRMM precipitation against the meteorological stations’ data. Standardized precipitation index, SPI, and normalized fountain discharge were used in the monitoring of drought conditions, and fountains discharge, respectively. The fountains were selected so that in addition to enjoying the most discharge rates, they spread along the study area. The evaluation of precipitation data showed that the TRMM precipitation data were of high accuracy. Studies in temporal scale are indicative of the strike of drought in this region to the effect that for most months of the year, frequency and duration in dry periods are much more than in wet periods. As for seasonal scales, apart from winter, the frequency and duration of drought in spring and autumn have been longer than in wet years. Moreover, the duration of these periods was different. A comparison between the results of changes in fountain discharges and drought index in the region has verified that the drought has caused a remarkable decline in the fountain discharges.

scholarly journals Transformation of non-water sorbing fly ash to a water sorbing material for drought management

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Abhisekh Saha ◽  
Sreedeep Sekharan ◽  
Uttam Manna ◽  
Lingaraj Sahoo
Keyword(s):  
Fly Ash ◽  
Plant Growth ◽  
Fine Sand ◽  
High Water ◽  
Drought Management ◽  
Soil Water Retention ◽  
Drought Period ◽  
Superabsorbent Hydrogel ◽  
Industrial Solid Waste ◽  
Agricultural Applications

Abstract Securing water in the soil through suitable amendments is one of the methods for drought management in arid regions. In this study, a poor water sorbing fly ash was transformed into a high water-absorbing material for improving soil water retention during the drought period. The fly ash water absorbent (FAWA) exhibited high water-absorbing capacity (WAC) of 310 g/g at par with commercially available superabsorbent hydrogel (SAH). The FAWA showed excellent re-swelling behavior for more than eight alternate wetting–drying cycles. The WAC of FAWA was sensitive to salt type, pH, and ionic strength of the solution. At maximum salinity level permitted for plant growth, the WAC of FAWA was 80 g/g indicating its suitability for drought management. There was only a marginal WAC variation in the range of pH (5.5–7.5) considered most suitable for plant growth. The drying characteristics of FAWA amended soil exhibited an increase in desaturation time by 3.3, 2.2, and 1.5 times for fine sand, silt loam, and clay loam, respectively. The study demonstrates the success of using a low rate of FAWA for drought management with the advantage of offering a non-toxic and eco-friendly solution to mass utilization of industrial solid waste for agricultural applications.

scholarly journals Analysis of the flooding event of October 22-23, 2005 in a small basin in the province of Bari (Southern Italy)

2016 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiziana Bisantino ◽  
Vincenzo Pizzo ◽  
Maurizio Polemio ◽  
Francesco Gentile
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
High Water ◽  
Ephemeral Streams ◽  
Hydraulic Modelling ◽  
Flooding Event ◽  
Hydraulic Safety ◽  
The City ◽  
Water Depths ◽  
Small Basin ◽  
Hydrographic Network

In the province of Bari the hydrographic network consists of ephemeral streams called lame. In these watercourses the absence of runoff for long periods contributed to unfounded beliefs concerning the hydraulic safety of the landscape and therefore uncontrolled changes in streambeds and floodplains. In these streams high water discharges can occur during heavy rainfalls, as demonstrated by the floods that hit the city of Bari in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The flooding event of October 22-23, 2005 can be considered catastrophic as it resulted in six deaths, numerous injuries and substantial damage sustained by road and railway infrastructures at the intersection with the hydrographic network. This study aims to analyse the severity of the event in terms of the response of the landscape with reference to the case of the lama Scappagrano basin, where a Eurostar train derailed due to the collapse of the railway embankment. Coupled hydrological and two-dimensional hydraulic modelling was performed to reconstruct the flood hydrograph and water depths on the upstream side of the embankment. The results were used to set the boundary conditions to analyse the internal stability of the embankment using a finite element method.

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