This research investigates the interannual variability of soil moisture as related to large-scale climate variability and also evaluates the spatial and temporal variability of modeled deep layer (40–140 cm) soil moisture in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB). A three layers hydrological model VIC-3L (Variable Infiltration Capacity Model – 3 layers) was used to generate soil moisture in the ...

Extreme climatic events like droughts, floods, heat waves and ice storms impact ecosystems as well as human societies. There is wide concern about how terrestrial ecosystems respond to extreme climatic events in the context of global warming. In this study, we used satellite-derived vegetation greenness data (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index; NDVI), in situ weather station data (temperatu...

Droughts can severely reduce the productivity of agricultural lands and forests. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Southeast Regional Climate Hub (SERCH) has launched the Lately Identified Geospecific Heightened Threat System (LIGHTS) to inform its users of potential water deficiency threats. The system identifies droughts and other climate anomalies such as extreme precipitati...

[1] We investigate relationships between Indonesian drought, the state of the equatorial Indian Ocean, and ENSO using three instrumental indices spanning 1884– 1997 A.D.: 1. EQWIN, a zonal wind index for the equatorial Indian Ocean; 2. the Dipole Mode Index (DMI), an indicator of the Indian Ocean SST gradient; and 3. tropical Pacific Niño-3.4 SSTs. A regression model of the Java Sep–Dec Palmer ...

Abstract This paper focuses on the environment of Ethiopia, a country highly sensitive to droughts severely affecting vegetation. Vegetation monitoring Ethiopian Highlands requires visualization environmental parameters assess negatively influencing agricultural sustainable management crops. Therefore, this study presented mapping several climate and variables including Palmer Drought Severity ...

[1] Texas experienced the most extreme one-year drought on record in 2011 with precipitation at 40% of long-term mean and agricultural losses of ~$7.6 billion. We assess the value of Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite-derived total water storage (TWS) change as an alternative remote sensing-based drought indicator, independent of traditional drought indicators based on in...

[1] A robust ring-width chronology developed from two sites of Picea schrenkiana in the central Tien Shan area of northwest China was employed to study regional drought variability. Our analyses demonstrate both temperature and precipitation have significant effects on tree growth, thus both should be considered for climate reconstruction. Regional drought history (1675–2002 A.D.) was therefore...

1. introduction a drought is a prolonged period of water deficit and usually occurs when an area does not receive significant precipitation for a sustained period of time, say several months (chen, kuo, & yu, 2009; linsely, kohlerm, & paulhus, 1959). the effects of drought often accumulate slowly over a considerable period of time that may linger for several years even after the termination of dr...

Abstract Larch trees are widely used in afforestation and timber plantations. Yet, little is known on how planted larch cope with increasing drought. We a tree-ring network of 818 from 31 plantations spanning most the distribution Larix principis-rupprechtii to investigate extreme drought influences radial growth northern China. found that summer drought, rather than temperature or precipitatio...

The effect of climate change on the frequency and intensity of droughts across the contiguous United States over the next century is assessed by applying Standardized Precipitation Indices and the Palmer Drought Severity Index to the full suite of 22 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change General Circulation Models for three IPCC-SRES emissions scenarios (B1, A1B, and A2 from the Special Rep...