Dependence of Drought Characteristics: Parametric and Non-parametric Copula Approach

Abstract

Drought, which has harmful impacts both environmentally and economically, is one of the most devastating natural phenomena. In order to better understand and monitor the effects of drought, various methods have been developed in recent decades to quantify drought characteristics, with a primary focus on univariate drought indices. Mainly, drought characteristics are crucial to examine the impacts of drought in-depth on any specific area. This study endeavours to investigate univariate and bivariate drought indices using both parametric and non-parametric copula techniques. For that purpose, drought characteristics, such as duration, severity, mean intensity and peak intensity are analysed relying on different drought indices. The dependence among the main characteristics is evaluated and corresponding bivariate return period calculations are investigated. The data set used in this study is retrieved from monthly meteorological observations collected at five different Stations in Konya, located in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. Main numerical findings indicate the importance of using multiple drought indices for different geographical reasons for extreme dry periods.