Abstract
Climate warming can result in increases in the frequency and magnitude of drought events, leading to water shortages and socioeconomic losses. Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite data have been used to monitor and estimate drought events. However, there is little information on detecting the characteristics of droughts in Mongolia due to sparse observations. In this study, we estimate the drought conditions in Mongolia using GRACE terrestrial water storage data during 2002–2017. Water storage deficit (WSD) is used to identify the drought event and calculate the water storage deficit index (WSDI). The WSDI was compared with the standardized precipitation index (SPI) and the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI). The results showed that there were two turning points of WSD in 2007 and 2012. Eight drought events were identified and the most severe drought occurred in 2007–2009 lasting for 38 months with a WSDI of −0.98 and a total WSD of −290.8 mm. Overall, the WSD and WSDI were effective in analyzing and assessing the drought severity in a region where hydrological observations are lacking.
Highlights
Drought is a type of natural hazard that plays a critical role in threatening various ecosystems and human societies, which has attracted much attention in ecology, hydrology, and meteorology [1].Some studies indicate that the frequency and magnitude of droughts are projected to enhance in the future due to climate change [2,3]
The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) space mission is a joint project between NASA
The standardized precipitation index (SPI) is a precipitation−based drought index developed by McKee et al (1993) [30] to define and monitor drought events at multiple time scales (1−, 3−, 6−, 12−, and 24−month)
Summary
Some studies indicate that the frequency and magnitude of droughts are projected to enhance in the future due to climate change [2,3]. It has been reported that an increase in drought intensity can lead to an imbalance of soil nutrients cycling in terrestrial ecosystems, which in turn affect ecosystem functions and stability [4]. Droughts can lead to substantial loss of crop and economy. The recent drought in Mongolia is associated with major social and environmental change, including migration of several hundred herders to the capital city, drying of lakes, and declines in grassland productivity [5]. It is of great importance to monitor and characterize drought events and spatiotemporal pattern of water deficit
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