Prognostic and diagnostic assessment of hydrological drought using water and energy budget-based indices

Abstract

Long-term meteorological drought can lead to hydrological drought by restricting water resources required by humans, such as streamflow and reservoir storage. We developed two new indices for monitoring hydrologic drought-based satellite-derived evapotranspiration, a major factor in hydrological drought occurrence. The Water Budget-based Drought Index (WBDI) estimates potential runoff by the differences between precipitation and evapotranspiration using water budget analysis while the Energy-based Water Deficit Index (EWDI) is an index of available water capacity through evapotranspiration and soil moisture based on solar radiation using energy budget analysis. We used these, along with the existing Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI, based on precipitation, atmospheric temperature, and evapotranspiration), to map the spatiotemporal patterns of drought on the Korean Peninsula from 2001 to 2014. For validation against actual drought conditions, we compared the results with streamflow data from five gauging stations in South Korea. EWDI—the diagnostic approach—performed best when assessing current hydrological drought conditions, while WBDI and SPEI—prognostic approach—best captured drought conditions after 2–3 months of lag time. Our results confirmed that evapotranspiration is a major factor affecting hydrological drought; the new methods demonstrated here make it possible to evaluate drought through diagnostic and prognostic perspectives depending on the situation, thereby improving scientific drought evaluation capacity.