Satellite detection of the geographic core of the 1988 Nebraska drought

Abstract

This study demonstrates that the normalized difference vegetation index as derived from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's advanced very high resolution radiometer — high resolution picture transmission mode, contains a considerable amount of information on the condition of vegetation. The potential exists for such satellite data to become an additional tool for measuring the physical variables that make up regional-scale climatic conditions. This study was successful in delineating detailed spatial and temporal information concerning the geographic core of the 1988 drought in Nebraska, USA. A temporal comparison between average normalized difference vegetation index and the crop moisture index, for a climatic division, revealed that these indices may be more strongly related than the normalized difference vegetation index and the Palmer drought severity index. The implication is that the average normalized difference vegetation index is a good surrogate for the short-term variables that constitute agricultural drought, which adds a considerable amount of information to existing measures of soil moisture. This technique offers an opportunity to enhance drought monitoring capability in many regions.