Construction and Application of Hydrometeorological Comprehensive Drought Index in Weihe River

Abstract

In response to the national strategy of ecological protection in the Yellow River Basin, a more comprehensive assessment of the basin drought is made. Based on the meteorological data of 20 meteorological stations and the hydrological data of 5 hydrological stations in Weihe River from 1960 to 2010, the base flow data are obtained by digital filtering method. A new comprehensive drought index (CPBI) about base flow and precipitation is constructed based on Copula function, and the applicability of CPBI is discussed, the drought characteristics of Weihe River Basin are analyzed by using this index. The results show that CPBI can capture both meteorological and hydrological drought events and comprehensively characterize their drought characteristics; CPBI has a downward trend at all scales, and the drought situation is becoming more and more serious. After the identification of run length theory, CPBI can more accurately reflect the severe drought situation of five hydrological stations in Weihe River, and can better provide drought early warning. There is variation in CPBI. The variation on the annual scale is generally concentrated in the 1970s and 1990s, and there is a large gap in the variation on the seasonal scale. CPBI is an effective drought monitoring index in Weihe River, which can provide reference for drought early warning and response of Weihe River.

Keywords

• Copula joint distribution
• baseflow
• composite drought index
• drought
• Weihe River