Huang et al. (2025) A three-dimensional Copula-based standardized temperature precipitation evapotranspiration water storage index for comprehensive drought monitoring

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-07-15
• Authors: Qiongfang Li, Chuanhao Wu, Junliang Jin, Shuhong Xu, Xingye Han, Peng Shi, Qihui Chen, Yiqun Sun
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133898

Research Groups

• College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, China
• The National Key Laboratory of Water Disaster Prevention, Hohai University, China
• Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Hohai University, China
• Research Center for Climate Change of Ministry of Water Resources, China

Short Summary

The study develops a Multivariate Drought Index (MDI) using a three-dimensional Copula model to integrate temperature, precipitation-evapotranspiration, and water storage data for comprehensive drought monitoring in the Yangtze River Basin.

Objective

• To develop a comprehensive drought monitoring index that integrates multiple perspectives (meteorological and hydrological) to better track the occurrence, characteristics, and spatiotemporal evolution of drought and compound drought-heat events.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Yangtze River Basin (YZRB), China.
• Temporal Scale: Seasonal analysis (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter).

Methodology and Data

• Models used: Three-dimensional Copula model; Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), Standardized Terrestrial Water Storage Index (STWSI), and Standardized Temperature Index (STI).
• Data sources: Standardized indices based on temperature, precipitation, evapotranspiration, and terrestrial water storage.

Main Results

• The MDI accurately tracks the occurrence and development of drought events and effectively identifies severity and affected areas.
• MDI provides a more comprehensive reflection of the transition from meteorological drought to hydrological drought compared to single-variable indices.
• Seasonal analysis reveals that the YZRB is susceptible to mild and moderate droughts in spring and winter (with a decreasing trend in affected area) and severe to extreme droughts in summer and autumn (with an increasing trend in affected area).
• Severe and extreme droughts are primarily concentrated in the western and central regions of the YZRB.

Contributions

• Proposes a novel multivariate approach using Copula theory to synthesize three distinct drought dimensions (temperature, water balance, and storage), offering a more holistic scale for drought assessment and warning than traditional single-perspective indices.

Funding

• Not specified in the provided text.

Citation

@article{Huang2025threedimensional,
  author = {Huang, Xing and Li, Qiongfang and Wu, Chuanhao and Jin, Junliang and Xu, Shuhong and Han, Xingye and Shi, Peng and Chen, Qihui and Sun, Yiqun},
  title = {A three-dimensional Copula-based standardized temperature precipitation evapotranspiration water storage index for comprehensive drought monitoring},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133898},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2025.133898}
}