• Journal of the Korean GEO-environmental Society
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• v.25 no.11
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• pp.33-43
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• 2024

In this study, data from the Gwangyang Automated Synoptic Observing System (ASOS) meteorological observatory were utilized for drought assessment. Drought occurrence days were evaluated using the Precipitation-based Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and two types of Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) (SPEI_Thornthwaite and SPEI_Penman-Monteith), considering precipitation and evapotranspiration. The SPI and SPEIs yielded generally similar quantitative results for drought occurrence days. However, the SPEI_Penman-Monteith, which uses the physically-based Penman-Monteith method for evapotranspiration estimation, showed a higher number of drought days compared to the SPI_Thornthwaite. The amount of evapotranspiration by the Penman-Monteith method had high seasonal variability and high moisture loss, while the amount of evapotranspiration by the Thornthwaite method had low variability and low moisture loss. Consequently, the SPEI_Thornthwaite had a higher correlation with the SPI compared to the SPEI_Penman-Monteith. Since the SPEI_Penman-Monteith index can more accurately calculate the amount of water loss caused by the hydrological circulation, more reasonable results are derived in calculating the number of drought occurrence days. However, due to the lack of sufficient high-quality meteorological data at ASOS observatories, the Penman-Monteith method may be difficult to apply. In such cases, the SPEI_Thornthwaite, estimating evapotranspiration based solely on monthly average temperature, can be used as an alternative.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.50 no.1
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• pp.65-73
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• 2017

This study analyzed the peak drought severity and drought duration of the Cheongmicheon watershed from 1985 to 2015 to assess the lag time of peak drought severity between several drought indices. Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) based on precipitation and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) based on precipitation and evapotranspiration were applied as meteorological drought indices. Streamflow Drought Index (SDI) based on runoff data was applied as hydrological drought index. In case of SDI, we used Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model for simulation of daily runoff data. As a result, the time of peak drought severity of SDI occurred after the occurrence of SPI and SPEI. The lag time for the peak drought severity, on average, between SDI and SPI was 0.59 months while SDI and SPEI was 0.79 months. As compared with SDI, the maximum delay was 2 months for both SPI and SPEI. This study results also shows that even though the rainfall events were able to cope with meteorological droughts, they were not always available to solve the hydrological droughts in the same time.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.45 no.9
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• pp.887-900
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• 2012

Drought is a non-negligible disaster of nature and it is mainly caused by rainfall shortage for a long time though there are many definitions of drought. 'Standard Precipitation Index' (SPI) that is widely used to express the level of meteorological drought intensity has a limit of not being able to consider the hydrological changes such as rainfall and evapotranspiration caused by climate change, because it does not consider the temperature-related variables other than the precipitation. Recently, however, 'Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index' (SPEI), a drought index of new concept which is similar to SPI but can reflect the effect of temperature variability as well as the rainfall change caused by climate variation, was developed. In this study, the changes of drought occurrence in South Korea were analyzed by applying SPEI for meteorological data (1973~2011) of 60 climate observatories under Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA). As the result of application, both of SPI and SPEI showed the trend of deepening drought in spring and winter and mitigating drought in summer for the entire nation, with SPI showing greater drought intensity than SPI. Also, SPI and SPEI with 12 months of duration showed that severe droughts with low frequency of around 6 years are generally being repeated.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.59 no.4
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• pp.65-74
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• 2017

North Korea is one of the high vulnerable countries facing the threat of natural disaster and has experienced more frequent disasters in recent years. These disasters have significantly led to food shortages and large reductions in crop yields. In 2015, both North Korean officials and international agencies had identified the extreme drought event, the worst in one hundred years according to the North Korean government. The objective of this study was an assessment of the extreme drought events in 2014~2015, and to apply climatic drought indices for drought monitoring in North Korea. Characteristics of the extreme drought in North Korea are examined by using the weekly-based Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI). The drought characteristics illustrated by the SPEI results are compared with a Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) results and drought impact information to understand how these indices can explain the drought conditions within the country. These results demonstrated that the SPEI could be an effective tool to provide improved spatial and temporal drought conditions to inform management decisions for drought policy.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.48 no.1
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• pp.69-78
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• 2015

In this study, meteorological drought indices were examined to simulate hydrological drought. SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index) and SPEI (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index) was applied to represent meteorological drought. Further, in order to evaluate the hydrological drought, monthly total inflow and SDI (Streamflow Drought Index) was computed. Finally, the correlation between meteorological and hydrological drought indices were analyzed. As a results, in monthly correlation comparison, the correlation between meteorological drought index and monthly total inflow was highest with 0.67 in duration of 270-day. In addition, a meteorological drought index were correlated 0.72 to 0.87 with SDI. In compared to the annual extremes, the relationship between meteorological drought index and minimum monthly inflow was hardly confirmed. But SDI and SPEI showed a slightly higher correlation. There are limitation that analyze extreme hydrological drought using meteorological drought index. For the evaluation of the hydrological drought, drought index which included inflow directly is required.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.49 no.6
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• pp.509-518
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• 2016

This study assessed drought of Cheongmicheon watershed from 1985 to 2015 according to duration. In order to quantify drought, we used meteorological and hydrological drought index. Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI) based on precipitation and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index(SPEI) based on precipitation and evapotranspiration were applied as meteorological drought index. Palmer Drought Severity Index(PDSI) and Stream Drought Index(SDI) based on simulation of Soil and Water Assessment Tool(SWAT) model were applied as agricultural and hydrological drought index. As a result, in case average of extreme and averaged drought, 2014 and 2015 have the most vulnerable in all drought indices. Variation of drought showed different trend with regard to analysis of frequency. Also, the extreme and averaged drought have high correlation between drought indices excluding between PDSIs. However, each drought index showed different occurrence year and severity of drought Therefore, drought indices with various characteristics were used to analysis drought.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.66 no.3
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• pp.25-37
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• 2024

Global warming-induced drought inflicts significant socio-economic and environmental damage. In Korea, the persistent drought in the southern region since 2022 has severely affected water supplies, agriculture, forests, and ecosystems due to uneven precipitation distribution. To effectively prepare for and mitigate such impacts, it is imperative to develop proactive measures supported by early monitoring systems. In this study, we analyzed the spatiotemporal changes of multiple evapotranspiration-based drought indices, focusing on the flash drought event in the southern region in 2022. The indices included the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI), Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) considering precipitation and temperature, and the Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) based on satellite images. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and SPEI indices utilized temperature and precipitation data from meteorological observation stations, while the ESI index was based on satellite image data provided by the MODIS sensor on the Terra satellite. Additionally, we utilized the Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI) provided by the North Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as a supplementary index to ESI, enabling us to perform more effective drought monitoring. We compared the degree and extent of drought in the southern region through four drought indices, and analyzed the causes and effects of drought from various perspectives. Findings indicate that the ESI is more sensitive in detecting the timing and scope of drought, aligning closely with observed drought trends.

• Journal of Korea Water Resources Association
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• v.49 no.3
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• pp.187-196
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• 2016

Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) considering evapotranspiration and precipitation is generally used to quantify the drought severity. Also, Reconnaissance Drought Index (RDI) has been frequently used in the arid regions which is suffering severe droughts, but drought analysis in association with RDI has been the focus of few studies in South Korea. Therefore, this study compared two meterological drought indices based on precipitation and evapotranspiration using Thornthwaite, Hargreaves, and Blaney-Criddle evaportranspiration calculation methods. Meteorological data of sixteen weather stations which are operated by Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) were used to quantify drought and to compare characteristics of drought for the Han River Basin from 1992 to 2015. As a result, in case of Han River Basin, severe drought sharply increased in recent years. While the correlation coefficients are relatively high between the SPEIs and RDIs, the drought severity and year of severe drought are partially different. Therefore, it is necessary that RDI will be also measured to quantify severity and occurrence year of drought.

• Journal of The Korean Society of Agricultural Engineers
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• v.57 no.1
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• pp.37-45
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• 2015

Recent droughts in South Korea have had large economic and environmental impacts across the country. Changes in rainfall and hydrologic patterns due to climate change can potentially increase the occurrence of extreme droughts and affect the future availability of water resources. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate drought vulnerability for water resources planning and management, and identify the appropriate mitigation actions to conduct a drought risk analysis in the context of climate change. The objective of this study is changes in the temporal trends of drought characteristics in South Korea to examine drought impacts under climate change. First, the changes of drought occurrence were analyzed by applying the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) for meteorological data on 54 meteorological stations, and were analyzed for the past 30 years (1981-2010), and Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) climate change scenarios (2011-2100). Second, the changes on the temporal trends of drought characteristics were performed using run theory, which was used to compare drought duration, severity, and magnitude to allow for quantitative evaluations under past and future climate conditions. These results show the high influence of climate change on drought phenomenon, and will contribute to water resources management and drought countermeasures to climate change.

• Proceedings of the Korea Water Resources Association Conference
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• 2021.06a
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• pp.330-330
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• 2021

본 연구에서는 새롭게 개발 중인 SSP 시나리오의 일단위 강수량과 온도 자료를 활용하여 청미천 유역의 미래 가뭄의 예측 및 분석을 실시하였다. SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, SSP3-7.0, SSP5-8.5에 따른 새롭게 개발 중인 CMIP6 (Coupled Model Intercomparison Project) GCM (General Circulation Models) 중 ACCESS-ESM1.5(Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator model)를 이용하였다. GCM 자료는 Quantile Mapping 방법을 사용하여 편이보정 되었고, 유출분석은 SWAT(Soil and Water Assessment Tool) 모형을 사용하여 청미천 유역에 대해 수행하였다. 청미천 유역의 가뭄분석을 위해 기상학적 가뭄지수인 SPI(Standardized Precipitation Index)와 SPEI(Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index), 수문학적 가뭄지수인 SDI(Standardized Streamflow Index)를 산정하였다. 그 후, 시간에 따른 가뭄의 특성을 분석하기 위해 가까운 미래 (2025-2064)와 먼 미래 (2065-2100) 로 구분하여 분석을 진행하였다. 그 결과, 청미천 유역의 가뭄 발생은 SSP시나리오, 가뭄지수에 따라 차이점을 확인할 수 있었다. SSP 시나리오의 경우 SSP5-8.5에서 가장 심각한 가뭄이 발생하였다. 가뭄지수의 경우 강수만을 고려한 SPI는 먼 미래에 비해 가까운 미래에서 더욱 심각한 가뭄이 발생하였다. SDI의 경우 강수량의 변동이 일반적으로 하천의 흐름에 영향을 미치기에 SPI와 비슷한 양상을 나타내었다. SPEI의 경우 시간에 따른 기온상승으로 먼 미래에 심각한 가뭄이 발생하였다.