Author(s): Emilio Romero-Jimenez; Matilde Garcia-Valdecasas Ojeda; Patricio Yeste; Juan Jose Rosa-Canovas; Maria Jesus Esteban-Parra; Yolanda Castro-Diez; Sonia R. Gamiz-Fortis

Linked Author(s): Emilio Romero-jiménez, Juan José Rosa-Cánovas, María Jesús Esteban-Parra, Yolanda Castro-Díez

Keywords: Meteorological drought; Hydrological drought; SPEI; SSI; Guadalquivir river basin

Abstract: One of the consequences of climate change is the increased number of droughts in arid regions. Additionally, droughts are expected to be more severe, as a consequence of the decrease in precipitations and river flow. The southern part of the Iberian Peninsula will be affected by this trend, so it is important to understand how meteorological and hydrological droughts are related in this area. In this study, the relationship between hydrological and meteorological droughts in the Guadalquivir river basin is studied. The analysis of droughts is performed using observational data from reservoirs, belonging to Confederación Hidrográfica del Guadalquivir, and two datasets from Centro Superior de Investigaciones Científicas: SPETo for reference evapotranspiration, and SPREAD for precipitation. These data allow for the calculation of two drought indices: the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI), related to meteorological drought; and the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI), related to hydrological drought. By studying the correlation between these indices, the connection between the two mentioned drought types can be better understood. Preliminary results show that orography has a major impact on how both drought types behave, meaning that the river basin can be divided in small areas with similar behavior. Moreover, the studied relationship changes through the hydrological year because of the drastic differences in precipitation and streamflow that depend on the month. These factors, together with the strong river regulation of this basin, conform an interesting study area that must be analyzed in order to understand how future changes in climate variables will affect the development of droughts. The introduction of future climate data from simulations can be helpful to check if the relationships obtained in present climate will change due to the impact of climate change.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3850/IAHR-39WC2521711920221004

Year: 2022