Special Issue "Drought Risk Management in Reflect Changing of Meteorological Conditions"

A special issue of Atmosphere (ISSN 2073-4433). This special issue belongs to the section "Meteorology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 July 2021).

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Andrzej Walega
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Sanitary Engineering and Water Management, University of Agriculture in Krakow, Mickiewicza St. 24/28, 30-059 Krakow, Poland
Interests: surface hydrology; modelling of hydrological processes; urban water management; flood; drought; climate change
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Dr. Agnieszka Ziernicka-Wojtaszek
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Ecology, Climatology and Air Protection, University of Agriculture in Kraków, 31-120 Kraków, Poland
Interests: meteorology and climatology; agrometeorology; extreme and harmful to agriculture meteorological phenomena; climate variability; present-day climate change and the results of global warming

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Drought is one of the main extreme meteorological and hydrological phenomena that influence many key human activities and ecosystems. Around the world, different direct changes of meteorological and climatological conditions are observed, such as air temperature, moisture, precipitation, and evapotranspiration that significant influence drought. Land cover/land use can also be an indirect factor that can influence evapotranspiration and, thus, water balance in catchment. It can be influence the run in drought process. Additionally, climate change is one of the more visible factors that can increase the severity and frequency of drought. Drought is linked with changes to the hydrological regime and a decrease in water resources. Its results are observed in the various water-demand-related issues for people, agriculture (a very important problem in regions with large irrigation systems), and industry, and it can also be a problem for water ecosystems. To reflect the above information, reasonable drought risk management that can moderate problems with water demands in different sectors of human activities is critical. 

Thus, in our opinion, an expansion of knowledge and challenges in drought maganement is needed to prevent water scarcity. Therefore, the main objective of this Special Issue is to contribute to our understanding of drought processes and the influence of the interactions between different factors and to provide science-based knowledge, new ideas/approaches and solutions in drought risk management. We encourage authors to share their opinions, knowledge, and achievements regarding meteorological condition trends and the influence of drought processes and interactions on human activities, and new methods of measurements of meteorologic factors, such as the use of satellite images to assess evaporation, precipitation, soil moisture, etc. and prognosis of drought and water scarcity. Additionally, examples of best practices in drought risk management will be very important to present in this Special Issue. In particular, the following topics are of great interest:

  • Indicators of drought and their uncertainty;
  • Modern techniques of measures of meteorological factors;
  • Trends of meteorological factors and their interactions with human activities and water scarcity and water demands;
  • Influence of drought on water demands of households, industrial, agriculture, and ecosystems;
  • Drought risk management to prevent water scarcity;
  • Climate change and influence on drought.

Dr. Andrzej Walega
Dr. Agnieszka Ziernicka-Wojtaszek
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Atmosphere is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Drought risk management
  • Meteorological factors and their influence on drought
  • Water scarcity
  • Sociohydrology
  • Prognosis of drought
  • Indicators of drought
  • Climate change

Published Papers (6 papers)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

Article
The Analysis of Long-Term Trends in the Meteorological and Hydrological Drought Occurrences Using Non-Parametric Methods—Case Study of the Catchment of the Upper Noteć River (Central Poland)
Atmosphere 2021, 12(9), 1098; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12091098 - 25 Aug 2021
Viewed by 198
Abstract
The study aims to identify long-term trends in the changes of drought occurrences using the Mann-Kendall (MK) test and the Theil-Sen estimator. Trend research was carried out on the example of the catchment area of the Upper Noteć River, which covers an agricultural [...] Read more.
The study aims to identify long-term trends in the changes of drought occurrences using the Mann-Kendall (MK) test and the Theil-Sen estimator. Trend research was carried out on the example of the catchment area of the Upper Noteć River, which covers an agricultural area of Poland with some of the lowest water reserves. The meteorological droughts were identified based on the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), while the hydrological droughts were determined on the basis of the Standardized Runoff Index (SRI) in various time scales (1, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months) in the period of 1981–2016. The relationship between SPI and SRI was determined on the basis of the Pearson correlation analysis. The results showed that statistically significant trends (at the significance level of 0.05) were identified at 3 out of 8 meteorological stations (downward trend at Kłodawa station and upward trend for drought at Sompolno and Kołuda Wielka stations). Statistically significant hydrological droughts showed an increase in occurrences at the Łysek station, while a downward trend was noted at the Noć Kalina station. No trend was found at the Pakość station. The analysis of the correlation between meteorological and hydrological droughts showed a strong relationship in dry years. The maximum correlation coefficient was identified in longer accumulation periods i.e., 6 and 9 months. The example of the catchment of the Upper Noteć River points to the necessity of using several indicators in order to assess the actual condition of the water reserves. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
A Comparison of the Characteristics of Drought during the Late 20th and Early 21st Centuries over Eastern Europe, Western Russia and Central North America
Atmosphere 2021, 12(8), 1033; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12081033 - 12 Aug 2021
Viewed by 288
Abstract
The character of the atmospheric general circulation during summer-season droughts over Eastern Europe/Western Russia and North America during the late twentieth and early twenty first century is examined here. A criterion to examine atmospheric drought events that encompassed the summer season (an important [...] Read more.
The character of the atmospheric general circulation during summer-season droughts over Eastern Europe/Western Russia and North America during the late twentieth and early twenty first century is examined here. A criterion to examine atmospheric drought events that encompassed the summer season (an important part of the growing season) was used to determine which years were driest, using precipitation, evaporation, and areal coverage. The relationship between drought and the character of the atmosphere, using the Dzerzeevsky weather and climatic classification scheme, atmospheric blocking, teleconnections, and information entropy, was used to study the atmospheric dynamics. The National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) re-analyses dataset archived at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in Boulder, CO, USA, is used to examine the synoptic character and calculate the dynamic quantities for these dry events. The results demonstrate that extreme droughts over North America are associated with a long warm and dry period of weather and the development of a moderate ridge over the Central USA driven by surface processes. These were more common in the late 20th century. Extreme droughts over Eastern Europe and Western Russia are driven by the occurrence of prolonged blocking episodes, as well as surface processes, and have become more common during the 21st century. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Assessing the Contrasting Effects of the Exceptional 2015 Drought on the Carbon Dynamics in Two Norway Spruce Forest Ecosystems
Atmosphere 2021, 12(8), 988; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12080988 - 31 Jul 2021
Viewed by 459
Abstract
The occurrence of extreme drought poses a severe threat to forest ecosystems and reduces their capability to sequester carbon dioxide. This study analysed the impacts of a central European summer drought in 2015 on gross primary productivity (GPP) at two Norway spruce forest [...] Read more.
The occurrence of extreme drought poses a severe threat to forest ecosystems and reduces their capability to sequester carbon dioxide. This study analysed the impacts of a central European summer drought in 2015 on gross primary productivity (GPP) at two Norway spruce forest sites representing two contrasting climatic conditions—cold and humid climate at Bílý Kříž (CZ-BK1) vs. moderately warm and dry climate at Rájec (CZ-RAJ). The comparative analyses of GPP was based on a three-year eddy covariance dataset, where 2014 and 2016 represented years with normal conditions, while 2015 was characterized by dry conditions. A significant decline in the forest GPP was found during the dry year of 2015, reaching 14% and 6% at CZ-BK1 and CZ-RAJ, respectively. The reduction in GPP coincided with high ecosystem respiration (Reco) during the dry year period, especially during July and August, when several heat waves hit the region. Additional analyses of GPP decline during the dry year period suggested that a vapour pressure deficit played a more important role than the soil volumetric water content at both investigated sites, highlighting the often neglected importance of considering the species hydraulic strategy (isohydric vs. anisohydric) in drought impact assessments. The study indicates the high vulnerability of the Norway spruce forest to drought stress, especially at sites with precipitation equal or smaller than the atmospheric evaporative demand. Since central Europe is currently experiencing large-scale dieback of Norway spruce forests in lowlands and uplands (such as for CZ-RAJ conditions), the findings of this study may help to quantitatively assess the fate of these widespread cultures under future climate projections, and may help to delimitate the areas of their sustainable production. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Spatial and Temporal Analysis of Dry and Wet Spells in the Wadi Cheliff Basin, Algeria
Atmosphere 2021, 12(6), 798; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12060798 - 21 Jun 2021
Viewed by 437
Abstract
The Mediterranean Basin, located in a transition zone between the temperate and rainy climate of central Europe and the arid climate of North Africa, is considered a major hotspot of climate change, subject to water scarcity and drought. In this work, dry and [...] Read more.
The Mediterranean Basin, located in a transition zone between the temperate and rainy climate of central Europe and the arid climate of North Africa, is considered a major hotspot of climate change, subject to water scarcity and drought. In this work, dry and wet spells have been analyzed in the Wadi Cheliff basin (Algeria) by means of annual precipitation observed at 150 rain gauges in the period 1970–2018. In particular, the characteristics of dry and wet spells (frequency, duration, severity, and intensity) have been evaluated by means of the run theory applied to the 12-month standardized precipitation index (SPI) values. Moreover, in order to detect possible tendencies in the SPI values, a trend analysis has been performed by means of two non-parametric tests, the Theil–Sen and Mann–Kendall test. The results indicated similar values of frequency, severity, duration, and intensity between the dry and the wet spells, although wet events showed higher values in the extreme. Moreover, the results of the trend analysis evidenced a different behavior between the northern side of the basin, characterized by a negative trend in the 12-month SPI values, and the southern side, in which positive trends were detected. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
The Superiority of Data-Driven Techniques for Estimation of Daily Pan Evaporation
Atmosphere 2021, 12(6), 701; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12060701 - 30 May 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 844
Abstract
In the present study, estimating pan evaporation (Epan) was evaluated based on different input parameters: maximum and minimum temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed, and bright sunshine hours. The techniques used for estimating Epan were the artificial neural network (ANN), wavelet-based [...] Read more.
In the present study, estimating pan evaporation (Epan) was evaluated based on different input parameters: maximum and minimum temperatures, relative humidity, wind speed, and bright sunshine hours. The techniques used for estimating Epan were the artificial neural network (ANN), wavelet-based ANN (WANN), radial function-based support vector machine (SVM-RF), linear function-based SVM (SVM-LF), and multi-linear regression (MLR) models. The proposed models were trained and tested in three different scenarios (Scenario 1, Scenario 2, and Scenario 3) utilizing different percentages of data points. Scenario 1 includes 60%: 40%, Scenario 2 includes 70%: 30%, and Scenario 3 includes 80%: 20% accounting for the training and testing dataset, respectively. The various statistical tools such as Pearson’s correlation coefficient (PCC), root mean square error (RMSE), Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), and Willmott Index (WI) were used to evaluate the performance of the models. The graphical representation, such as a line diagram, scatter plot, and the Taylor diagram, were also used to evaluate the proposed model’s performance. The model results showed that the SVM-RF model’s performance is superior to other proposed models in all three scenarios. The most accurate values of PCC, RMSE, NSE, and WI were found to be 0.607, 1.349, 0.183, and 0.749, respectively, for the SVM-RF model during Scenario 1 (60%: 40% training: testing) among all scenarios. This showed that with an increase in the sample set for training, the testing data would show a less accurate modeled result. Thus, the evolved models produce comparatively better outcomes and foster decision-making for water managers and planners. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Article
Green Roof Enhancement on Buildings of the University of Applied Sciences in Neubrandenburg (Germany) in Times of Climate Change
Atmosphere 2021, 12(3), 382; https://doi.org/10.3390/atmos12030382 - 14 Mar 2021
Viewed by 779
Abstract
The reduction in evaporative surfaces in cities is one driver for longer and hotter summers. Greening building surfaces can help to mitigate the loss of vegetated cover. Typical extensive green roof structures, such as sedum-based solutions, survive in dry periods, but how can [...] Read more.
The reduction in evaporative surfaces in cities is one driver for longer and hotter summers. Greening building surfaces can help to mitigate the loss of vegetated cover. Typical extensive green roof structures, such as sedum-based solutions, survive in dry periods, but how can green roofs be made to be more effective for the longer hot and dry periods to come? The research findings are based on continuous vegetation analytics of typical extensive green roofs over the past 20 years. -Survival of longer dry periods by fully adapted plants species with a focus on the fittest and best adapted species. -Additional technical and treatment solutions to support greater water storage in the media in dry periods and to support greater plant biomass/high biodiversity on the roofs by optimizing growing media with fertilizer to achieve higher evapotranspiration (short: ET) values. The main findings of this research: -The climate benefits of green roofs are associated with the quantity of phytomass. Selecting the right growing media is critical. -Typical extensive green roof substrates have poor nutrition levels. Fertilizer can significantly boost the ecological effects on CO2 fixation. -If the goal of the green roof is a highly biodiverse green roof, micro-structures are the right solution. Full article
Show Figures

Figure 1

Back to TopTop