Flash drought in Australia and its relationship to evaporative demand
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15549882 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Tess Parker (0000-0003-4201-3929, Monash University, corresponding author), Ailie Gallant (0000-0002-7917-1069, Monash University), Mike Hobbins (0000-0001-5540-8466, Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences), David Hoffmann (0000-0001-5368-1223, Monash University) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue | 6 |
| Pages | 064033-064033 |
| Publication date | 2021-05-06 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Research Letters (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326 |
| Publisher | IOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1088/1748-9326/abfe2c |
| OpenAlex | W3157882115 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 7 |
| References cited | 28 |
Flash droughts can be distinguished by rapid intensification from near-normal soil moisture to drought conditions in a matter of weeks. Here, we provide the first characterisation of a climatology of flash drought across Australia using a suite of indices. The experiment is designed to capture a range of conditions related to drought: evaporative demand describes the atmospheric demand for moisture from the surface; precipitation, the supply of moisture from the atmosphere to the surface; and evaporative stress, the supply of moisture from the surface relative to the demand from the atmosphere. We show that regardless of the definition, flash droughts occur in all seasons. They can terminate as rapidly as they start, but in some cases can last many months, resulting in a seasonal-scale drought. We show that flash-drought variability and its prevalence can be related to phases of the El Niño–Southern Oscillation, highlighting scope for seasonal-scale prediction. Using a case study in southeast Australia, we show that monitoring precipitation is less useful for capturing the onset of flash drought as it occurs. Instead, indices like the Evaporative Demand Drought Index and Evaporative Stress Index are more useful for monitoring flash-drought development
Atmosphere (unit · Atmospheric sciences · Climatology · Flash (photography · Flash flood · Geography · Hydrology (agriculture · Meteorology · Moisture · Precipitation · Snow · Water content · Climate change impacts on agriculture · Climate variability and models · Environmental Science · Hydrology and Drought Analysis · Geology
Flash Drought Typologies and Societal Impacts
Flash drought drives rapid vegetation stress in arid regions in Europe
The U.S. Midwest and High Plains Aquifer-fed croplands are previously unrealized hotspots of extreme evaporative demand exposure
Global evidence of rapid flash drought recovery by extreme precipitation
Increasing risk of simultaneous occurrence of flash drought in major global croplands
Divergent flash drought risks indicated by evaporative stress and soil moisture projections under warming scenarios
Contrasting variations of ecosystem gross primary productivity during flash droughts caused by competing water demand and supply
| Unique citing works | 7 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1,75 |
| Citation span | 2022 - 2024 (3) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 6 |