TITLE:
Droughts in the Amazon: Identification, Characterization and Dynamical Mechanisms Associated
AUTHORS:
Sérgio Rodrigo Quadros dos Santos, Célia Campos Braga, Clovis Angeli Sansigolo, T. T. de Araujo Tiburtino Neves, Ana Paula Paes dos Santos
KEYWORDS:
Precipitation Extremes, Dry, Rainy, SPI, Amazonia
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Climate Change,
Vol.6 No.2,
June
28,
2017
ABSTRACT: In this study, we used the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) to identify and to characterize the dry extreme events in the Amazon region. The results showed that the drought of 1998 was the most intense (SPI average equal to -1.69) in the period from 1979 to 2014. However, some papers have characterized the years 2005 and 2010 as the two largest droughts of the century. Thus, it was also carried out a comparative study of these droughts. The results showed that the drought 1998 was more intensive and extreme than the droughts of 2005 and 2010, although droughts of 2005 and 2010 lasted longer than 1998 due to oceanic and atmospheric conditions with influencing to cause greater social and economic impacts. Furthermore, it is suggested that the impact of the 2005 and 2010 droughts is a response from the dry occurred in 1993-1994 and 1997-1998.