Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in Iran

Study region: This study investigates the hydrological drought applied to five reservoirs in the Lake Urmia basin in Iran, a region suffering from unsustainable water resource management. Study focus: The study develops the Standardized Reservoir Index (SRI) for analyzing reservoir droughts using th...

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Main Authors: Sina Sadeghfam, Hadi Farmani, Rasoul Mirabbasi
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-08-01
Series:Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825003015
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author Sina Sadeghfam
Hadi Farmani
Rasoul Mirabbasi
author_facet Sina Sadeghfam
Hadi Farmani
Rasoul Mirabbasi
author_sort Sina Sadeghfam
collection DOAJ
description Study region: This study investigates the hydrological drought applied to five reservoirs in the Lake Urmia basin in Iran, a region suffering from unsustainable water resource management. Study focus: The study develops the Standardized Reservoir Index (SRI) for analyzing reservoir droughts using the standardization technique. Also, the copula analysis was conducted to calculate joint probabilities and return periods of drought characteristics, i.e., duration and severity. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and SRI time series were analyzed with the Sustainability Index (SI) to capture the anthropogenic impact on drought exacerbation. New hydrological insights for the region: The results reveal a 7- to 9-month lag time to propagate from meteorological drought (SPI) to hydrological drought (SRI). A comparison of SPI and SRI shows a significant SI decrease between 2 % and 13 %, highlighting anthropogenic impacts on drought exacerbation. Examination of the precipitation trend using the modified Mann-Kendall test also shows an insignificant trend at the 5 % significance level. The copulas were fitted with high accuracy, with Nash Sutcliffe efficiency values between 0.9 and 1, and root mean square error below 0.16. The results indicate that, from the perspective of the OR state, exacerbated hydrological droughts are detectable in the investigated reservoirs. The average probability of occurrence was 42 % for meteorological droughts and 46 % for hydrological droughts, for different severity and duration values.
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spelling doaj-art-5dd699e3e4514185b2da7f5eba5d2afa2025-08-20T03:55:54ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-08-016010247610.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102476Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in IranSina Sadeghfam0Hadi Farmani1Rasoul Mirabbasi2Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Maragheh, P.O.Box 55136-553, East Azerbaijan, Maragheh, Iran; Corresponding author.Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, University of Maragheh, P.O.Box 55136-553, East Azerbaijan, Maragheh, IranDepartment of Water Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahrekord University, IranStudy region: This study investigates the hydrological drought applied to five reservoirs in the Lake Urmia basin in Iran, a region suffering from unsustainable water resource management. Study focus: The study develops the Standardized Reservoir Index (SRI) for analyzing reservoir droughts using the standardization technique. Also, the copula analysis was conducted to calculate joint probabilities and return periods of drought characteristics, i.e., duration and severity. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and SRI time series were analyzed with the Sustainability Index (SI) to capture the anthropogenic impact on drought exacerbation. New hydrological insights for the region: The results reveal a 7- to 9-month lag time to propagate from meteorological drought (SPI) to hydrological drought (SRI). A comparison of SPI and SRI shows a significant SI decrease between 2 % and 13 %, highlighting anthropogenic impacts on drought exacerbation. Examination of the precipitation trend using the modified Mann-Kendall test also shows an insignificant trend at the 5 % significance level. The copulas were fitted with high accuracy, with Nash Sutcliffe efficiency values between 0.9 and 1, and root mean square error below 0.16. The results indicate that, from the perspective of the OR state, exacerbated hydrological droughts are detectable in the investigated reservoirs. The average probability of occurrence was 42 % for meteorological droughts and 46 % for hydrological droughts, for different severity and duration values.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825003015Hydrological droughtDrought monitoringDrought propagationMeteorological droughtSustainability index
spellingShingle Sina Sadeghfam
Hadi Farmani
Rasoul Mirabbasi
Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in Iran
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Hydrological drought
Drought monitoring
Drought propagation
Meteorological drought
Sustainability index
title Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in Iran
title_full Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in Iran
title_fullStr Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in Iran
title_full_unstemmed Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in Iran
title_short Developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula-based frequency analysis for Lake Urmia basin in Iran
title_sort developing reservoir drought index and conducting copula based frequency analysis for lake urmia basin in iran
topic Hydrological drought
Drought monitoring
Drought propagation
Meteorological drought
Sustainability index
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825003015
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AT hadifarmani developingreservoirdroughtindexandconductingcopulabasedfrequencyanalysisforlakeurmiabasininiran
AT rasoulmirabbasi developingreservoirdroughtindexandconductingcopulabasedfrequencyanalysisforlakeurmiabasininiran