A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, Iran

Study Region: The Urmia Lake Basin (ULB) in northwestern Iran, a region highly susceptible to drought. Study Focus: Effective drought risk reduction necessitates comprehensive spatiotemporal assessment. The ULB has experienced a severe, near two-decade-long drought resulting in a 90 % reduction in l...

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Main Authors: Sadaf Samiei, Mohammadali Alijanian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-04-01
Series:Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825000278
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author Sadaf Samiei
Mohammadali Alijanian
author_facet Sadaf Samiei
Mohammadali Alijanian
author_sort Sadaf Samiei
collection DOAJ
description Study Region: The Urmia Lake Basin (ULB) in northwestern Iran, a region highly susceptible to drought. Study Focus: Effective drought risk reduction necessitates comprehensive spatiotemporal assessment. The ULB has experienced a severe, near two-decade-long drought resulting in a 90 % reduction in lake area. This situation has fueled debate between attributing the crisis to governance failures and emphasizing the role of drought. Hence, this study performs a comprehensive drought assessment, considering temporal, spatial, and risk reduction aspects. Using a 50-year (1971–2020) time series of multivariate Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) data (3, 6, 9, and 12-month timescales), the study employs Mann-Kendall, modified Mann-Kendall, and Sen's slope analyses to determine drought trends, examines spatial patterns using Severity Area Frequency (SAF) curves, and finally, evaluates drought risk reduction using resilience, vulnerability, and exposure factors. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: the study reveals a significant decreasing trend in SPEI values across the basin, particularly pronounced in the southern region, indicating worsening drought conditions. Regional drought assessment identified 1998 as the most severe drought event, exhibiting a 50-year return period basin-wide. Finally, risk assessment based on drought mitigation indicators shows the highest short-term and mid-term (SPEI3 and SPEI9) drought risk in the southern region. However, for long-term droughts (SPEI12), the eastern region displays the highest risk, while the southern region shows at the lower rank.
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spelling doaj-art-725ea215cf2a4ed49066b17c596872042025-01-31T05:11:20ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-04-0158102203A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, IranSadaf Samiei0Mohammadali Alijanian1Corresponding authors.; Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transportation, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranCorresponding authors.; Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Civil Engineering and Transportation, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, IranStudy Region: The Urmia Lake Basin (ULB) in northwestern Iran, a region highly susceptible to drought. Study Focus: Effective drought risk reduction necessitates comprehensive spatiotemporal assessment. The ULB has experienced a severe, near two-decade-long drought resulting in a 90 % reduction in lake area. This situation has fueled debate between attributing the crisis to governance failures and emphasizing the role of drought. Hence, this study performs a comprehensive drought assessment, considering temporal, spatial, and risk reduction aspects. Using a 50-year (1971–2020) time series of multivariate Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) data (3, 6, 9, and 12-month timescales), the study employs Mann-Kendall, modified Mann-Kendall, and Sen's slope analyses to determine drought trends, examines spatial patterns using Severity Area Frequency (SAF) curves, and finally, evaluates drought risk reduction using resilience, vulnerability, and exposure factors. New Hydrological Insights for the Region: the study reveals a significant decreasing trend in SPEI values across the basin, particularly pronounced in the southern region, indicating worsening drought conditions. Regional drought assessment identified 1998 as the most severe drought event, exhibiting a 50-year return period basin-wide. Finally, risk assessment based on drought mitigation indicators shows the highest short-term and mid-term (SPEI3 and SPEI9) drought risk in the southern region. However, for long-term droughts (SPEI12), the eastern region displays the highest risk, while the southern region shows at the lower rank.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825000278Meteorological droughtModified Mann-KendallRisk reductionSAF curvesSPEI Index
spellingShingle Sadaf Samiei
Mohammadali Alijanian
A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, Iran
Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Meteorological drought
Modified Mann-Kendall
Risk reduction
SAF curves
SPEI Index
title A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, Iran
title_full A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, Iran
title_fullStr A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, Iran
title_full_unstemmed A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, Iran
title_short A comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing SPEI index for Urmia Lake Basin, Iran
title_sort comprehensive spatiotemporal and risk reduction drought assessment study utilizing spei index for urmia lake basin iran
topic Meteorological drought
Modified Mann-Kendall
Risk reduction
SAF curves
SPEI Index
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581825000278
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