Precipitation and drought trends (1952–2021) in a key hydrological recharge area of the eastern Iberian Peninsula

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Title: Precipitation and drought trends (1952–2021) in a key hydrological recharge area of the eastern Iberian Peninsula
Authors: Miró, Juan Javier | Estrela, María J. | Corell, David | Gómez, Igor | Luna, María Yolanda
Research Group/s: Grupo de Ingeniería y Riesgo Sísmico (GIRS)
Center, Department or Service: Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Física Aplicada | Universidad de Alicante. Instituto Multidisciplinar para el Estudio del Medio "Ramón Margalef"
Keywords: Annual and seasonal trends | Dry spell | Climate change | Precipitation | SPEI | Drought
Issue Date: 1-Mar-2023
Publisher: Elsevier
Citation: Atmospheric Research. 2023, 286: 106695. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106695
Abstract: The objective of the study is to quantify the effect of climate change on the climatic risks associated with droughts and diminished water resources in the eastern Iberian Peninsula. For this purpose, this work analyses the 70-year historical series (1952–2021) of daily rainfall data from 353 meteorological stations. They are located in a key recharge area of the hydrological system, the Sierra de Albarracín, where three important rivers originate, namely the Tagus, the Júcar and the Turia, as do several tributaries of the Guadiana and Ebro rivers. It analyses trends in: annual and seasonal rainfall volumes with specific studies about their intensity according to certain percentiles; the number of rainy days, dry spell duration (< 1 mm/day) and drought evolution with the Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index. The most relevant results are: (1) the second 35 years of the study period (1987–2021) were notably drier than the first part (1952–1986), with smaller volumes and fewer days with recorded precipitation; (2) summer and winter were most affected by pluviometric decrease, with losses of >50% of rainfall volume at some stations; (3) moderate rainfall significantly reduced between the 50th and 95th percentiles, which were more important in the system's water recharge; (4) the stations with a negative precipitation trend predominated; (5) the medium- and long-term analyses (12 and 36 months) highlighted the drought situation in which the headwaters of the analyzed basins are immersed. The trend indicates that the situation will become critical.
Sponsor: This study has been funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation through Research Project PID2020-118797RB-I00 (MCIN/ AEI /10.13039/501100011033) and by the Generalitat Valenciana with Research Project PROMETEO/2021/016 (Conselleria d'Innovació, Universitats, Ciència i Societat Digital).
URI: http://hdl.handle.net/10045/132587
ISSN: 0169-8095 (Print) | 1873-2895 (Online)
DOI: 10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106695
Language: eng
Type: info:eu-repo/semantics/article
Rights: © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/).
Peer Review: si
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosres.2023.106695
Appears in Collections:INV - GIRS - Artículos de Revistas

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