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Managing Drought and Water Scarcity in Vulnerable Environments: Creating a Roadmap for Change in the United States (18–20 September 2006)

Paper No. 18
Presentation Time: 6:00 PM-8:00 PM

CLIMATOLOGICAL DROUGHT IN ARIZONA: AN ANALYSIS OF INDICATORS FOR GUIDING THE GOVERNOR'S DROUGHT TASK FORCE


GOODRICH, Gregory B., Geography & Geology, Western Kentucky University, 1906 College Heights Blvd #31066, Bowling Green, KY 42101-1066 and ELLIS, Andrew W., Geography, Arizona State University, P.O. Box 870104, Tempe, AZ 85287-0104, gregory.goodrich@wku.edu

Lacking a federal policy to address local water deficiencies within the U.S., many states have developed their own methods for monitoring drought in an effort to mitigate its effects. This study provides an overview of efforts to standardize the use of drought indices in order to compare recent and historical drought both spatially and temporally for Arizona. Yearly averages of the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) and the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) are placed into a frequency distribution to create standardization between the indices. The 1896-1904 drought ranked as most severe although the 1996-2004 drought was a close second.

Session No. 2--Booth# 18

Reception and Poster Session I
Monday, 18 September 2006: 6:00 PM-8:00 PM
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Speciality Meeting No. 3, p.20
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