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Application of Archimedean Copulas to the Analysis of Drought Decadal Variation in China

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Abstract

Based on daily precipitation data collected from 1171 stations in China during 1961-2015, the monthly standardized precipitation index was derived and used to extract two major drought characteristics which are drought duration and severity. Next, a bivariate joint model was established based on the marginal distributions of the two variables and Archimedean copula functions. The joint probability and return period were calculated to analyze the drought characteristics and decadal variation. According to the fit analysis, the Gumbel-Hougaard copula provided the best fit to the observed data. Based on four drought duration classifications and four severity classifications, the drought events were divided into 16 drought types according to the different combinations of duration and severity classifications, and the probability and return period were analyzed for different drought types. The results showed that the occurring probability of six common drought types (0 < D ≤ 1 and 0.5 < S ≤ 1, 1 < D ≤ 3 and 0.5 < S ≤ 1, 1 < D ≤ 3 and 1 < S ≤ 1.5, 1 < D ≤ 3 and 1.5 < S ≤ 2, 1 < D ≤ 3 and 2 < S, and 3 < D ≤ 6 and 2 < S) accounted for 76% of the total probability of all types. Moreover, due to their greater variation, two drought types were particularly notable, i.e., the drought types where D ≥ 6 and S ≥ 2. Analyzing the joint probability in different decades indicated that the location of the drought center had a distinctive stage feature, which cycled from north to northeast to southwest during 1961-2015. However, southwest, north, and northeast China had a higher drought risk. In addition, the drought situation in southwest China should be noted because the joint probability values, return period, and the analysis of trends in the drought duration and severity all indicated a considerable risk in recent years.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Mathematics and Science, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

    Dongdong Zuo, Guolin Feng, Zengping Zhang & Wei Hou

  2. National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Beijing, China

    Guolin Feng & Wei Hou

  3. Institute of Physics Science and Technology, Yangzhou University, Yangzhou, China

    Dongdong Zuo, Guolin Feng & Zengping Zhang

  4. National Climate Center, China Meteorological Administration, Room 7007, No. 46, Zhongguancun South Street, 100081, Haidian District, Beijing, China

    Wei Hou

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  1. Dongdong Zuo
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  2. Guolin Feng
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  4. Wei Hou
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Correspondence to Wei Hou.

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Zuo, D., Feng, G., Zhang, Z. et al. Application of Archimedean Copulas to the Analysis of Drought Decadal Variation in China. Asia-Pacific J Atmos Sci 54, 125–143 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13143-017-0065-9

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