Joint Risk Analysis of Meteorological Droughts (Case Study of East Iran)

Droughts are extreme phenomena that are described based on the characteristics of continuity in time and according to their spatial effects and can occur in any climatic situation. Recognition and behavior of droughts, which are closely and directly related to water resources management, are of particular importance. The main purpose of this study is to assess the risk of drought using Copula functions in the bivariate analysis of drought in the east of the country. For this purpose, drought characteristics including intensity and duration were extracted using modify standardized precipitation index (SPImod). To assess the risk of drought and analyze its two variables, the performance of nine copula functions of Clayton, Ali-Michael-Haq, Farli-Gumble-Morgenstern, Frank, Gumble, Gumble-Hoggard, Plackett, Filip-Gumble and Joe fits the intensity data and Drought duration was tested. Akaike criteria, maximum likelihood, and Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient were used to identify the superior joint function. The results showed that gamma and exponential distribution functions were identified as superior margin distribution functions for the variables of intensity and duration of drought, respectively, and the Nash-Sutcliffe coefficient ranged from 0.76 to 0.99, and the mean square error ranged from 0.007 to0 034., to determine the superior copula function, it was obtained that the copula function of the superior function was known to create a bivariate distribution in the study area. Also, the results of drought risk assessment using the joint return period showed that the highest risk is related to Bojnourd, Sabzevar, Torbat Heydariyeh, and Mashhad stations, so that Sabzevar station was dry about 53% of the total months during the statistical period and for Bojnourd station is about 55%. The results of risk analysis based on return period and copula functions can provide useful information to planners of water resources, environmental issues, farmers.