An Application of Palmer's Drought Index to a Semi-Arid Tropical Region
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Date
1987
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Revista Geofísica
Abstract
Palmer's Drought Index (PDI) was applied to a semi-arid region in Costa Rica. In the computations of the water balance, two modifications to Palmer's method were made. The method of Hargreaves was used to obtain potential evapotranspiration and the procedure of Thorntwaite and Mather to obtain potential runoff.
The period of analysis in the region was from June 1972 to December 1983 (i.e. 138 months), of which 32% had drought conditions, with 7% mild, 11% moderate, 11% severe, and 3% extreme droughts (according to Palmer's classification). The values obtained for the PDI were tested againts reports from the pess concerning crop damage by droughts and a very good agreement was found.
The dependence of the PDI on the available water capacity of the soil and the potential evapotranspiration is also discussed.
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Suárez, M.E., Fernández, W. y Hidalgo, H. (1987). An Application of Palmer's Drought Index to a Semi-Arid Tropical Region. Revista Geofísica, 27 13-33.