Skip to main content

Part of the book series: NATO ASI Series ((NSSE,volume 124))

Abstract

Drought problems must be analyzed and solved at a regional level. Drought studies must focus not only on the hydrological characterization of the phenomena but also formulate the results in terms of engineering risk. In this paper concepts and methods to characterize droughts as regional processes are presented. The concepts of risk, reliability, resiliency and vulnerability are applied to characterize regional droughts and provide an engineering framework to deal with drought problems. A Portuguese river basin (rio Ave) is used to illustrate the concepts and techniques presented in the paper. A multivariate stochastic model is used to generate a synthetic series of monthly precipitation at six distinct regions defined in the river basin. Thirty-three years of monthly data are used to calibrate the parameters of this model. The generated series is used to perform the study of regional droughts from an engineering risk point of view.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 349.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 449.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abreu, A. (1985 in preparation) Caracterizaçao Geral da Bacia Hidrografica do Rio Ave (General Characterization of the River Ave Watershed). Lisboa, Laboratdrio Nacional den Engenharia Civil

    Google Scholar 

  • Chow, V.T. (ed.) (1964) Handbook of Applied Hydrology. New York, McGraw Hill Book Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duckstein, L. and E. Plate (1983) A System Framework for Hydrological Reliability with Application to the Design of Structures. Proceedings of the Hamburg Symposium, International Association of Hydrologie Sciences.

    Google Scholar 

  • Duckstein, L., E. Plate and M. Benedini (1984) Incidents and Failures in Reservoirs and Dams: A Mathematical System Framework. Fall Meeting, American Geophysical Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, W. and J. Maher (1967) Rainfall Deciles as Drought Indicators. Bulletin No. 48, Melbourne, Bureau of Meterology.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto, T. (1980) Robustness, Reliability, Resilience and Vulnerability Criteria for Planning Water Resources Systems. Ph.D. Thesis, Ithaca, New York, Cornell University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hashimoto, T., J. Stedinger and D. Loucks (1982) Reliability, Resiliency and Vulnerability Criteria for Water Resource System Performance Evaluation. Water Resources Research, Vol. 18, No. 1, American Geophysical Union.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lang, R. (1915) Versuch einer exakten Klassifikation der Boden in klimatischer und geologischer Hinsicht (a Proposed Exact Classification of Soils from the Climatic and Geological Viewpoints). Internat’l Mittlg. Fur Bodenkunde, Vol. 5.

    Google Scholar 

  • Martonne, E. (1926) Une Nouvelle Fonction Climatologique: L’Indice d’Aridité (A New Climatological Function: The Aridity Index). Meteorologie, Vol. 2, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Palmer, W. (1965) Meteorological Drought. Paper No, 45, Washington D.C., U.S. Department of Commerce, Weather Bureau Research.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodrigues, R. and F. Correia (1985 in preparation) Caterizaçao do Regime de Preciptaçôes da Bacia Hidrografica do Rio Ave (General Characterization of the Precipitation Regime of the River Ave Watershed). Lisboa, Laboratdrio Nacional de Engenharia Civil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sancho, C. and D. Arias (1978) Analisis de las Sequias en Mexico (Analysis of Droughts in Mexico). Ciudad de Mexico, Comissión del Plan Nacional Hidraulico.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos, M. (1981) On the Stochastic Characterization of Regional Droughts. Research Officer Thesis. Lisboa, Laboratdrio Nacional de Engenharia Civil.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos, M. (1983) Regional Droughts: A Stochastic Characterization. Journal of Hydrology No. 66. Amsterdam, Elsevier Science Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Santos, M., F. Correia, and L. da Cunha (1984) Drought Characterization and Impact Assessment, Case Study of Portugal, in Coping with Droughts, Edited by Yevjevich, V., L. da Cunha and E. Vlachos, Littleton, Water Resources Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornthwaite, C. (1948) An Approach Toward a Rational Classification of Climate. Geographic Review, Vol. 38.

    Google Scholar 

  • WMO (1975) Drought. Special Environment Report No. 5, Geneva, Secretariat of the World Meteorological Organization.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1987 Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Correia, F.N., Santos, M.A., Rodrigues, R.R. (1987). Engineering Risk in Regional Drought Studies. In: Duckstein, L., Plate, E.J. (eds) Engineering Reliability and Risk in Water Resources. NATO ASI Series, vol 124. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3577-8_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-3577-8_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-94-010-8100-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-009-3577-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics