Copula-based multivariate frequency analysis of the 2012–2018 drought in Northeast Brazil

The 2012–2018 drought was such an extreme event in the drought-prone area of Northeast Brazil that it triggered a discussion about proactive drought management. This paper aims at understanding the causes and consequences of this event and analyzes its frequency. A consecutive sequence of sea surfac...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Pontes Filho, João Dehon, Souza Filho, Francisco de Assis, Martins, Eduardo Sávio Passos Rodrigues, et al
Formato: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2020
País:Brasil
Recursos:Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)
Repositorio:Repositório Institucional da Universidade Federal do Ceará (UFC)
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:repositorio.ufc.br:riufc/59189
Acesso em linha:http://www.repositorio.ufc.br/handle/riufc/59189
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Seca
Cópula
Peixes
Fish
Drought
Copula
Descrição
Resumo:The 2012–2018 drought was such an extreme event in the drought-prone area of Northeast Brazil that it triggered a discussion about proactive drought management. This paper aims at understanding the causes and consequences of this event and analyzes its frequency. A consecutive sequence of sea surface temperature anomalies in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, at both the decadal and interannual scales, led to this severe and persistent drought. Drought duration and severity were analyzed using run theory at the hydrographic region scale as decision-makers understand impact analysis better at this scale. Copula functions were used to properly model drought joint characteristics as they presented different marginal distributions and an asymmetric behavior. The 2012–2018 drought in Ceará State had the highest mean bivariate return period ever recorded, estimated at 240 years. Considering drought duration and severity simultaneously at the level of the hydrographic regions improves risk assessment. This result advances our understanding of exceptional events. In this sense, the present work proposes the use of this analysis as a tool for proactive drought planning.