Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2014ND288B

A Study of the Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of Drought and its Impact in North Dakota

Institute: North Dakota
Year Established: 2014 Start Date: 2014-03-01 End Date: 2015-02-28
Total Federal Funds: $9,151 Total Non-Federal Funds: $18,301

Principal Investigators: G. Padmanabhan

Project Summary: Droughts have significantly impacted North Dakota in the past. Frequent droughts are a characteristic feature of North Dakota climate. Drought impact is notably varied spatially within the State. Agriculture sector is highly impacted by droughts and has experienced vast losses, and is vulnerable to future drought threats. The past studies focused on economic impact of drought. However, there is still a need for comprehensive characterization of drought to understand the drought and its impact in North Dakota. Especially, the recent development and availability of computational tools can help for a better understanding of drought. Moreover, the recent drought events in this region emphasize the need of a rigorous drought study. The objective of the proposed research is to study the temporal and spatial variation of droughts in general, and the impact of drought in North Dakota. The specific objectives of this proposed study are to study the drought propagation mechanism based on the geospatial and temporal characteristics of droughts to gain a better understanding of the phenomenon to improve the drought monitoring/managing capability for North Dakota and to study the impact of drought on water availability and agriculture in North Dakota