Abstract

DIAZ, Enea et al. Identification and Characterization of Hydrological Drought in Argentina. Tecnol. cienc. agua [online]. 2016, vol.7, n.1, pp.125-133. ISSN 2007-2422.

The temporal and spatial distribution of water resources need to be determined for adequate water planning and management. Droughts are highly complex and extreme hydrological phenomena which affect the development and use of water resources in a single region. In this work, droughts were identified and characterized from the hydrological perspective, with the largest spatial area and time period possible given the available flow data. The study area includes 14 hydrographic basins in Argentina (Colorado, Mendoza, San Juan, Atuel, Ctalamochita, Anisacate, Xanaes, Suquía, Dulce, Juramento, Salado, Paraná, Bermejo and Pilcomayo rivers). The objective was to spatially and temporally identify and characterize hydrological droughts to evaluate the regional water availability, which is an essential component in water planning. This work defines a hydrological drought as an event in which water flow (annual mean) in unregulated natural basins is lower than the flow value that occurs over 70% of the time. The simultaneous occurrence of multi-year droughts in spatially large areas is a result of climate variability. This information is relevant to the management of water resources given that the supply of water for human, irrigation and energy production uses, among others, may be seriously affected by a simultaneously occurrence of severe droughts in basins that supply a particular region or neighboring areas.

Keywords : Hydrological drought; annual flows; management.

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