Authors:
V. F. POPOVYCH, senior researcher,
Ie. A. DUNAIEVA, candidate of technical science, head of laboratory,
Research Institute of Agriculture of Crimea (150 Kievskaya str., 295453, Simferopol; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.).
Abstract. The article outlines the principles and approaches for monitoring the level of water availability in rural areas in the arid zone and oriented to rainfed farming, based on the methodology for the use of a standardized precipitation index (SPI) calculated from observations of the meteorological service network and satellite information. The application of procedures for normalization of the estimated parameters of this index makes them comparable for different territories as well as in time. Mapping, with different time steps, of the current situation on the SPI index is given for the territory of the Krasnogvardeysky district on the basis of processing of long-term series of observations of precipitation and using the tools of open geographic information systems (QGIS version 2.18) for the period 2010–2018. Despite the generally wet period of 2014–2016, in some months, the SPI index fell to less than «–1» (arid conditions), and in February 2014 was characterized as extremely dry (SPI = –2.14). However, short-term periods of arid conditions had practically no effect on the average water availability, characterized by a 12-month SPI value close to «+1» (i. e. wet years). Since June 2017, the value of annual SPI values has become steadily negative (the beginning of the onset of the dry period) and although in some months (August 2017 and January-February 2018) the index values were 0.67, 0.39 and 0.82 respectively, since September 2017, 12-month SPI values have fallen to «–1» (dry season) with individual monthly values, characterized as extremely dry conditions (September 2017, SPI = –2.66 and in April 2018 SPI = –2.36). The use of remote sensing data (GPM mission) allows mapping intra-district precipitation distribution with a spatial resolution of 0,1º, at the same time, the approbation of this technology for the territory of the Crimea showed their comparable accuracy only for the dry periods.
Keywords: water availability, standardized precipitation index, monitoring, mapping, aridity, GIS, RS, Crimea.
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