2010–2012 drought and flood events in the Amazon Basin inferred by GRACE satellite observations

Ning Nie; Wanchang Zhang; Huadong Guo; Natarajan Ishwaran

doi:10.1117/1.JRS.9.096023

4 August 2015 2010–2012 drought and flood events in the Amazon Basin inferred by GRACE satellite observations

Ning Nie, Wanchang Zhang, Huadong Guo, Natarajan Ishwaran

Author Affiliations +

Journal of Applied Remote Sensing, Vol. 9, Issue 1, 096023 (August 2015). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.9.096023

Abstract

The Amazon Basin experienced an abrupt transition from extreme drought to flood during 2010–2012, causing significant loss and damage to the property of thousands of families. We used datasets derived from the latest products of the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), and the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) to assess the extent, intensity, and dynamics of the 2010–2012 abrupt transition from extreme drought to flood in the Amazon. The monthly developing processes during the abrupt transition from extreme drought to flood between 2010 and 2012 were reproduced and examined by comparisons between GRACE terrestrial water storage anomaly and the precipitation derived from TRMM satellite estimates and GLDAS datasets. Accumulated precipitation during the peak of 2010 drought and 2012 flood looks very much similar to terrestrial water storage deficit and surplus, both at the temporal and spatial scales. Furthermore, strong correlations between the 2010 and 2012 extreme drought/flood events over the Amazon and El Niño-Southern Oscillation were also detected. This study can be helpful for archiving historical information on disasters that can contribute to the elaboration of regional scale drought/flood disaster prevention and mitigation strategies in the Amazon.

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Ning Nie, Wanchang Zhang, Huadong Guo, and Natarajan Ishwaran "2010–2012 drought and flood events in the Amazon Basin inferred by GRACE satellite observations," Journal of Applied Remote Sensing 9(1), 096023 (4 August 2015). https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JRS.9.096023

Published: 4 August 2015

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