Nature and causes of protracted droughts in southeast Australia: Comparison between the Federation, WWII, and Big Dry droughts

Three protracted droughts have occurred during the instrumental history of Southeast Australia (SEA) – the “Federation” (∼1895–1902), “World War II” (∼1937–1945) and the “Big Dry” (∼1997–present). This paper compares the nature and causes of these droughts in order to better inform drought managemen...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical research letters 2009-11, Vol.36 (22), p.n/a
Main Authors: Verdon-Kidd, Danielle C., Kiem, Anthony S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Climate change
climate variability
Drivers
Drought
Droughts
Drying
Earth
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Federations
Footprints
Hydrology
Indian
Management
Marine
Oceans
Regions
Seasonal variations
southeast Australia
Strategy
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Summary:Three protracted droughts have occurred during the instrumental history of Southeast Australia (SEA) – the “Federation” (∼1895–1902), “World War II” (∼1937–1945) and the “Big Dry” (∼1997–present). This paper compares the nature and causes of these droughts in order to better inform drought management strategies in SEA. It is shown that the three droughts differ in terms of severity, spatial footprint, seasonality and seasonal rainfall make‐up. This diversity arises due to the fact that the droughts are driven by different climatic teleconnections with the Pacific, Indian and Southern Oceans. Importantly, this study highlights potential flaws with drought forecasting and management in SEA and emphasises the need for further research into understanding and representing hydroclimatic drivers of drought.
ISSN:0094-8276
1944-8007
DOI:10.1029/2009GL041067