Drought In Australia

1676 Words4 Pages

Erin Bell
25668870

Influence of Climatic Processes on Drought in Southeastern Australia

Briefly discuss the concept of drought and compare the various definitions. Discuss three climatic processes that influence drought in the southeast Australia, highlighting the reasons why the region is so susceptible to various forms of drought.

Introduction: Concepts of Drought

Drought has often been referred to as a ‘creeping phenomenon’, due to its slow development and prolonged duration (Wilhite and Glantz, 1985), making it very different from most other environmental hazards such as earthquake or tsunamis (Smith, 2013, p. 337). Drought, again unlike its fellow environmental hazards, is not restricted to any specific geological area or tectonic …show more content…

The consequences of drought can be difficult or even impossible to assess due to the immense range of factors that contribute to its outcomes. These include duration, geographical location, intensity, demands of human activity, socioeconomic status of the area, and vegetative needs in the region (Wilhite and Glantz, 1985.) Simply put drought is complicated. At its simplest definition drought is an unusual dry period resulting in a shortage of water, more specifically a shortage of useful water (Smith, 2013, p.337). There are four main types of drought, including meteorological drought, or amount of rainfall in an area, hydrological drought, or the water levels in bodies of water such as streams or rivers, agricultural drought, or the water level in soils, and lastly socioeconomic drought, or the effect of drought on the economy and population of the affected area (Smith, 2013, p. …show more content…

An El Nino event , the opposite of a La Niña, occurs when the Pacific Ocean and the atmosphere interact to create a ‘feedback loop’, exaggerating small changes in the state of the ocean, causing a deviation from its usual state (Kuhnel and Coates, 2000). These changes are usually driven by temperature gradients above and below the surface, specifically the thermocline (An analysis of the La Niña events in Australia, 2014). ENSOs generally begin during autumn in the southern hemisphere, strengthening throughout winter and spring, continuing until another autumn season when the tropical Pacific Ocean temperatures settle the differences in temperature between the east and west, typically lasting for only one season (An analysis of the La Niña events in Australia, 2014). El Niño events are linked to the warming of the central and eastern tropical Pacific, because of a warming of ocean temperature in spots that are normally cool, and vice versa (An analysis of the La Niña events in Australia, 2014). During an ENSO event, trade winds may weaken or reverse moving the newly warmer water into the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean (An analysis of the La Niña events in Australia, 2014). This leaves the sea surface temperatures around northern Australia cooler than normal, lessening the chance of tropical cyclones, decreasing

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