Progress 07/01/07 to 06/30/12
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project is a continuation of ongoing efforts at the University of Nebraska's National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) to improve drought risk management in the U.S. and internationally through the adoption of a more proactive, risk-based management approach. The objectives of this project are 1) to improve drought-coping capacity of governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations through research and outreach activities directed at developing and evaluating drought plans and policies in the U.S. and elsewhere and 2) to develop and evaluate new decision support tools and methodologies for assessing drought severity, impacts, risk assessment, and mitigation actions and to develop appropriate mechanisms for delivering this information to stakeholders and end-users in the U.S. and elsewhere. During the past year, progress on drought planning has been made within the U.S. working directly with Colorado, Hawaii, South Dakota, several municipalities, livestock producers, and indirectly with several other states and through the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Internationally, progress has been made working with scientists in China, the Czech Republic, Austria, Canada, and Mexico. The NDMC also hosted visiting scientists during the year for various extended stays from China, the Czech Republic, and Ethiopia. Both Wilhite and Hayes have participated in various international efforts to improve international drought monitoring and drought policy activities. Hayes was on the organizing committee for the Global Drought Information System (GDIS) Workshop held in Frascati, Italy, in April 2012. Wilhite and Hayes were both presenters for this workshop. Meanwhile, Wilhite has been a co-chair for the International Organizing Committee for the High-level Meeting on National Drought Policy (HMNDP) to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, in March 2013. Both Wilhite and Hayes are on the agenda for this upcoming meeting. The U.S. Drought Monitor, the North American Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, and the Vegetation Drought Response Index are all operational tools that the NDMC is either involved in or directly hosts that particular tool's website. The NDMC is heavily engaged NIDIS activities, hosting and participating in multiple NIDIS-sponsored meetings and workshops held around the country in 2012. Wilhite, Hayes, and Mark Svoboda were all on the organizing committee for, and participated within, the National Drought Forum held in Washington, D.C., December 12-13. The NDMC disseminates information and results through a variety of means: the NDMC website, the U.S. Drought Monitor website, the Drought Impact Reporter website, the NDMC's quarterly newsletter DroughtScape, and the NDMC faculty gave approximately 75 presentations this past year to a variety of audiences around the world. The NDMC also hosted 40 national and international visitors at the NDMC during 2012. PARTICIPANTS: Primary participants within the project include the NDMC faculty and staff. The faculty involved include: Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Cody Knutson, Brian Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Deborah Bathke, and Brian Fuchs. Don Wilhite, the Director of UNL's School of Natural Resources until July 31, 2012, is also involved. The NDMC engages a wide variety of collaborators in order to carry out its mission across the United States and around the world. Within the United States, this collaboration includes federal agencies (i.e., NOAA, USDA, USGS, NASA, EPA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation) and federal programs such as NIDIS, universities, states, tribes, local entities and communities, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. International collaboration has included includes scientists and policy makers in 1) Canada and Mexico with the North American Drought Monitor product; 2) Czech Republic and Austria on drought monitoring and climate change research; 3) Slovenia on assistance and information exchange with the Drought Management Center for Southeast Europe (DMCSEE); 4) Australia on drought policy and drought monitoring research and information exchange; 5) Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Morocco, Mali, China, India, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Jordan, and India on drought policy advising and information exchange; and 6) the World Meteorological Organization and its affiliations around the world on drought indices and integrated drought management. Through workshops offered by the NDMC and those in which we participate, many professional development opportunities are provided to a very diverse clientele. TARGET AUDIENCES: Since this project supports the overall NDMC mission to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, the target audience for the project includes scientists, policy makers, natural resource managers, the media, and the general public. The information provided by the NDMC through direct contact and via the NDMC website provides the basis for improved decision making and, therefore, the mitigation of the most serious impacts of drought events. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Existing and new products and tools are being enhanced or created through this project, including monitoring, mitigation, risk assessment, and planning products and tools. This is an ongoing process. Some of these tools include the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, the Vegetation Drought Response Index, the Vegetation Outlook, the Managing Drought Risk on the Ranch project, the Drought Ready Communities project, and the Drought Atlas. The U.S. Drought Monitor is now being used as a decision trigger for drought relief programs within USDA (based on the 2008 Farm Bill) and the Internal Revenue Service. The extremely severe drought across the southern Plains in 2011 and across much of the central United States in 2012 is highlighting the need for tools like the U.S. Drought Monitor and the Drought Impact Reporter; which have both proven critical for identifying the severity and location of the drought conditions across this region. The NDMC continues to serve as a liaison between producers, researchers, and agencies.
Publications
- Bathke, D.J., N. Wall, J. Nothwehr, K. Smith, D. Woudenberg, T. Bernadt, C. Bergman, J. Robine, M. Hayes, M. Svoboda, L. Darby, and R. Pulwarty. 2012. Building a Sustainable Network of Drought Communities, NIDIS, available www.drought.gov, 37 pp.
- Berhan, G., T. Tadesse, S. Atnafu, S. Hill, and Y. Tesfatsion. 2012. Application of NDVI and SPI parameters to monitor drought at national scale: the case of Ethiopia. Ethiopian Journal of Development Research, 34 (1): 67-94.
- Botterill, L. C. and M. Hayes, 2012. Drought triggers and declarations: science and policy considerations for drought risk management. Natural Hazards, 64: 139-151.
- Fontaine, M., A. Steinemann, and M. Hayes. 2012. State drought programs and plans: survey of the western U.S. Natural Hazards Review, doi: 10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000094.
- Fuchs, B. A. and D. Gutzmer. 2012. The impact of drought on food production. Water Resources Impact, American Water Resources Association, 14(6): 3-6.
- Hayes, M. 2012. The Drought Risk Management Paradigm in the Context of Climate Change. In: Climate Change Impacts, Vulnerability, and Adaptation in the Midwest, S. Pryor, ed., University of Indiana Press, pp. 178-189.
- Hayes, M. J., M. D. Svoboda, B. D. Wardlow, M. C. Anderson, and F. Kogan. 2012. Drought Monitoring: Historical and Current Perspectives. In: Remote Sensing of Drought: Innovative Monitoring Approaches, B. Wardlow, M. Anderson, and J. Verdin, eds., Taylor and Francis, pp. 1-19.
- Tadesse, T., B. D. Wardlow, M. D. Svoboda, M .J. Hayes. 2012. Predicting Remote Sensing Based Seasonal Greenness: the Vegetation Outlook (VegOut). In: Remote Sensing of Drought: Innovative Approaches to Monitoring, B. Wardlow, M. Anderson, and J. Verdin, eds., Taylor and Francis, pp. 75-94.
- Wardlow, B.D., T. Tadesse, J.F. Brown, K. Callahan, S. Swain, and E. Hunt. 2012. The Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI): an integration of satellite, bioclimate, and biophysical data. In Remote Sensing and Drought: Innovative Approaches to Monitoring, B. Wardlow, M. Anderson, and J. Verdin, eds., Taylor and Francis, pp. 51-74.
- Wilhite, D., M. Svoboda and M.J. Hayes. 2012. Drought in Encyclopedia of Environmetrics Second Edition, A.-H. El-Shaarawi and W. Piegorsch (eds). John Wiley & Sons Ltd, Chichester, UK, pp. 723-729. DOI: 10.1002/9780470057339.vnn046.
- World Meteorological Organization. 2012. Standardized Precipitation Index User Guide. Svoboda, M., M. Hayes and D. Wood, eds. WMO-No. 1090, Geneva, Switzerland.
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Progress 10/01/10 to 09/30/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project is a continuation of ongoing efforts at the University of Nebraska's National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) to improve drought risk management in the U.S. and internationally through the adoption of a more proactive, risk-based management approach. The objectives of this project are 1) to improve drought-coping capacity of governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations through research and outreach activities directed at developing and evaluating drought plans and policies in the U.S. and elsewhere and 2) to develop and evaluate new decision support tools and methodologies for assessing drought severity, impacts, risk assessment, and mitigation actions and to develop appropriate mechanisms for delivering this information to stakeholders and end-users in the U.S. and elsewhere. During the past year, progress on drought planning has been made within the U.S. working directly with Colorado, Hawaii, several municipalities, livestock producers, and indirectly with several other states and through the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS). Internationally, progress has been made working with scientists in China, the Czech Republic, and Austria. The NDMC also hosted visiting scientists during the year for various extended stays from China, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. Both Wilhite and Hayes have participated in various international efforts to improve international drought monitoring and drought policy activities. The U.S. Drought Monitor, the North American Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, and the Vegetation Drought Response Index are all operational tools that the NDMC is either involved in or directly hosts that particular tool's website. The NDMC is heavily engaged NIDIS activities, hosting and participating in multiple NIDIS-sponsored meetings and workshops held around the country in 2011. The NDMC disseminates information and results through a variety of means: the NDMC website has more than 500,000 visits per year; the U.S. Drought Monitor website has more than 1.8 million visits per year; the Drought Impact Reporter website has about 70,000 visits per year; the NDMC's quarterly newsletter DroughtScape, and the NDMC faculty gave approximately 100 presentations this past to a variety of audiences around the world. PARTICIPANTS: Primary participants within the project include the NDMC faculty and staff. The faculty involved include Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Cody Knutson, Brian Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Deborah Bathke, Ya Ding, and Donna Woudenberg. Don Wilhite, the Director of UNL's School of Natural Resources, is also involved. The NDMC engages a wide variety of collaborators in order to carry out its mission across the United States and around the world. Within the United States, this collaboration includes federal agencies (i.e., NOAA, USDA, USGS, NASA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation) and federal programs such as NIDIS, universities, states, tribes, local entities and communities, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. International collaboration has included includes scientists and policy makers in 1) Canada and Mexico with the North American Drought Monitor product; 2) Czech Republic and Austria on drought monitoring and climate change research; 3) Slovenia on assistance and information exchange with the Drought Management Center for Southeast Europe (DMCSEE); 4) Australia on drought policy and drought monitoring research and information exchange; 5) Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Morocco, Mali, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Jordan, and India on drought policy advising and information exchange; and 6) the World Meteorological Organization and its affiliations around the world on drought indices and integrated drought management. Through workshops offered by the NDMC and those in which we participate, many professional development opportunities are provided to a very diverse clientele. TARGET AUDIENCES: Since this project supports the overall NDMC mission to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, the target audience for the project includes scientists, policy makers, natural resource managers, the media, and the general public. The information provided by the NDMC through direct contact and via the NDMC website provides the basis for improved decision making and, therefore, the mitigation of the most serious impacts of drought events. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: None reported.
Impacts
Existing and new products and tools are being enhanced or created through this project, including monitoring, mitigation, risk assessment, and planning products and tools. This is an ongoing process. Some of these tools include the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, the Vegetation Drought Response Index, the Vegetation Outlook, the Planning for Risk on the Ranch project, and the Drought Atlas. The U.S. Drought Monitor is now being used as a decision trigger for drought relief programs within USDA (based on the 2008 Farm Bill) and the Internal Revenue Service. The extremely severe drought across the southern Plains in 2011 is highlighting the need for tools like the U.S. Drought Monitor and the Drought Impact Reporter; which have both proven critical for identifying the severity and location of the drought conditions across this region. The NDMC continues to serve as a liaison between producers, researchers, and agencies.
Publications
- Anderson, M.C., C. Hain, B. Wardlow, A. Pimstein, J.R. Mecikalski, and W.P. Kustas. 2011. Evaluation of a drought index based on thermal remote sensing of evapotranspiration over the continental U.S. Journal of Climate 24:2025-2044.
- Berhan, G., T. Tadesse, S. Hill, and S. Atnafu. 2011. Drought Monitoring in Food-Insecure Areas of Ethiopia by Using Satellite Technologies. In: Experiences of Climate Change Adaptation in Africa, Leal Filho, Walter (Ed.). Climate Change Management, 2011, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-22315-0.
- Ding Y., M Hayes, and M. Widhalm. 2011. Measuring economic impacts of drought: a review and discussion. Disaster Prevention and Management, 20(4): 434-446.
- Hayes, M., M. Svoboda, N. Wall, and M. Widhalm. 2011. The Lincoln Declaration on Drought Indices: Universal meteorological drought index recommended. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 92(4): 485-488.
- Hlavinka, P., M. Trnka, J. Balek, D. Semeradova, M. Hayes, M. Svoboda, J. Eitzinger, M. Mozny, M. Fischer, E. Hunt, and Z. Zalud. 2011. Development and evaluation of the SoilClim model for water balance and soil climate estimates. Agricultural Water Management, 98(8): 1249-1261.
- Knutson, C.L., T. Haigh, M. Hayes, M. Widlham, J. Nothwehr, and M. Kleinschmidt. 2011. Farmer Perceptions of Sustainable Agriculture Practices and Drought Risk Reduction in Nebraska, USA, Journal of Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 26(3): 255-266.
- Sakamoto, T., B.D. Wardlow, and A.A. Gitelson. 2011. Detecting region-based corn phenology in the U.S. Corn Belt using MODIS WDRVI data. IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing 49(6):1926-1936.
- Sivakumar, M.K.V., R. Motha, D. Wilhite, and D. Wood. 2011. Proceedings of an Expert Meeting on Agricultural Drought Indices. Murcia, Spain. June, 2010.
- Sivakumar, M.K.V., R. Pulwarty, D. Wilhite, and J. Ginnetti. 2011. Proposed Elements in a Compendium on National Drought Policy. Proceedings of an Expert Meeting on National Drought Policy. World Meteorological Organization.
- Sivakumar, M.K.V., D. Wilhite, and J. Qu. 2011. Proceeding of an Expert Meeting on National Drought Policy. George Mason University. George Mason University. July 2011.
- Swain, S., B.D. Wardlow, S. Narumalani, T. Tadesse, and K. Callahan. 2011. Assessment of vegetation response to drought in Nebraska using Terra-MODIS land surface temperature and normalized difference vegetation index. GIScience and Remote Sensing 48(3):432-455.
- Wilhite, D.A. 2011. Breaking the Hydro-Illogical Cycle: Progress or Status Quo for Drought Management in the United States. European Water 34: 3-16.
- Wilhite, D.A. 2011. National Drought Policies: Addresses Impacts and Societal Vulnerability. In: Sivakumar, M.K.V., D. Wilhite, and J. Qu. 2011. Proceeding of an Expert Meeting on National Drought Policy. George Mason University. July 2011.
- Wilhite, D.A. 2011. Essential Elements of National Drought Policy: Moving Towards Creating National Drought Policy Guidelines. In: Sivakumar, M.K.V., D. Wilhite, and J. Qu. 2011. Proceeding of an Expert Meeting on National Drought Policy. George Mason University. July 2011.
- Wilhite, D.A. 2011. Quantification of Agricultural Drought for Effective Drought Mitigation and Preparedness: Key Issues and Challenges. In: Sivakumar, M.K.V., R. Motha, D. Wilhite, and D. Wood. 2011. Proceedings of an Expert Meeting on Agricultural Drought Indices. Murcia, Spain. June, 2010.
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Progress 10/01/09 to 09/30/10
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project is a continuation of ongoing efforts at the University of Nebraska's National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) to improve drought risk management in the U.S. and internationally through the adoption of a more proactive, risk-based management approach. The objectives of this project are 1) to improve drought-coping capacity of governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations through research and outreach activities directed at developing and evaluating drought plans and policies in the U.S. and elsewhere and 2) to develop and evaluate new decision support tools and methodologies for assessing drought severity, impacts, risk assessment, and mitigation actions and to develop appropriate mechanisms for delivering this information to stakeholders and end-users in the U.S. and elsewhere. During the past year, progress on drought planning has been made within the U.S. working directly with Colorado, Hawaii, several municipalities, livestock producers, and indirectly with several other states. Internationally, progress has been made working with scientists in the Czech Republic and Austria. The NDMC also hosted visiting scientists during the year for various extended stays from Japan, Korea, Australia, and the Netherlands. Both Wilhite and Hayes participated in the 2nd International Conference on Climate, Sustainability, and Development in Semi-Arid Regions in Fortaleza, Brazil, in August. Both participated again in the Consultation Meeting on the Integrated Drought Management Programme hosted by the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland, in November. Wilhite and Hayes co-hosted Dr. Linda Botterill from the Australian National University. Dr. Botterill is a drought policy expert, and her month-long visit to the NDMC in June culminated with a series of meetings in Washington, D.C., a briefing on Capitol Hill, and a joint Botterill-Wilhite seminar at the Australian Embassy. The U.S. Drought Monitor, the North American Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, and the Vegetation Drought Response Index are all operational tools that the NDMC is either involved in or directly hosts that particular tool's website. The NDMC finished work with the National Weather Service to identify the low flow-related impacts on two critical river basins in the United States (the Upper Colorado River Basin and the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin). The NDMC is heavily engaged in the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) activities, and participated in several NIDIS meetings around the country in 2010. Both Wilhite and Hayes participated in the NIDIS Executive Council Meeting held in Washington, D.C. in September. The NDMC disseminates information and results through a variety of means: the NDMC website has more than 500,000 visits per year; the U.S. Drought Monitor website has more than 1.8 million visits per year; the Drought Impact Reporter website has about 70,000 visits per year; the NDMC's quarterly newsletter DroughtScape, and the NDMC faculty gave approximately 100 presentations this past to a variety of audiences around the world. PARTICIPANTS: Primary participants within the project include the NDMC faculty and staff. The faculty involved include Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Cody Knutson, Brian Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Deborah Bathke, Ya Ding, and Donna Woudenberg. Don Wilhite, the Director of UNL's School of Natural Resources, is also involved. The NDMC engages a wide variety of collaborators in order to carry out its mission across the United States and around the world. Within the United States, this collaboration includes federal agencies (i.e., NOAA, USDA, USGS, NASA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation) and federal programs such as the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), universities, states, tribes, local entities and communities, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. International collaboration has included includes scientists and policy makers in 1) Canada and Mexico with the North American Drought Monitor product; 2) Czech Republic and Austria on drought monitoring and climate change research; 3) Slovenia on assistance and information exchange with the Drought Management Center for Southeast Europe (DMCSEE); 4) Australia on drought policy and drought monitoring research and information exchange; 5) Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Morocco, Mali, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Jordan, and India on drought policy advising and information exchange; and 6) the World Meteorological Organization and its affiliations around the world on drought indices and integrated drought management. Through workshops offered by the NDMC and those in which we participate, many professional development opportunities are provided to a very diverse clientele. TARGET AUDIENCES: Since this project supports the overall NDMC mission to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, the target audience for the project includes scientists, policy makers, natural resource managers, the media, and the general public. The information provided by the NDMC through direct contact and via the NDMC website provides the basis for improved decision making and, therefore, the mitigation of the most serious impacts of drought events. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Existing and new products and tools are being enhanced or created through this project, including monitoring, mitigation, risk assessment, and planning products and tools. This is an ongoing process. Some of these tools include the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, the Vegetation Drought Response Index, the Vegetation Outlook, the Planning for Risk on the Ranch project, and the Drought Atlas. The U.S. Drought Monitor is now being used as a decision trigger for drought relief programs within USDA (based on the 2008 Farm Bill) and the Internal Revenue Service. The currently developing drought in the southeastern United States is highlighting the need for tools like the U.S. Drought Monitor and the Drought Impact Reporter; which have both proven critical for identifying the severity and location of the drought conditions across this region. The NDMC continues to serve as a liaison between producers, researchers, and agencies. As a result of the World Meteorological Organization's meeting in Lincoln, NE, in December 2009 (co-hosted by the NDMC and the School of Natural Resources at UNL), the Standardized Precipitation Index was recommended as one index that should be implemented by all meteorological services around the world. A follow-up meeting on agricultural drought indices was held in Murcia, Spain, in summer 2010. An additional meeting on hydrological drought indices is being held in New Delhi, India, in January 2011. Each of these meetings is going to improve the capacities for global drought monitoring.
Publications
- Ryu, J.H., M.D. Svoboda, J.D. Lenters, T. Tadesse, and C. Knutson, 2010. Finding Potential Extents for ENSO-Driven Hydrologic Drought Forecasts in the United States, Climatic Change, 101:575-597.
- Tadesse, T., B.D. Wardlow, K. Callahan, and C.C. Poulsen, 2010. Integrating satellite, climate, oceanic, and biophysical information to predict the general vegetation condition. Association of American Geographers' Annual Meeting, Washington, DC, April 14-18.
- Tadesse, T., B. Wardlow, M. Hayes, M. Svoboda, and J. Brown. 2010. The Vegetation Condition Outlook (VegOut): a new method for predicting vegetation seasonal greenness. GIScience and Remote Sensing 47 (1): 25-52.
- Tadesse, T, B. Wardlow, M. Hayes, M. Svoboda, J. Li, K. Callahan, and C.C. Poulsen, 2010. Scenario-based vegetation outlook (S-VegOut): predicting general vegetation condition using different scenarios over the central United States. 90th Annual American Meteorological Society Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA, January 17-21.
- Tadesse, T., B. D. Wardlow, M. J. Hayes, M. D. Svoboda, J. Li, C. C. Poulsen, and K. Callahan, 2010. Predicting general vegetation condition using different scenarios over the central U.S. Second Annual International Conference of "Water for Food: Growing More with Less", May 2-5, 2010, Lincoln, Nebraska.
- Wardlow, B.D. and S.L. Egbert, 2010. A comparison of MODIS 250-m evi and ndvi data for crop mapping in the U.S. Central Great Plains. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 31(3), 805-830.
- Wardlow, B., M. Hayes, M. Svoboda, and T. Tadesse, 2010. Opportunities for integrating NASA data into drought applications: a prospectus from the National Drought Mitigation Center. NASA White Paper, NASA Headquarters, Hydrology and Agricultural Applications Branch, Washington, D.C.
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Progress 10/01/08 to 09/30/09
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project is a continuation of ongoing efforts at the University of Nebraska's National Drought Mitigation Center (NDMC) to improve drought management in the U.S. and internationally through the adoption of a more proactive, risk-based management approach. The objectives of this project are 1) to improve drought-coping capacity of governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations through research and outreach activities directed at developing and evaluating drought plans and policies in the U.S. and elsewhere and 2) to develop and evaluate new decision support tools and methodologies for assessing drought severity, impacts, risk assessment, and mitigation actions and to develop appropriate mechanisms for delivering this information to stakeholders and end-users in the U.S. and elsewhere. During the past year, progress on drought planning has been made within the U.S. working directly with Colorado, Missouri, Hawaii, several municipalities, livestock producers, and indirectly with several other states. Internationally, progress has been made working with scientists in the Czech Republic, Austria, China, Korea, and Japan. The NDMC hosted a workshop on drought monitoring and planning in Bamako, Mali, and will co-host another workshop with the World Meteorological Organization and the School of Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in December 2009. Overall, the NDMC organized and hosted 15 drought-related workshops across the United States in 2009. The U.S. Drought Monitor, the North American Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, and the Vegetation Drought Response Index are all operational tools that the NDMC is either involved in or directly hosts that particular tool's website. The NDMC continues to work with the National Weather Service to identify the low flow-related impacts on several critical river basins in the United States. Work also continues with stakeholders within the Missouri River Basin to understand their drought- and climate-related information needs, as well as work on understanding the economic impacts caused by droughts. The NDMC is heavily engaged in the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) activities, and has helped organize and host several NIDIS workshops and pilot projects around the country in 2009, including a NIDIS workshop focused on drought- and climate change impacts on western native lands. The NDMC disseminates information and results through a variety of means: the NDMC website [http://drought.unl.edu] has more than 500,000 visits per year; the U.S. Drought Monitor website [http://drought.unl.edu/dm/monitor.html] has more than 1.8 million visits per year; the Drought Impact Reporter website [http://droughtreporter.unl.edu] has about 70,000 visits per year; NDMC staff respond to more than 1,000 requests for data, information, and media interviews per year; and the NDMC staff give approximately 150 presentations per year to a variety of audiences around the world. PARTICIPANTS: Primary participants within the project include the NDMC faculty and staff. The faculty involved include Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Cody Knutson, Brian Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Deborah Bathke, Jae Ryu, Ya Ding, and Donna Woudenberg. The NDMC engages a wide variety of collaborators in order to carry out its mission across the United States and around the world. Within the United States, this collaboration includes federal agencies (i.e., NOAA, USDA, USGS, NASA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Bureau of Reclamation) and federal programs such as the National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS), universities, states, tribes, local entities and communities, non-profit organizations, and the private sector. International collaboration has included includes scientists and policy makers in 1) Canada and Mexico with the North American Drought Monitor product; 2) Czech Republic and Austria on drought monitoring and climate change research; 3) Slovenia on assistance and information exchange with the Drought Management Center for Southeast Europe (DMCSEE); 4) Australia on drought policy and drought monitoring research and information exchange; and 5) Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Mali, China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, Jordan, and India on drought policy advising and information exchange. Through workshops offered by the NDMC and those in which we participate, many professional development opportunities are provided to a very diverse clientele. TARGET AUDIENCES: Since this project supports the overall NDMC mission to reduce societal vulnerability to drought, the target audience for the project includes scientists, policy makers, natural resource managers, the media, and the general public. The information provided by the NDMC through direct contact and via the NDMC website provides the basis for improved decision making and, therefore, the mitigation of the most serious impacts of drought events. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Existing and new products and tools are being enhanced or created through this project, including monitoring, mitigation, risk assessment, and planning products and tools. This is an ongoing process. Some of these tools include the U.S. Drought Monitor, the Drought Impact Reporter, the Vegetation Drought Response Index, the Vegetation Outlook, the Planning for Risk on the Ranch project, and the Drought Atlas. The U.S. Drought Monitor is now being used as a decision trigger for drought relief programs within USDA (based on the 2008 Farm Bill) and the Internal Revenue Service. The 2008-2009 drought in southern Texas affected more than 2.6 million people, including the Austin and San Antonio metropolitan areas. Tools like the U.S. Drought Monitor and the Drought Impact Reporter were critical for identifying the severity and location of the drought conditions across this region. Many of the 15 workshops organized by the NDMC around the country during 2009 focused on providing information to agricultural producers and gathering input on their decision-making needs. The NDMC continues to serve as a liaison between producers, researchers, and agencies. After a workshop outside of Austin, TX, in February 2009, typical comments received from producers included, "Learned there is a ton of information that I was not aware of and I know where to go to obtain this information now," and "It was a very well organized seminar and you showed very good organization and outstanding information."
Publications
- Wardlow, B., M. Hayes, M. Svoboda, T. Tadesse, and K. Smith, 2009. Sharpening the focus on drought: new monitoring and assessment tools at the National Drought Mitigation Center. Earthzine, unpaginated, http://www.earthzine.org/2009/03/30/sharpening-the-focus-on-drought-% e2%80%93-new-monitoring-and-assessment-tools-at-the-national-drought- mitigation-center/.
- Harms, S., T. Tadesse, and B. Wardlow, 2009. Algorithm and Feature Selection for VegOut: A Vegetation Condition Prediction Tool. In J. Gama et al. (Eds.), Discovery Science: Lecture Notes in Computer Science, Springer Berlin/Heidelberg, Germany, pp. 107-120.
- Knutson, C. L., 2009. A Drought Monitoring and Early Warning System for Western India, Quarterly Newsletter of the Indian Centre for Climate and Societal Impacts, 2(1):5-6, Gujarat, India.
- Knutson, C. L. and D. A. Wilhite, 2009. New Developments and Opportunities for Drought Risk Reduction in Asia, In Global Change and Sustainable Development: Asia-Pacific Perspectives, ed. P.K. Low, Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England. (in press)
- Bathke, D. J., J. Nothwehr, K. Smith, M. Widhalm, E. Hunt, and M. J. Hayes, 2009. Status of Drought Early Warning in the United States: National Integrated Drought Information System Workshop Summary, submitted to the NIDIS program office.
- Knutson, C. L. and M. Z. Islam, 2009. A Plan to Reduce the Risk of Mass Mortalities of Reintroduced Animals in the Mahazat as-Sayd Protected Area in Saudi Arabia, National Wildlife Research Center and National Commission for Wildlife Conservation and Development: Taif and Riyad, Saudi Arabia, 30 pp.
- UNDP, 2009. Local Climate Change Adaptation: Case Studies from the Community Water Initiative, C. L. Knutson (Lead Author), United Nations Development Programme, New York, NY, 30 pp.
- UNISDR, 2009. Drought Risk Reduction Framework and Practices: Contributing to the Implementation of the Hyogo Framework for Action, C. L. Knutson (Co-Lead Author), United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction, Geneva, Switzerland, 194+vi pp.
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Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This project is a continuation of ongoing efforts at the University of Nebraska's National Drought Mitigation Center to improve drought management in the U.S. and internationally through the adoption of a more proactive, risk-based management approach. The objectives of this project are 1) to improve drought-coping capacity of governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations through research and outreach activities directed at developing and evaluating drought plans and policies in the U.S. and elsewhere and 2) to develop and evaluate new decision support tools and methodologies for assessing drought severity, impacts, risk assessment, and mitigation actions and to develop appropriate mechanisms for delivering this information to stakeholders and end-users in the U.S. and elsewhere. This project is in support of the NDMC, an organization formed in 1995. The NDMC has a well-documented record of achievement in the field of drought management. Through September 2008, the NDMC had 233,000 unique visitors to its website, which is a main dissemination tool for this project. That represents a slight increase over 2007 and a 17% increase over 2006 for the same period. NDMC linkages with the NIDIS web portal [drought.gov] were also established when that website was launched in November 2007. The NDMC also hosts the U.S. Drought Monitor and the Drought Impact Reporter websites. The NDMC has participated in 15 drought-related workshops during 2008, which is another important information dissemination opportunity. The NDMC also participated within the annual Husker Harvest Days trade show and interacted with approximately 1,500 people during the show describing the activities that are part of this project. PARTICIPANTS: Primary participants in the project are faculty and staff members of the NDMC. Some of the most involved include Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Cody Knutson, Brian Wardlow, Tsegaye Tadesse, Jae Ryu, Brian Fuchs, Kelly Smith, Nicole Wall, and Soren Scott. Partner organizations include the World Agricultural Outlook Board (USDA), USDA Risk Management Agency, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center and National Climatic Data Center, NOAA's Regional Climate Centers, state climatologists, Western Governors' Association, the NIDIS Program Office, and numerous other government agencies and private organizations. Through the workshops offered by the NDMC and those partners with participate with, many professional development opportunities are provided to a very diverse clientele. TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for the work of the NDMC include scientists, policy makers, natural resource managers, the media, agricultural producers, and the general public. The information provided by the NDMC through direct contact and via the NDMC website provides the basis for improved decision making and, therefore, better drought risk management across the U.S. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Existing products and tools are being enhanced and evaluated as part of this project, and several new tools are being created. These tools include enhancement of the operational U.S. Drought Monitor map, the Drought Impact Reporter, and the Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI). These tools are being used by decision makers around the United States. The 2008 Farm Bill increases USDA's reliance on the U.S. Drought Monitor product for determining drought program decisions. In addition, the NOAA-led National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS)has held a series of meetings during 2008 that have included the NDMC, and the NDMC tools will be important components within the NIDIS pilot projects that are being established in the Upper Colorado River Basin and in the Southeast (Georgia, Alabama, and Florida).
Publications
- Trnka, M., M. Dubrovsky, M. D. Svoboda, D. Semeradova, M. J. Hayes, Z. Zalud, and D. A. Wilhite. 2008. Developing a regional drought climatology for the Czech Republic. International Journal of Climatology. DOI: 10.1002/joc.1745.
- Wilhelmi, O., M. J. Hayes, and D. S. K. Thomas. 2008. Managing drought in mountain resort communities: Colorado's experiences. Disaster Prevention and Management. (Accepted, will appear in December's issue)
- Woudenberg, D. L., D. A. Wilhite, and M. J. Hayes. 2008. Perception of drought hazard and its sociological impacts in South-Central Nebraska. Great Plains Research, 18(1): 93-102.
- Brown, J. F., B. D. Wardlow, T. Tadesse, M. J. Hayes, and B. C. Reed. 2008. The Vegetation Drought Response Index (VegDRI): A new integrated approach for monitoring drought stress in vegetation. GIScience and Remote Sensing 45 (1):16-46.
- Dubrovsky, M., M. D. Svoboda, M. Trnka, M. J. Hayes, D. A. Wilhite, Z. Zalud, and P. Hlavinka. 2008. Application of relative drought indices in assessing climate change impacts on drought conditions in Czechia. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. DOI: 10.1007/s00704-008-0020-x.
- Fontaine, M., A. Steinemann, and M. J. Hayes. 2008. State drought programs: Lessons and recommendations from the western U.S. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (In review) .
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Progress 10/01/06 to 09/30/07
Outputs
OUTPUTS: This new project was approved in October 2007. It is a continuation of an ongoing effort at the University of Nebraska's National Drought Mitigation Center to improve drought management in the U.S. and internationally through the adoption of a more proactive, risk-based management approach. The objectives of this project are 1) to improve drought-coping capacity of governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations through research and outreach activities directed at developing and evaluating drought plans and policies in the U.S. and elsewhere and 2) to develop and evaluate new decision support tools and methodologies for assessing drought severity, impacts, risk assessment, and mitigation actions and to develop appropriate mechanisms for delivering this information to stakeholders and end-users in the U.S. and elsewhere. This project is in support of the NDMC, an organization formed in 1995. The NDMC has a well-documented record of achievement in
the field of drought management.
PARTICIPANTS: Primary participants in the project are faculty and staff members of the NDMC. Some of the most involved faculty and staff include Michael Hayes, Mark Svoboda, Cody Knutson, Brian Fuchs, Tsegaye Tadesse, Brian Wardlow, Jae Ryu, and Ya Ding. Partner organizations include the World Agricultural Outlook Board (USDA), USDA Risk Management Agency, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center and the National Climatic Data Center, NOAA's Regional Climate Centers, state climatologists, Western Governors' Association, and numberous other government agencies and private organizations. Through workshops offered by the NDMC and those in which we participate, many professional development opportunities are provided to a very diverse clientele.
TARGET AUDIENCES: The target audiences for the work of the NDMC includes scientists, policy makers, natural resource managers, the media, and the general public. The information provided by the NDMC through direct contact and via the NDMC website provides the basis for improved decision making and, therefore, the mitigation of the most serious impacts of drought events.
Impacts
Existing products and tools are being enhanced, including monitoring, mitigation, risk assessment, and planning tools, and new tools developed through this project. This is an ongoing process. Some of the new tools under development include the National Integrated Drought Information System (in cooperation with NOAA, USDA and other agencies and organizations), Vegetation Drought Response Index, Vegetation Outlook tool, Drought Management Models for Ranchers, a national drought atlas, a new soil moisture index, and a national drought impact reporter tool and archive.
Publications
- C.L. Knutson and D.A. Wilhite. 2008. New Developments and Opportunities for Drought Risk Reduction in Asia. In: P.K. Low (ed.), Global Change and Sustainable Development: Asia-Pacific Perspectives. Cambridge University Press: Cambridge, England.
- C.L. Knutson, S. Jones, M.E. Sittler, M. Higgins, M.D. Svoboda, D.R. Kluck, and D.A. Wilhite. 2008. Development of a Low Flow Early Warning System for the NOAA National Weather Service, USA, Stream Ecology and Low Flows, Special Issue of the International Journal of Ecological Economics and Statistics.
- Wilhite, D.A., M. Svoboda, and M.J. Hayes. 2007. Understanding the Complex Impacts of Drought: A Key to Enhancing Drought Mitigation and Preparedness. J. of Water Resources Management 5: 763.774.
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