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The sensitivity of the SPEI to potential evapotranspiration and precipitation at multiple timescales on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China

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Abstract

The standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) is considered appropriate for drought assessment. In this study, changes in drought characteristics and the sensitivity of SPEI to variations in potential evapotranspiration (PET) and precipitation (P) were detected at different timescales (1, 3, 6, and 12 months) on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in China from 1901–2015. The results showed that obvious wetting trends were found in this plain and higher SPEI values that were mostly located in the north. Additionally, the SPEI values showed a wetting trend across 83.4%, 99.6%, 98.6%, and 86.6% of the plain at the 1-month (SPEI-01), 3-month (SPEI-03), 6-month (SPEI-06), and 12-month (SPEI-12) timescales, respectively. Obviously, the SPEI displayed a stronger correlation with P than the PET, which was primarily due to the complicated SPEI calculation process. These findings provide critical guidance for sustainable ecological development with the use of the SPEI to detect the impacts of climate factors on drought.

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Acknowledgments

We appreciate the editors and reviewers for their constructive suggestions and insightful comments, which helped us to greatly improve this manuscript. We would like to thank the Climatic Research Unit for providing high-resolution gridded data and the China Meteorological Data Service Center for supplying the meteorological data.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41807170), the Major Science and Technology Innovation Projects of Shandong Province (2019JZZY020103), the Talent Introduction Plan for Youth Innovation Team in Universities of Shandong Province (Innovation Team of Satellite Positioning and Navigation), and the Opening Fund of Key Laboratory of Geomatics and Digital Technology of Shandong Province.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Geomatics and Digital Technology of Shandong Province, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Weijiao Wang, Bin Guo, Min Ji & Ying Xu

  2. College of Geomatics, Shandong University of Science and Technology, Qingdao, 266590, China

    Weijiao Wang, Bin Guo, Min Ji & Ying Xu

  3. School of Urban and Environmental Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Huai’an, 223300, China

    Yuqing Zhang

  4. Shandong Provincial Institute of Land Surveying and Mapping, Jinan, 250102, China

    Liguo Zhang

  5. School of Tourism and Geography Science, Qingdao University, Qingdao, 266071, China

    Xuliang Zhang

  6. Business School, University of Jinan, Jinan, 250002, China

    Yanwei Zhang

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  1. Weijiao Wang
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Wang, W., Guo, B., Zhang, Y. et al. The sensitivity of the SPEI to potential evapotranspiration and precipitation at multiple timescales on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China. Theor Appl Climatol 143, 87–99 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-020-03394-y

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