Simulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africa

Simple item page
dc.contributor.advisorAbiodun, Babatunde Josephen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorUjeneza, Eva Lilianeen_ZA
dc.date.accessioned2014-11-05T03:41:26Z
dc.date.available2014-11-05T03:41:26Z
dc.date.issued2014en_ZA
dc.descriptionIncludes bibliographical references.en_ZA
dc.description.abstractDrought is widely considered as one of the most devastating natural disasters in the world. In particular, drought is a big threat in Southern Africa because the economy of most of the population in the region is based on rain-fed agriculture. Previous studies have projected that global warming may enhance the frequency and intensity of droughts over Southern Africa in the future. However, the credibility of this projection depends on the ability of the global and regional climate models (GCMs and RCMs) in simulating the characteristics of drought. This thesis presents the characteristics of the Southern African droughts and evaluates the capability of global and regional climate models in simulating these characteristics. The thesis used a multi-scaled standardized drought index (called standardized precipitation evapo-transpiration index, SPEI) in characterizing droughts at 3- and 12-month scales over Southern Africa. The spatial patterns of the droughts are identified using the principal component analysis (PCA) on the SPEI, while the temporal characteristics of the drought patterns are studied using wavelet analysis. The relationship between each drought pattern and global SSTs (and climate indices) is quantified using correlation analysis and wavelet coherence analysis. The study uses correlation analysis to quantify the capability of the models in simulating the drought patterns.en_ZA
dc.identifier.apacitationUjeneza, E. L. (2014). <i>Simulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africa</i>. (Thesis). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9102en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationUjeneza, Eva Liliane. <i>"Simulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africa."</i> Thesis., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, 2014. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9102en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationUjeneza, E. 2014. Simulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Ujeneza, Eva Liliane AB - Drought is widely considered as one of the most devastating natural disasters in the world. In particular, drought is a big threat in Southern Africa because the economy of most of the population in the region is based on rain-fed agriculture. Previous studies have projected that global warming may enhance the frequency and intensity of droughts over Southern Africa in the future. However, the credibility of this projection depends on the ability of the global and regional climate models (GCMs and RCMs) in simulating the characteristics of drought. This thesis presents the characteristics of the Southern African droughts and evaluates the capability of global and regional climate models in simulating these characteristics. The thesis used a multi-scaled standardized drought index (called standardized precipitation evapo-transpiration index, SPEI) in characterizing droughts at 3- and 12-month scales over Southern Africa. The spatial patterns of the droughts are identified using the principal component analysis (PCA) on the SPEI, while the temporal characteristics of the drought patterns are studied using wavelet analysis. The relationship between each drought pattern and global SSTs (and climate indices) is quantified using correlation analysis and wavelet coherence analysis. The study uses correlation analysis to quantify the capability of the models in simulating the drought patterns. DA - 2014 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2014 T1 - Simulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africa TI - Simulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9102 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/9102
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationUjeneza EL. Simulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africa. [Thesis]. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Environmental and Geographical Science, 2014 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/9102en_ZA
dc.language.isoengen_ZA
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Environmental and Geographical Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Scienceen_ZA
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.titleSimulating the characteristics of droughts in Southern Africaen_ZA
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMScen_ZA
uct.type.filetypeText
uct.type.filetypeImage
uct.type.publicationResearchen_ZA
uct.type.resourceThesisen_ZA
Files
Original bundle
Now showing 1 - 1 of 1
Thumbnail Image
Name:
thesis_sci_2014_ujeneza_el.pdf
Size:
4.37 MB
Format:
Adobe Portable Document Format
Description:
Download
Collections
Masters