Tracing the Movement of Drought Events Across the Contiguous United States

Abstract Submission: Drought is a profound natural disaster known for its slow onset and lasting impact, leading to
extensive economic losses and significantly affecting human life, agriculture, water resources,
and economic stability. Despite its widespread impact, managing and defining drought events
remain challenging due to their gradual and evolving nature. Understanding the structural
evolution of droughts is essential, but most past studies have focused on fixed spatial or temporal
scales, often overlooking the complex spatiotemporal dynamics of these climate extremes.
Existing methods for analyzing drought progression are limited. This study uses density-based
clustering techniques to identify drought clusters and explore their temporal evolution during
severe drought events in the contiguous United States (CONUS) over the past century. Our 3D
clustering approach effectively captures contiguous drought events, tracing their progression by
monitoring the movement of cluster centroids. Results indicate that the Great Plains region has
been particularly affected, with numerous droughts migrating across this area over time.
Additionally, droughts across the CONUS have exhibited more dynamic behavior and covered
larger spatial extents over time. These findings provide crucial spatiotemporal insights into
drought migration patterns and improve our capacity to predict future drought pathways.

Learning Objectives/Expected Outcome (Optional) :