Aridity characteristics in East Gansu's loess plateau area based on Z index analysis
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DOI:10.7606/j.issn.1000-7601.2010.03.45
Key Words: arid  Z index  climatic characteristics  loess plateau in East Gansu
Author NameAffiliation
YANG Xiaohua Pingliang Meteorological Bureau, Pingliang , Gansu 744000, China 
YANG Xiaoli Pingliang Meteorological Bureau, Pingliang , Gansu 744000, China 
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Abstract:
      Selecting 10 weather stations’precipitation data(1961~2008) in East Gansu Province, we calculate Z index and divide it into seven levels of drought intensity. The results show that the annual Z index has a significant de-creasing trend in the past 48 years, which means this area becomes increasingly dry, especially in 1990s. Drought be-comes severe in spring and autumn, while it gets less in summer and winter. The regional drought characteristics show that Z index has been decreasing obviously in the past 48 years, with the annual drought presenting a continuous trend. We conclude that the most damaging drought in each season ( spring, summer, autumn, and winter) all happened in 1990s. In 1997, the drought lasted all through the four seasons, which did the worst harm to agriculture.