Quantifying the non-linearity of the response of the ecology of Malagasy watersheds to sustained precipitation anomalies

Ziad S. Haddad, JPL/Caltech, zsh@jpl.nasa.gov (Presenter)
Dimitrios Stampoulis, U Connecticut, das09011@engr.uconn.edu
Emmanouil N. Anagnostou, U Connecticut, manos@engr.uconn.edu

Motivated by the observation the hypothesis that the low-headwaters watersheds of Madagascar respond differently to drought from the high-headwaters watersheds, with possibly profound effects on the biodiversity of the island, we started analyzing basin-specific observations of soil moisture and vegetation water content (derived from NPOESS's WindSat), and their response to prolonged departures by the precipitation (derived from NASA's Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) from its local mean. We then correlate the basin response to the forcing, and compare the amplitude and time lag of the correlations across watersheds. The preliminary results produce noisy time series, with nevertheless significant trends especially in the vegetation water content time series.

Presentation Type:  Poster

Session:  Science in Support of Decision Making   (Wed 10:00 AM)

Associated Project(s): 

• Related Activity

Poster Location ID: 164