Document Type : Special Issue: New Approaches to Water and Soil Management and Modeling
Authors
1
Ph.D. Candidate, Hydrology of Land, Water Resources, Hydrochemistry, Russian State Hydrometeorological University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
2
Candidate of Technical Sciences, Associate Professor at the Department of Engineering Hydrology of the RSHU, Saint Petersburg, Russia
3
Professor, Professor of Engineering Hydrology, Department of Engineering Hydrology, Institute of Hydrology and Oceanology, Russian State Hydrometeorological University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
4
Professor, Soil Conservation and Watershed Management Research Department, Kurdistan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, AREEO, Sanandaj, Iran
Abstract
Understanding hydroclimatic moisture conditions is essential for water resource management and climate adaptation, particularly in semi-arid regions. This study compared atmospheric humidity and water–energy balance perspectives for hydroclimatic assessment in the Darreh Dozdan River Basin, western Iran, during 1998–2022 using the Vysotsky–Ivanov Moisture Coefficient (VMC) and the Budyko Aridity Index (AI). Meteorological data from the Kuhdasht synoptic station were used to compute both indicators. The VMC exhibited substantial interannual variability, ranging from 0.48 to 1.58 with a mean value of 0.86, resulting in six climatic classes and classifying the basin as slightly humid on average. Annual Ivanov evaporation averaged 479.28 mm, of which 77.1% occurred between June and September. In contrast, the Budyko AI ranged from 1.06 to 4.08 and averaged 2.73, indicating an overall semi-arid climatic regime. Pearson correlation analysis revealed a very strong inverse relationship between the two indicators (r = −0.93, p < 0.001), while regression analysis yielded coefficients of determination ranging from 0.859 to 0.926. Despite their strong statistical agreement, the two approaches produced different long term climatic classifications. The findings demonstrate that the Vysotsky–Ivanov and Budyko approaches are complementary rather than interchangeable tools for hydroclimatic assessment.
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