Applicability of apportionment entropy as a drought index

Abstract

Drought is one of the most important natural disasters. The main aim of the present study is to investigate the applicability of the Apportionment Entropy (AE) as a drought index. For this purpose, the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI) and the AE method as a drought indices were investigated and compared for monthly precipitation data in Northern Aegean Region. In the presented study, 29 gauging stations with long term observations are evaluated in Northern Aegean Region. The results of the study showed that PE method can be used as a drought index and the analysis of drought results contributed to the identification of drought periods for the Northern Aegean Region.