Spatial and temporal classification of coastal regions using bioclimatic indices in a Mediterranean environment

Giuseppe Passarella; Delia Bruno; Aimé Lay-Ekuakille; Sabino Maggi; Rita Masciale; Daniele Zaccaria

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134415

Spatial and temporal classification of coastal regions using bioclimatic indices in a Mediterranean environment

Sci Total Environ. 2020 Jan 15:700:134415. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134415. Epub 2019 Sep 13.

Authors

Giuseppe Passarella¹, Delia Bruno², Aimé Lay-Ekuakille³, Sabino Maggi⁴, Rita Masciale⁵, Daniele Zaccaria⁶

Affiliations

¹ CNR-IRSA Water Research Institute, Via F. De Blasio 5, 70132 Bari, Italy. Electronic address: giuseppe.passarella@ba.irsa.cnr.it.
² CNR-IIA Institute of Atmospheric Pollution, c/o Unical Polifunzionale, 87036 Rende, Italy.
³ Department of Innovation Engineering, Università del Salento, Via Monteroni, 73100 Lecce, Italy.
⁴ CNR-IIA Institute of Atmospheric Pollution, c/o Interateneo Physics Department, 70125 Bari, Italy.
⁵ CNR-IRSA Water Research Institute, Via F. De Blasio 5, 70132 Bari, Italy.
⁶ Department of Land, Air and Water Resources, University of California, Davis, CA, USA.

PMID: 31629265
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.134415

Abstract

Bioclimatic indices combine atmospheric parameters to provide analytical indication of climatic features and their evolution in space and time that can directly relate with natural resource availability, distribution, and related bio-physical processes. The availability of bioclimatic information can provide natural resource managers with analytical means to assess the magnitude and temporal evolution of drought and climate change parameters that could affect the availability, demand and use of natural resources for various sectors. This paper presents a methodology to process bioclimatic data in the space and time domains for assessing the moisture/dryness level and water requirements of a region, and inform water resource planning and management decisions related to drought, climate variability and change. The methodology relies on a modular assembly of statistical tests and methods, and utilizes point scale measurements of meteorological data to perform the analysis of the spatial behavior of derived bioclimatic indicators at the continuous regional scale, and evaluate the significance of the temporal trends. Also, the article presents an application of the proposed methodology to a coastal area of southern Italy (the Apulia Region) that is characterized by recurring water supply limitations, involving the use of the popular De Martonne bioclimatic aridity index. The methodology allowed to obtain qualitative and quantitative information about the aridity level of the Apulia region, the identification of main bioclimatic zones, and the evaluation of spatial pattern and time evolution of aridity. The determination of bioclimatic zones showed that nearly 40% of the regional territory is characterized by dry sub-humid (Mediterranean) climate, about 30% by sub-humid climate, while nearly 10% and 20% are characterized by semi-arid and humid climates, respectively. The temporal analysis revealed that the Salento and the Ionian coastal zone are areas at risk of increasing aridity, with resulting impacts on the water supply and demand for irrigated agriculture.

Keywords: Aridity; Bioclimatic classification; Climate change; Kriging; Meteorological parameters; Spatial analysis; Time-series; Trend analysis.

MeSH terms

Climate Change
Droughts
Ecosystem
Environmental Monitoring*
Italy
Meteorological Concepts
Seasons
Water Supply