Geographia Technica, Vol 14, Issue no.2/2019, pp. 74-83
AN INVESTIGATION OF DROUGHT AROUND CHI WATERSHED DURING TEN-YEAR PERIOD USING TERRA/MODIS DATA
Tanutdech ROTJANAKUSOL, Teerawong LAOSUWAN (Maha Sarakham, Thailand)
ABSTRACT: To examine the drought affected area is highly challenging because the drought is a natural disaster that starts and expands slowly. The severity of the drought is different when the rainfall is imbalance in the area. The objective of this study was to analyze the drought around Chi watershed with total area of 49,131.920 km2 by using data from Terra/MODIS satellite during 10 years (2007-2016). On part of method operation, the NDVI data was obtained from Terra/MODIS satellite, and VCI (Vegetation Condition Index) analysis was performed to examine the condition of plants which could identify the condition of drought in the area. According to the study, it was found that in 2015, it was the time when the drought affected area was at most which was equal to 91.54 percent, or 44975.23 km2. When the analysis results of these ten years were brought to find relationship with rainfall, it was found that the decision coefficient was R2 = 0.913. It can be concluded from the results of this study that VCI could be used as indicator and could identify the drought in Chi watershed in terms of area and time reasonably.
Keywords: Drought, Remote Sensing, Chi Watershed, NDVI, VCI
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