Mapping 100 years of Thornthwaite moisture index : impact of climate change in Victoria, Australia

Zarpelon Leao, S 2014, 'Mapping 100 years of Thornthwaite moisture index : impact of climate change in Victoria, Australia' , Geographical Research, 52 (3) , pp. 309-327.

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Abstract

Geographer C. W. Thornthwaite proposed in 1948 a moisture index called Thornthwaite Moisture Index (TMI) as part of a water balance model for a new classification system for climate. The importance of TMI climatic classification has been recognised in many areas of knowledge and practice worldwide over the last 60 years. However, although past climate research was focused on developing adequate methods for climate classification, current research is more concerned with understanding the patterns of climate change. The use of TMI as an indicator for climate change is still an incipient area of research. The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, it is to fully document a methodology based on geostatistics adopted to produce a time series of TMI maps that are accurate and have high spatial resolution. The state of Victoria, in Australia, over the last century, is used as the case study. Second, by analysing these maps, the paper presents a general evaluation of the spatial patterns found in Victoria related to moisture variability across space and over time. Some potential implications of the verified moisture changes are discussed, and a number of ideas for further development are suggested.

Item Type:	Article
Themes:	Built and Human Environment
Schools:	Schools > School of the Built Environment
Journal or Publication Title:	Geographical Research
Publisher:	Wiley
Refereed:	Yes
ISSN:	1745-5871
Related URLs:	Publication
Funders:	School of Architecture and Built Environment of Deakin University, Housing Engineering Design & Research Association (HEDRA)
Depositing User:	S Zarpelon Leao
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2015 09:28
Last Modified:	17 Oct 2018 23:32
URI:	http://usir.salford.ac.uk/id/eprint/35885

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