Articles | Volume 29, issue 8
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1981-2025
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-1981-2025
Technical note
 | 
22 Apr 2025
Technical note |  | 22 Apr 2025

Technical note: What does the Standardized Streamflow Index actually reflect? Insights and implications for hydrological drought analysis

Fabián Lema, Pablo A. Mendoza, Nicolás A. Vásquez, Naoki Mizukami, Mauricio Zambrano-Bigiarini, and Ximena Vargas

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Cited articles

Adeyeri, O. E., Zhou, W., Laux, P., Ndehedehe, C. E., Wang, X., Usman, M., and Akinsanola, A. A.: Multivariate Drought Monitoring, Propagation, and Projection Using Bias-Corrected General Circulation Models, Earth's Future, 11, 1–16, https://doi.org/10.1029/2022EF003303, 2023. 
Almagro, A., Meira Neto, A. A., Vergopolan, N., Roy, T., Troch, P. A., and Oliveira, P. T. S.: The Drivers of Hydrologic Behavior in Brazil: Insights From a Catchment Classification, Water Resour. Res., 60, e2024WR037212, https://doi.org/10.1029/2024WR037212, 2024. 
Alvarez-Garreton, C., Mendoza, P. A., Boisier, J. P., Addor, N., Galleguillos, M., Zambrano-Bigiarini, M., Lara, A., Puelma, C., Cortes, G., Garreaud, R., McPhee, J., and Ayala, A.: The CAMELS-CL dataset: catchment attributes and meteorology for large sample studies – Chile dataset, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 5817–5846, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-5817-2018, 2018. 
Andreadis, K. M., Clark, E. A., Wood, A. W., Hamlet, A. F., and Lettenmaier, D. P.: Twentieth-century drought in the conterminous United States, J. Hydrometeorol., 6, 985–1001, https://doi.org/10.1175/JHM450.1, 2005. 
Apurv, T., Sivapalan, M., and Cai, X.: Understanding the Role of Climate Characteristics in Drought Propagation, Water Resour. Res., 53, 9304–9329, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017WR021445, 2017. 
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Short summary
Hydrological droughts affect ecosystems and socioeconomic activities worldwide. Despite the fact that they are commonly described with the Standardized Streamflow Index (SSI), there is limited understanding of what they truly reflect in terms of water cycle processes. Here, we used state-of-the-art hydrological models in Andean basins to examine drivers of SSI fluctuations. The results highlight the importance of careful selection of indices and timescales for accurate drought characterization and monitoring.
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