Trend,periodicity and abrupt change in streamflow of the East River,the Pearl River basin

The East River in the Pearl River basin, China, plays a vital role in the water supply for mega‐cities within and in the vicinity of the Pearl River Delta. Knowledge of statistical variability of streamflow is therefore important for water resources management in the basin. This study analyzed streamflow from four hydrological stations on the East River for a period of 1951–2009, using ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD), continuous wavelet transform (CWT) technique, scanning t and F tests. Results indicated increasing/decreasing streamflow in the East River basin before/after the 1980s. After the early 1970s, the high/low flow components were decreasing/increasing. CWT‐based analysis demonstrates a significant impact of water reservoirs on the periodicity of streamflow. Scanning t and F test indicates that significantly abrupt changes in streamflow are largely influenced by both water reservoirs construction and precipitation changes. Thus, changes of streamflow, which are reflected by variations of trend, periodicity and abrupt change, are due to both water reservoir construction and precipitation changes. Further, the changes of volume of streamflow in the East River are in good agreement with precipitation changes. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changing properties of precipitation concentration in the Pearl River basin, China

In this paper, precipitation concentrations across the Pearl River basin and the associated spatial patterns are analyzed based on daily precipitation data of 42 rain gauging stations during the period 1960–2005. Regions characterized by the different changing properties of precipitation concentration index (CI) are identified. The southwest and northeast parts of the Pearl River basin are characterized by lower and decreasing precipitation CI; the northwest and south parts of the study river basin show higher and increasing precipitation CI. Higher but decreasing precipitations CI are found in the West and East River basin. Comparison of precipitation CI trends before and after 1990 shows that most parts of the Pearl River basin are characterized by increasing precipitation CI after 1990. Decreasing precipitation CI after 1990 (compared to precipitation CI changes before 1990) is observed only in a few stations located in the lower Gui River and the lower Yu River. Significant increasing precipitation CI after 1990 is detected in the West River, lower North River and upper Beipan River. These changes of precipitation CI in the Pearl River basin are likely to be associated with the consequences of the well-evidenced global warming. These findings can contribute to basin-scale water resource management and conservation of ecological environment in the Pearl River basin.     

Abrupt changes in the discharge and sediment load of the Pearl River,China

The abrupt changes in the streamflow and sediment load at nine hydrological stations of the Pearl River basin were systematically analysed by using the simple two‐phase linear regression scheme and the coherency analysis technique. Possible underlying causes were also discussed. Our study results indicated that abrupt changes in the streamflow occurred mainly in the early 1990s. The change points were followed by significant decreasing streamflow. Multiscale abrupt behaviour of the sediment load classified the hydrological stations into two groups: (1) Xiaolongtan, Nanning and Liuzhou; and (2) Qianjiang, Dahuangjiangkou, Wuzhou, Gaoyao, Shijiao and Boluo. The grouped categories implied obvious influences of water reservoirs on the hydrological processes of the Pearl River. On the basis of analysis of the locations and the construction time of the water reservoirs, and also the time when the change points occurred, we figured out different ways the water reservoirs impacted the hydrological processes within the Pearl River basin. As for the hydrological variation along the mainstream of the Pearl River, the water reservoirs have considerable influences on both the streamflow and sediment load variations; however, more influences seemed to be exerted on the sediment load transport. In the North River, the hydrological processes seemed to be influenced mainly by climate changes. In the East River, the hydrological variations tended to be impacted by the water reservoirs. The study results also indicated no fixed modes when we address the influences of water reservoirs on hydrological processes. Drainage area and regulation behaviour of the water reservoirs should be taken into account. The results of this study will be of considerable importance for the effective water resources management of the Pearl River basin under the changing environment. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Climate changes and their impacts on water resources in the arid regions: a case study of the Tarim River basin, China

Streamflow series of five hydrological stations were analyzed with aim to indicate variability of water resources in the Tarim River basin. Besides, impacts of climate changes on water resources were investigated by analyzing daily precipitation and temperature data of 23 meteorological stations covering 1960–2005. Some interesting and important results were obtained: (1) the study region is characterized by increasing temperature, however, only temperature in autumn is in significant increasing trend; (2) precipitation changes present different properties. Generally, increasing precipitation can be detected. However, only the precipitation in the Tienshan mountain area is in significant increasing trend. Annual streamflow of major rivers of the Tarim River basin are not in significant trends, except that of the Akesu River which is in significantly increasing trend. Due to the geomorphologic properties of the Tienshan mountain area, precipitation in this area demonstrates significant increasing trend and which in turn leads to increasing streamflow of the Akesu River. Due to the fact that the sources of streamflow of the rivers in the Tarim River basin are precipitation and melting glacial, both increasing precipitation and accelerating melting ice has the potential to cause increasing streamflow. These results are of practical and scientific merits in basin-scale water resource management in the arid regions in China under the changing environment.     

Precipitation change and human impacts on hydrologic variables in Zhengshui River Basin, China

Climate change and anthropogenic impacts on hydrologic variables have received significant attention in recent years. We assessed stream flow and water level in the Zhengshui River basin, China, in the period 1960 to 2003 in response to precipitation variation and anthropogenic factors. Analyses of daily discharge and water level records, and derived annual, seasonal and monthly series, showed that Zhengshui River flows had a significant increasing trend, with an abrupt change point in 1990. There was a significant decreasing water level trend with an abrupt change point in 1995. Human activities and precipitation contributed 53 and 47%, respectively, to increase in stream flow during 1991–2003. Anthropogenic activities such as sand dredging, dominated the decrease in water level during 1994–2003. Human-induced land use change, soil erosion and sand excavation driven by rapid economic development have played a more important role than precipitation variation in hydrological changes in the Zhengshui River basin over the past 50 years.     

Isotopic evidence for widespread cold‐season‐biased groundwater recharge and young streamflow across central Canada

Transformations of precipitation into groundwater and streamflow are fundamental hydrological processes, critical to irrigated agriculture, hydroelectric power generation, and ecosystem health. Our understanding of the timing of groundwater recharge and streamflow generation remains incomplete, limiting our ability to predict fresh water, nutrient, and contaminant fluxes, especially in large basins. Here, we analyze thousands of rain, snow, groundwater, and streamflow δ¹⁸O and δ²H values in the Nelson River basin, which covers 1.2 million km² of central Canada. We show that the fraction of precipitation that recharges aquifers is ~1.3–5 times higher for precipitation falling during cold months with subzero mean monthly temperatures than for precipitation falling during warmer months. The near‐ubiquity of cold‐season‐biased groundwater recharge implies that changes to winter water balances may have disproportionate impacts on annual groundwater recharge rates. We also show that young streamflow—defined as precipitation that enters a river in less than ~2.3 months—comprises ~27% of annual streamflow but varies widely among tributaries in the Nelson River basin (1–59%). Young streamflow fractions are lower in steep catchments and higher in flatter catchments such as the transboundary Red River basin. Our findings imply that flat, lower permeability, heavily tiled landscapes favor more rapid transmission of precipitation into rivers, possibly mobilizing excess soluble fertilizers and exacerbating eutrophication events in Lake Winnipeg.     

青海湖流域50年来(1956-2007年)河川径流量变化趋势——以布哈河和沙柳河为例

通过对青海湖流域布哈河和沙柳河50年来的河川径流量分析发现,布哈河和沙柳河年径流量50年来没有显著的变化趋势,这两条河流的河川径流量对青海湖水位下降所起的作用不明显;布哈河月平均流量的年际变化在1月、2月和3月有减少的趋势,沙柳河月平均流量的年际变化在1月、2月、4月和5月亦有减少的趋势;布哈河的径流量大于沙柳河的径流量,在55%-91%频率范围内,布哈河的径流量小于沙柳河的径流量,在其它频率范围内,布哈河的径流量显著大于沙柳河的径流量,在一年中,布哈河和沙柳河的月径流量具有显著的差异;布哈河来水丰沛期是20世纪60年代,贫乏期是90年代,70和80年代为平水期;沙柳河月径流量从20世纪60年代到90年代一直比较稳定,没有发生显著的变化.     

Spatial and temporal characteristics of changes in precipitation during 1957�C2007 in the Haihe River basin, China

The present study explores the spatial and temporal changing patterns of the precipitation in the Haihe River basin of North China during 1957–2007 at annual, seasonal and monthly scales. The Mann–Kendall and Sen’s T tests are employed to detect the trends, and the segmented regression is applied to investigate possible change points. Meanwhile, Sen’s slope estimator is computed to represent the magnitudes of the temporal trends. The regional precipitation trends are also discussed based on the regional index series of four sub-basins in the basin. Serial correlation of the precipitation series is checked prior to the application of the statistical test to ensure the validity of trend detection. Moreover, moisture flux variations based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset are investigated to further reveal the possible causes behind the changes in precipitation. The results show that: (1) Although the directions of annual precipitation trends at all stations are downward, only seven stations have significant trends at the 90% confidence level, and these stations are mainly located in the western and southeastern Haihe River basin. (2) Summer is the only season showing a strong downward trend. For the monthly series, significant decreasing trends are mainly found during July, August and November, while significant increasing trends are mostly observed during May and December. In comparison with the annual series, more intensive changes can be found in the monthly series, which may indicate a shift in the precipitation regime. (3) Most shifts from increasing trends to decreasing trends occurred in May–June, July, August and December series, while opposed shifts mainly occurred in November. Summer is the only season displaying strong shift trends and the change points mostly emerged during the late 1970s to early 1980s. (4) An obvious decrease in moisture flux is observed after 1980 in comparison with the observations before 1980. The results of similar changing patterns between monthly moisture budget and precipitation confirmed that large-scale atmospheric circulation may be responsible for the shift in the annual cycle of precipitation in the Haihe River basin. These findings are expected to contribute to providing more accurate results of regional changing precipitation patterns and understanding the underlying linkages between climate change and alterations of hydrological cycles in the Haihe River basin.     

黄河流域气候与农业种植面积变化对径流的影响

根据黄河流域1960—2005年5个水文站逐日流量、77个气象站1959—2013年逐日降水数据,结合流域内主要农作物种植面积及大型水库资料,全面探讨气候与农业面积变化及人类活动对黄河流域径流变化的影响.研究表明:黄河流域所有流量分位数总体呈下降趋势,并于1980s中后期到1990s中期发生突变.降水变化是黄河流域径流变化的主要影响因素.在考虑不同流量分位数情况下,农作物种植面积变化对不同分位数径流变化的影响也有差异性.花园口站农作物种植面积变化对径流量量级和可变性均有显著影响;其余4站各项气候变化与农作物种植指标参数较大,虽均未达到10%的显著性水平,但仍会对径流的量级变化产生影响.对唐乃亥站,农作物耕作面积的下降减少了灌溉用水,在0.5流量分位数时有高达60%增加径流量的间接作用.对于头道拐站,农作物耕作面积的增加使得流域总蒸发量增加,灌溉用水增加,在0.3流量分位数时有高达40%减少径流量的间接作用.该研究为气候变化与人类活动影响下黄河流域水资源优化配置提供重要理论依据.     

Space–time changes in hydrological processes in response to human activities and climatic change in the south China

Due to the influence of climate change and human activities, more and more regions around the world are nowadays facing serious water shortages. This is particularly so with the Guangdong province, an economically prosperous region in China. This study aims at understanding the abrupt behavior of hydrological processes by analyzing monthly precipitation series from 257 rain gauging stations and monthly streamflow series from 25 hydrological stations using the likelihood ratio statistic and schwarz information criterion (SIC). The underlying causes of the changing properties of hydrological processes are investigated by analyzing precipitation changes and information of water reservoirs. It is found that (1) streamflow series in dry season seems to exhibit abrupt changes when compared to that in the flood season; (2) abrupt changes in the values of mean and variance of hydrological variables in the dry season are more common than those in the streamflow series in the flood season, which implies that streamflow in the dry season is more sensitive to human activities and climate change than that in the flood season; (3) no change points are identified in the annual precipitation and precipitation series in the flood season. Annual streamflow and streamflow in the flood season exhibit no abrupt changes, showing the influence of precipitation on streamflow changes in the flood season. However, streamflow changes in the dry season seem to be heavily influenced by hydrological regulations of water reservoirs. The results of this study are of practical importance for regional water resource management in the Guangdong province.     

Comparison of evapotranspiration variations between the Yellow River and Pearl River basin, China

Based on daily meteorological data at 43 gauging stations in the Pearl River basin and 65 gauging stations in the Yellow River basin, we analyze changing properties of actual evapotranspiration (ET_a), reference evapotranspiration (ET_ref) and precipitation in these two river basins. In our study, Pearl River basin is taken as the ‘energy-limited’ system and the Yellow River basin as the ‘water-limited’ system. The results indicate decreasing ET_a in the Pearl River and Yellow River basin. However, different changing properties are detected for ET_ref when compared to ET_a. The middle and upper Yellow River basin are characterized by increasing ET_ref values, whereas the Pearl River basin is dominated by decreasing ET_ref values. This result demonstrates enhancing drying force in the Yellow River basin. ET_a depends mainly on the changes of precipitation amount in the Yellow River basin. In the Pearl River basin, however, ET_a changes are similar to those of ET_ref, i.e. both are in decreasing trend and which may imply weakening hydrological cycle in the Pearl River basin. Different influencing factors are identified behind the ET_a and ET_ref in the Pearl River and Yellow River basin: In the Pearl River basin, intensifying urbanization and increasing aerosol may contribute much to the evapotranspiration changes. Variations of precipitation amount may largely impact the spatial and temporal patterns of ET_a in the Yellow River basin. The current study is practically and scientifically significant for regional assessment of water resource in the arid and humid regions of China under the changing climate.     

气候变化和人类活动对鄱阳湖流域径流过程影响的定量分析

量化气候变化和人类活动对流域水文影响及其对流域水资源规划和管理具有重要的理论与现实意义.采用水文模型和多元回归法定量分析气候变化和人类活动对鄱阳湖"五河"径流的影响,并通过与灵敏度分析法对比来进一步验证分析结果 .研究表明,1970-2009年,气候变化和人类活动对鄱阳湖流域径流增加的贡献率分别为73%和27%.气候变化是饶河、信江和赣江径流增加的主导因素,而人类活动是修水径流增加的主要因素,是抚河径流减少的主要原因.另外,不同季节影响径流变化的主导因素又有不同,人类活动为干季(11月到次年2月)径流增加和湿季(4-6月)径流减小的主导因素,其贡献率分别为78.9%和82.7%.本研究可为鄱阳湖流域防洪抗旱及水资源优化配置提供重要科学依据.     

Flood frequency under the influence of trends in the Pearl River basin,China: changing patterns,causes and implications

Using a nonstationary flood frequency model, this study investigates the impact of trends on the estimation of flood frequencies and flood magnification factors. Analysis of annual peak streamflow data from 28 hydrological stations across the Pearl River basin, China, shows that: (1) northeast parts of the West and the North River basins are dominated by increasing annual peak streamflow, whereas decreasing trends of annual peak streamflow are prevailing in other regions of the Pearl River basin; (2) trends significantly impact the estimation of flood frequencies. The changing frequency of the same flood magnitude is related to the changing magnitude or significance/insignificance of trends, larger increasing frequency can be detected for stations with significant increasing trends of annual peak streamflow and vice versa, and smaller increasing magnitude for stations with not significant increasing annual peak streamflow, pointing to the critical impact of trends on estimation of flood frequencies; (3) larger‐than‐1 flood magnification factors are observed mainly in the northeast parts of the West River basin and in the North River basin, implying magnifying flood processes in these regions and a higher flood risk in comparison with design flood‐control standards; and (4) changes in hydrological extremes result from the integrated influence of human activities and climate change. Generally, magnifying flood regimes in the northeast Pearl River basin and in the North River basin are mainly the result of intensifying precipitation regime; smaller‐than‐1 flood magnification factors along the mainstream of the West River basin and also in the East River basin are the result of hydrological regulations of water reservoirs. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of impacts of climate change and human activities on streamflow in the Poyang Lake basin,China

Variations in streamflows of five tributaries of the Poyang Lake basin, China, because of the influence of human activities and climate change were evaluated using the Australia Water Balance Model and multivariate regression. Results indicated that multiple regression models were appropriate with precipitation, potential evapotranspiration of the current month, and precipitation of the last month as explanatory variables. The NASH coefficient for the Australia Water Balance Model was larger than 0.842, indicating satisfactory simulation of streamflow of the Poyang Lake basin. Comparison indicated that the sensitivity method could not exclude the benchmark‐period human influence, and the human influence on streamflow changes was overestimated. Generally, contributions of human activities and climate change to streamflow changes were 73.2% and 26.8% respectively. However, human‐induced and climate‐induced influences on streamflow were different in different river basins. Specifically, climate change was found to be the major driving factor for the increase of streamflow within the Rao, Xin, and Gan River basins; however, human activity was the principal driving factor for the increase of streamflow of the Xiu River basin and also for the decrease of streamflow of the Fu River basin. Meanwhile, impacts of human activities and climate change on streamflow variations were distinctly different at different temporal scales. At the annual time scale, the increase of streamflow was largely because of climate change and human activities during the 1970s–1990s and the decrease of streamflow during the 2000s. At the seasonal scale, climate change was the main factor behind the increase of streamflow in the spring and summer season. Human activities increase the streamflow in autumn and winter, but decrease the streamflow in spring. At the monthly scale, different influences of climate change and human activities were detected. Climate change was the main factor behind the decrease of streamflow during May to June and human activities behind the decrease of streamflow during February to May. Results of this study can provide a theoretical basis for basin‐scale water resources management under the influence of climate change and human activities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Estimation of future precipitation change in the Yangtze River basin by using statistical downscaling method

In this study, the applicability of the statistical downscaling model (SDSM) in downscaling precipitation in the Yangtze River basin, China was investigated. The investigation includes the calibration of the SDSM model by using large-scale atmospheric variables encompassing NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data, the validation of the model using independent period of the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data and the general circulation model (GCM) outputs of scenarios A2 and B2 of the HadCM3 model, and the prediction of the future regional precipitation scenarios. Selected as climate variables for downscaling were measured daily precipitation data (1961–2000) from 136 weather stations in the Yangtze River basin. The results showed that: (1) there existed good relationship between the observed and simulated precipitation during the calibration period of 1961–1990 as well as the validation period of 1991–2000. And the results of simulated monthly and seasonal precipitation were better than that of daily. The average R ² values between the simulated and observed monthly and seasonal precipitation for the validation period were 0.78 and 0.91 respectively for the whole basin, which showed that the SDSM had a good applicability on simulating precipitation in the Yangtze River basin. (2) Under both scenarios A2 and B2, during the prediction period of 2010–2099, the change of annual mean precipitation in the Yangtze River basin would present a trend of deficit precipitation in 2020s; insignificant changes in the 2050s; and a surplus of precipitation in the 2080s as compared to the mean values of the base period. The annual mean precipitation would increase by about 15.29% under scenario A2 and increase by about 5.33% under scenario B2 in the 2080s. The winter and autumn might be the more distinct seasons with more predicted changes of precipitation than in other seasons. And (3) there would be distinctive spatial distribution differences for the change of annual mean precipitation in the river basin, but the most of Yangtze River basin would be dominated by the increasing trend.     

The impact of climate change and human activities on streamflow and sediment load in the Pearl River basin

This paper uses monthly streamflow, suspended sediment concentration, and meteorological data to examine the impact of human activity and climate change on streamflow and sediment load in the Pearl River basin from the 1950s to the 2000s. The influences of climate change and human activities on hydrological processes were quantitatively evaluated using the Mann–Kendall abrupt change test and power rating curves. The results showed that:(1) abrupt changes and turning points in streamflow occurred in 1963, 1983, and 1991 which were found to be consistent with global ENSO events and volcanic eruptions. However, abrupt changes in sediment load showed significant spatial differences across the Pearl River basin. For the Xijiang River, an abrupt change in sediment load occurred in 2002, and after 2007 the change becomes significant at the 95% confidence level. At Beijiang and Dongjiang, abrupt changes in sediment load occurred in 1998 and 1988, respectively.(2) The time series of sediment load data was divided into four periods according to abrupt changes. The contribution of climate change and human activities is different in the different rivers. For the Xijiang River, compared with the first period, climate change and human activities contributed 83% and 17%, respectively, to the increasing sediment load during the second period. In the third period, the variation of sediment load followed a decreasing trend. The contribution from climate change and human activities also changed to t236% and -136%, respectively. In the fourth period, climate change and human activities contributed -32% and t132%, respectively. Meanwhile, For the Beijiang River, climate change and human activities contributed 90% and 10% in the second period, the contribution of climate change increased to t115% and human activities decreased to -15% in the third period. In the fourth period, the value for climate change decreased to t36% and human activities increased to t64%. For the Dongjiang River, the contribution of human activities was from 74.5% to 90%, and the values for climate change were from 11% to 25%. Therefore, the effect of human activity showed both spatial and temporal differences, and it seems likely that the decreased sediment load will continue to be controlled mainly by human activities in the future.     

Spatio-temporal changes of hydrological processes and underlying driving forces in Guizhou region, Southwest China

Understanding the changes in streamflow and associated driving forces is crucial for formulating a sustainable regional water resources management strategy in the environmentally fragile karst area of the southwest China. This study investigates the spatio-temporal changes in streamflow of the Guizhou region and their linkage with meteorological influences using the Mann–Kendall trend analysis, singular-spectrum analysis (SSA), Lepage test, and flow duration curves (FDCs). The results demonstrate that: (1) the streamflow in the flood-season (June–August) during 1956–2000 increased significantly (confidence level ≥95%) in most catchments, closely consistent with the distinct increasing trend of annual rainfall over wet-seasons. The timings of abrupt change for streamflow in most catchments are found to occur at 1986; (2) streamflow in the Guizhou region experiences significant seasonal changes prior/posterior to 1986, and in most catchments the coefficient of variation of monthly streamflow increases; (3) spatial changes in streamflow indicate that monthly streamflow in the north-west decreases but increases in other parts; (4) the spatial high- and low-flow map (Q ₅ and Q ₉₅) reveals an increase in the extremely large streamflow in the five eastern catchments but a decrease in the extremely low streamflow in the four eastern catchments and three western catchments during 1987–2000. An increase in streamflow, particularly extreme flows, during the flood season would increase the risk of extreme flood events, while a decrease in streamflow in the dry season is not beneficial to vegetation restoration in this ecologically fragile region.     

Human-induced regulations of river channels and implications for hydrological alterations in the Pearl River Delta, China

Sound understanding of hydrological alterations and the underlying causes means too much for the water resource management in the Pearl River Delta. Incision of river channels plays the key role in the hydrological alterations. As for the causes behind the river channel incision, sand dredging within the river network of the Pearl River Delta is usually assumed to play the overwhelming role in changes of geometric shapes of the river channels. Based on thorough analysis of well-collected data of channel geometry, streamflow, sediment load and water level, this study exposes new findings, investigating possible underlying causes behind the changes of the geometric shapes of the river channels at the Sanshui and Makou station. The results of this study indicate: (1) different changing properties of the geometric shapes are identified at the Sanshui and Makou stations. Larger magnitude of changes can be found in the river channel geometry of the cross section at the Sanshui station when compared to that at the Makou station. Lower water level due to fast riverbed downcutting at the Sanshui station than that at the Makou station is the major reason why the reallocation of streamflow occurred and hence the hydrological alterations over the Pearl River Delta; (2) depletion of sediment load as a result of construction of water reservoirs in the middle and upper Pearl River basin, sand dredging mainly in the Pearl River Delta and heavy floods all contribute much to the incision or deposition of the riverbed. Regulations of erosion and siltation process of the river channel often alleviate the incision of the river channels after a relatively long time span, and which makes it even harder to differentiate the factors causing the river channel incision; (3) the intensifying urbanization in the lower Pearl River basin greatly alters the underlying surface properties, which has the potential to shorten the recession of the flood event and may cause serious scouring processes and this role of flash floods in the incision of the river channels can not be ignored. This study is of great scientific and practical merits in improving human understanding of regulations of river channels and associated consequences with respect to hydrological alterations and water resource management, particularly in the economically booming region of China.     

Multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis of streamflow series of the Yangtze River basin,China

Scaling and multifractal properties of the hydrological processes of the Yangtze River basin were explored by using a multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF‐DFA) technique. Long daily mean streamflow series from Cuntan, Yichang, Hankou and Datong stations were analyzed. Using shuffled streamflow series, the types of multifractality of streamflow series was also studied. The results indicate that the discharge series of the Yangtze River basin are non‐stationary. Different correlation properties were identified within streamflow series of the upper, the middle and the lower Yangtze River basin. The discharge series of the upper Yangtze River basin are characterized by short memory or anti‐persistence; while the streamflow series of the lower Yangtze River basin is characterized by long memory or persistence. h(q) vs q curves indicate multifractality of the hydrological processes of the Yangtze River basin. h(q) curves of shuffled streamflow series suggest that the multifractality of the streamflow series is mainly due to the correlation properties within the hydrological series. This study may be of practical and scientific importance in regional flood frequency analysis and water resource management in different parts of the Yangtze River basin. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatio-temporal variability of streamflow in the Yellow River: possible causes and implications

Abstract

The water shortage in the Yellow River, China, has been aggravated by rapid population growth and global climate changes. To identify the characteristics of streamflow change in the Yellow River, approximately 50 years of natural and observed streamflow data from 23 hydrological stations were examined. The Mann-Kendall and Pettitt tests were used to detect trends and abrupt change points. The results show that both the natural and the observed streamflow in the Yellow River basin present downward trends from 1956 to 2008, and the decreasing rate of observed streamflow is generally faster than that of the natural streamflow. Larger drainage areas have higher declining rates, and the declining trends are intensified downstream within the mainstream. The possibility of abrupt changes in observed streamflow is higher than in natural streamflow, and streamflow series in the mainstream are more likely to change abruptly than those in the tributaries. In the mainstream, all the significant abrupt changes appear in the middle and latter half of the 1980s, but the abrupt changes occur somewhat earlier for observed streamflow than for natural streamflow. The significant abrupt change for the observed streamflow in the tributaries is almost isochronous with the natural streamflow and occurs from the 1970s to 1990s. It is implied that the slight reduction in precipitation is not the only direct reason for the streamflow variation. Other than the effects of climate change, land-use and land-cover changes are the main reasons for the natural streamflow change. Therefore, the increasing net water diversion by humans is responsible for the observed streamflow change. It is estimated that the influence of human activity on the declining streamflow is enhanced over time.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz

Citation Miao, C.Y., Shi, W., Chen, X.H., and Yang, L., 2012 Miao, C.Y., Yang, L. and Chen, X.H. 2012. The vegetation cover dynamics (1982–2006) in different erosion regions of the Yellow River basin, China. Land Degradation and Development, 23(1): 62–71. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]. Spatio-temporal variability of streamflow in the Yellow River: possible causes and implications. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (7), 1355–1367.