Impacts of riparian zone plant water use on temporal scaling of groundwater systems

In this work, we study groundwater system temporal scaling in relation to plant water use and near‐river‐stage fluctuations in riparian zones where phreatophytes exist. Using detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA), we investigate the influence of regular diurnal fluctuations due to phreatophyte water use on temporal scaling properties of groundwater level variations. We found that groundwater use by phreatophytes, at the field site on the Colorado River, USA, results in distinctive crossovers (slope changes when the plots are fitted with straight lines) in the logarithm plots of root‐mean‐square fluctuations of the detrended water level time series versus time scales of groundwater level dynamics. For groundwater levels monitored at wells close to the river, we identified one crossover at ～1 day in the scaling characteristics of groundwater level variations. When time scale exceeds 1 day, the scaling properties decrease from persistent to close to 1/f noise, where f is the frequency. For groundwater levels recorded at wells further away from the river, the slope of the straight line fit (i.e. scaling exponent) is smallest when the time scale is between 1 and 3 days. When the time scale is < 1 day, groundwater variations become persistent. When the time scale is between 1 and 3 days, the variations are close to white noise, but return to persistent when the time scale is > 3 days. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes in the long-term hydrological regimes and the impacts of human activities in the main Wei River,China

ABSTRACT

Under the combined influence of climate changes and human activities, the hydrological regime of the Wei River shows remarkable variations which have caused many issues in the Wei River in recent decades, such as a lack of freshwater, water pollution, disastrous flooding and channel sedimentation. Hence, hydrological regime changes and potential human-induced impacts have been drawing increasing attention from local government and hydrologists. This study investigates hydrological regime changes in the natural and measured runoff series at four hydrological stations on the main Wei River and quantifies features of their long-term change by analysing their historical annual and seasonal runoff data using several approaches, i.e., continuous wavelet transform, cross-wavelet, wavelet coherence, trend-free pre-whitening Mann-Kendall test and detrended fluctuation analysis. By contrasting two different analysis results between natural and measured river runoff series, the impacts of human activities on the long-term hydrological regime were investigated via the changes of spatio-temporal distribution in dominant periods, the trends and long-range memory of river runoff. The results show : (a) that periodic properties of the streamflow changes are the result of climate, referring to precipitation changes in particular, while human activities play a minor role; (b) a significant decreasing trend can be observed in the natural streamflow series along the entire main stream of the Wei River and the more serious decrease emerging in measured flow should result from human-induced influences in recent decades; and (c) continuous decreasing streamflow in the Wei River will trigger serious shortages of freshwater in the future, which may challenge the sustainability and safety of water resources development in the river basin, and should be paid great attention before 2020.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor K. Hamed     

Fractal-based evaluation of the effect of water reservoirs on hydrological processes: the dams in the Yangtze River as a case study

Water reservoirs exercise a considerable influence on hydrological processes and their influence can be treated as one of the influences of human activities on the hydrological cycle at the regional and even global scale. Long daily streamflow series from two gauging stations, Cuntan and Yichang, are analyzed to quantify the effect of the Gezhouba- and the Three Gorges Dams on the Yangtze River flow variations. The Cuntan- and Yichang stations are located up- and downstreams of these two dams, respectively. The quantification entails the employment of conventional multifractal analysis (MFA) and MF-detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). The streamflow series are divided into six segments based on the time when the Gezhouba- and Three Gorges Dams were constructed. Thus, the effect of these two dams can be compared through MF properties of streamflow before and after the construction of water reservoirs. The effect of the Gezhouba Dam on streamflow downstream may not be reflected by conventional MFA but can be seen from the results of MF-DFA. It should be due to the fact that MF-DFA is on the basis of fluctuations around the dominant trend, reflecting more local information; while the box-counting algorithms investigate the streamflow from the whole view. Particularly, for the inter-station comparison of results obtained by MF-DFA-based analysis, the strongest impact on the streamflow downstream is indicated by the most significant difference in generalized fractal dimension spectrum appearing during the construction of Gezhouba Dam. In addition, after the construction of Gezhouba Dam, the minimal MF dimension at Yichang station start to be less than that at Cuntan station, suggesting that the streamflow becomes less fluctuated, which should be attributed to the filter effect of water reservoir. This study presents a feasible way to evaluate, wholly and locally, the impact of water reservoirs on streamflow in other river basins in the world.     

Using hydrological simulation to identify contribution of coal mining to runoff change in the Kuye River Basin,China

Under the influence of all kinds of human activities, runoff decreased significantly in most river basins in China over the past decades. Assessing the effect of specific human activities on runoff is essential not only for understanding the mechanism of hydrological response in the catchment, but also for local water resources management. The Kuye River, the first-order tributary of the middle Yellow River, has experienced significant runoff declines. The coal resources are rich in the Kuye River Basin. In mined out area some cranny changed the hydrogeological conditions of the mining area and the hydrological process of the basin. In this study, the time series of runoff was divided into three periods at two critical years of 1979 and 1999 by precipitation–runoff double accumulation curve. The Yellow River Water Balance Model (YRWBM) is calibrated and verified to a baseline period in 1955–1978. Subsequently, natural runoff for human-induced period (1979 to 1998) and strongly human-induced period (1999 to 2010) is reconstructed using the YRWBM model. The YRWBM model performed well in simulating monthly discharges in the catchment, both Nash Sutcliffe coefficients in calibration and verification were above 70%, while relative errors in both periods were at less than 5%. The percentage of runoff reduction attributing to human activities was from 39.44% in 1979–1998 to 56.50% in 1999–2010. Further the influence of coal mining on river runoff was assessed quantitatively by YRWBM model simulation. The influence of coal mining on runoff reduction was 29.69 mm in 1999–2010 which was about 2.58 × 10⁸ m³/a. It accounted for 71.13% of the runoff reduction during this period. Coal mining became a dominant factor causing the runoff reduction.     

Vertical zonality of the water cycle and the impact of land-use change on runoff in the Qingshui River Basin of Wutai Mountain,China

ABSTRACT

Hydrological processes in hilly watersheds are significantly affected by variations in elevation; however, the hydrological functions of different vertical vegetation belts, have rarely been reported. The distributed hydrological model WEP-L (Water and Energy transfer Process in Large river basins) was applied to analyse vertical variations in the hydrological processes of Qingshui River basin (QRB), Wutai Mountain (altitude: 3058 m a.s.l.), China. The results show that the highest ratio of evapotranspiration to precipitation occurs at 1800 m a.s.l. Below 1800 m, evapotranspiration is mainly controlled by precipitation, and in regions above1800 m it is controlled by energy. The runoff coefficients for different vertical vegetation belts may be ranked as follows: farmland > grassland > subalpine meadow > evergreen coniferous shrub forest > deciduous broad-leaved forest. Grassland is the largest runoff production area, contributing approximately 39.10% to the annual water yield of the QRB. The runoff from forested land decreased to a greater extent than the grassland runoff. Increasing forest cover may increase evapotranspiration and reduce runoff. These results are important, not only for further understanding of the hydrological mechanisms in this basin, but also for implementing the sustainable management of water resources and ecosystems in other mountainous regions.     

Abrupt changes of runoff and sediment load in the lower reaches of the Yellow River,China

Determining abrupt changes in runoff and sediment load may not only enhance identification of the principal driving factors for such changes but also help establish effective countermeasures for serious water deficit by managers in the Yellow River basin. We used the Mann-Kendall trend test and linear regression to determine trends and abrupt changes of runoff and sediment load during the period between 1950 and 2005, based on monthly hydrological data. Results show that runoff and sediment load decreased from 1950 to 2005, on annual or monthly time scales. Their changes are divided into three stages: fluctuating stage (1950–1970), slowly decreasing stage (1970–1980) and accelerated decreasing stage (1980–2005). The relationship between runoff and sediment load was most significant, and it can be expressed as a linear regression function. Precipitation was one of the most important climate factors affecting runoff before 1985, and the impact of human activities on runoff decrease grew strongly after 1985. Water balance analysis of the Yellow River basin indicates that natural climate change contributed about 55.3% and human activities about 44.7% to the runoff decrease after 1986.     

Characteristics of annual runoff variation in major rivers of China

The statistical properties of annual runoff in major rivers of China are studied based on the theory of stochastic process and technology of time series analysis. These properties include the characteristics of intra‐annual and inter‐annual variations of runoff, trends, abrupt changes and periodicities. The new findings from the intensive calculations and appropriate analysis of data in longer period are as follows: (i) compared with the nonuniformity of intra‐annual runoff before 1980, the nonuniformity of intra‐annual runoff in China generally decreased after 1980, except for Huaihe River and Songhua River; (ii) compared with the annual runoff before 1980, the annual runoff in China generally decreased after 1980 except for WangJiaba station in Huaihe River and Ha‐Erbin station in Songhua River; the frequency of continuous low flow and continuous high flow in Haihe River and the downstream of Yellow River is higher than those in other rivers in China; (iii) annual runoff shows a downward trend in major rivers of China especially in Haihe River, Liao River and the midstream and downstream of Yellow River; (iv) there exist certain abrupt changes of annual runoff in major rivers of China; the abrupt change‐points are different among different river basins; and (v) almost periodicities of annual runoff sequences in major rivers of China are generally 20 years below, that is, 3~7 and 12~20 years. The reasons for these changes are mainly caused by climate change and human activities. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Changes of flow regimes and precipitation in Huai River Basin in the last half century

Huai River Basin, as the sixth largest river basin in China, has a high‐regulated river system and has been facing severe water problems. In this article, the changing patterns of runoff and precipitation at 10 hydrological stations from 1956 to 2000 on the highly regulated river (Shaying River) and less‐regulated river (Huai River) in the basin are evaluated at the monthly, seasonal and annual scales using the Mann–Kendall test and simple linear regression model. The results showed that: (1) No statistically significant trends of precipitation in the upper and middle Huai River Basins were detected at the annual scale, but the trend of annual runoff at Baiguishan, Zhoukou and Fuyang stations in Shaying River decreased significantly, whereas the others were not. Moreover, the decreasing trends of runoff for most months were significant in Shaying River, although the trend of monthly precipitation decreased significantly only in April in the whole research area and the number of months in the dry season having significantly decreasing trends in runoff was more than that in the wet season. (2) The rainfall–runoff relationship was significant in both highly regulated river and less‐regulated river. In regulated river, the reservoirs have larger regulation capacity than the floodgates and thus have the smaller correlation coefficient and t‐value. In Huai River, the correlation coefficients decreased from upper stream to downstream. (3) The regulation of dams and floodgates for flood control and water supply was the principal reason for the decreasing runoff in Huai River Basin, although the decreasing precipitation in April in this basin was statistically significant. The findings are useful for recognizing hydrology variation and will provide scientific foundation to integrated water resources management in Huai River Basin. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Separating the effects of climate change and human activities on runoff over different time scales in the Zhang River basin

Most studies on separating the effects of climate change and human activities on runoff are mainly conducted at an annual scale with few analyses over different time scales, which is especially essential for regional water resources management. This paper investigates the impacts of climate change and human activities on runoff changes at annual, seasonal and monthly time scales in the Zhang River basin in North China. Firstly, the changing trends and inflection point are analyzed for hydro-climatic series over different time scales. Then the hydrological modeling based method and sensitivity based method are used to separate the effects. The results show that the effect of climate change is stronger than that of human activities on annual runoff changes. However, the driving factors on runoff are different at seasonal scale. In the wet season, the effect of human activities on runoff, accounting for 57 %, is stronger than that of climate change, while in the dry season climate change is the dominant factor for runoff reduction and the contribution rate is 72 %. Furthermore, the effects of climate change and human activities on monthly runoff changes are various in different months. The separated effects over different time scales in this study may provide more scientific basis for the water resources adaptive management over different time scales in this basin.     

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.     

An integrated statistical approach to identify the nonlinear trend of runoff in the Hotan River and its relation with climatic factors

A number of studies have indicated a transition from warm-dry to warm-wet climate in Northwest China after the 1980s. This transition was characterized by an increase in temperature and precipitation, added river runoff volume, increased lake water surface elevation and area, and elevated groundwater table. However, some literatures showed that the Hotan River has presented a contrary situation, i.e. the runoff decreased, whereas temperature and precipitation increased. In order to discover the nonlinear runoff trend and its causes in the Hotan River, based on the related data from hydrological stations, ground and air sounding meteorological stations, this study applied a comprehensive method combing correlation analysis, wavelet analysis and regression analysis to investigate the runoff change in the Hotan River with its relevant climatic factors over the past decades. The main findings are: (a) the hydrological process of the Hotan River is a nonlinear system, with a periodicity of 24 year cycle, and it shows different nonlinear trends at different time scales; (b) the data from the ground meteorological stations in the Hotan area shows a false appearance that there is almost no correlation between runoff and temperature, and a little negative correlation between runoff and precipitation; (c) but the data from air sounding meteorological stations shows the truth that there is a close relation between the runoff in the Hotan River and the 0°C level height in summer on the north slope of Kunlun Mountains. The two variables present a same periodicity, i.e. 24-year cycle, having similar nonlinear trends and significant correlations at different time scales.     

Response of the hydrological regime of the Yellow River to the changing monsoon intensity and human activity

Abstract

In the past 50 years, influenced by global climate change, the East Asian summer monsoon intensity (SMI) changed significantly, leading to a response by the water cycle of the Yellow River basin. The variation in SMI has three stages: (1) 1951–1963, SMI increased; (2) 1963–1965, SMI declined sharply, a feature that may be regarded as an abrupt change; and (3) 1965–2000, SMI remained at low levels and showed a tendency to decline slowly. The decreased SMI led to a reduction in water vapour transfer from the ocean to the Yellow River basin, and thus precipitation decreased and the natural river runoff of the Yellow River also decreased. Due to the increase in population and therefore in irrigated land area, the ratio of net water diversion to natural river runoff increased continuously. Comparison of the ratio of net water diversion to natural river runoff before and after the abrupt change in SMI indicates some discontinuity in the response of the man-induced lateral branch of the water cycle to the abrupt change in SMI. The frequently occurring flow desiccation in the lower Yellow River can be regarded as a response of the water cycle system to the decreasing summer monsoon intensity and increasing population. When the ratio of net water diversion exceeded the ratio of natural runoff of the low-flow season to the annual total natural runoff, flow desiccation in the lower Yellow River would occur. When the ratio of net water diversion is 0.3 larger than the ratio of the natural runoff of the low-flow season to the annual total natural runoff, an abrupt increase in the number of flow desiccation events is likely to occur.     

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.     

On the usefulness of remote sensing input data for spatially distributed hydrological modelling: case of the Tarim River basin in China

The ecological situation of the Tarim River basin in China seriously declined since the early 1950s, mainly due to a strong increase in water abstraction for irrigation purposes. To restore the ecological system and support sustainable development of the Tarim River basin region in China, more hydrological studies are demanded to properly understand the processes of the watershed and efficiently manage the water resources. Such studies are, however, complicated due to the limited data availability, especially in the mountainous headwater regions of the Tarim River basin. This study investigated the usefulness of remote sensing (RS) data to overcome that lack of data in the spatially distributed hydrological modelling of the basin. Complementary to the conventional station‐based (SB) data, the RS products that are directly used in this study include precipitation, evapotranspiration and leaf area index. They are derived from raw image data of the Chinese Fengyun meteorological satellite and from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). The MODIS land surface temperature was used to calculate the atmospheric temperature lapse rate to describe the temperature dependency on topographical variations. Moreover, MODIS‐based snow cover images were used to obtain model initial conditions and as validation reference for the snow model component. Comparison of model results based on RS input versus conventional SB input exhibited similar results in terms of high and low river runoff extremes, cumulative runoff volumes in both runoff and snow melting seasons and spatial and temporal variability of snow cover. During summer time, when the snow cover shrinks in the permanent glacier region, it was found that the model resolution influences the model results dramatically, hence, showing the importance of detailed (RS based) spatially distributed input data. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scaling and physiographic controls on streamflow behaviour on the Precambrian Shield, south-central Ontario

Relationships explaining streamflow behaviour in terms of drainage basin physiography greatly assist efforts to extrapolate streamflow metrics from gauged to ungauged basins in the same landscape. The Dorset Environmental Science Centre (DESC) has monitored streamflow from 22 small basins (3.4–190.5 ha) on the Precambrian Shield in south-central Ontario, in some cases since 1976. The basins exhibit regional coherence in their interannual response to precipitation; however, there is often a poor correlation between streamflow metrics from basins separated by as little as 1 km. This study assesses whether inter-basin variations in such metrics can be explained in terms of basin scale and physiography. Several characteristics (annual maximum, minimum and average flow) exhibited simple scaling with basin area, while magnitude, range and timing of annual maximum daily runoff showed scaling behaviour consistent with the Representative Elementary Area (REA) concept. This REA behaviour is partly attributed to convergence of fractional coverage of the two dominant and hydrologically-contrasting land cover types in the DESC region with increasing basin size. Three Principal Components (PCs) explained 82.4% of the variation among basin physiographic properties, and several runoff metrics (magnitude and timing of annual minimum daily runoff, mean number of days per year with 0 streamflow) exhibited significant relationships with one or more PC. Significant relationships were obtained between basin quickflow (QF) production and the PCs on a seasonal and annual basis, almost all of which were superior to simple area-based relationships. Basin physiography influenced QF generation via its control on slope runoff, water storage and hydrologic connectivity; however, this role was minimized during Spring when QF production in response to large rain-on-snow events was relatively uniform across the DESC basins. The PC-based relationships and inter-seasonal changes in their form were consistent with previous research conducted at point, slope and basin scales in the DESC region, and perceptions of key hydrological processes in these small basins may not have been as readily obtained from scaling studies using streamflow from larger basins. This process understanding provides insights into scaling behaviour beyond those derived from simple scaling and REA analyses. The physiography of the study area is representative of large portions of the Precambrian Shield, such that basin streamflow behaviour could potentially be extended across much of south-central Ontario. This would assist predictions of streamflow conditions at ungauged locations, development and testing of hydrological models for this landscape, and interpretation of inter-basin and intra-annual differences in hydrochemical behaviour on the southern Precambrian Shield.     

Temporal trends of hydro‐climatic variables and runoff response to climatic variability and vegetation changes in the Yiluo River basin,China

The Yiluo River is the largest tributary for the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River below Sanmenxia Dam. Changes of the hydrological processes in the Yiluo River basin, influenced by the climatic variability and human activities, can directly affect ecological integrity in the lower reach of the Yellow River. Understanding the impact of the climatic variability and human activities on the hydrological processes in the Yiluo River basin is especially important to maintain the ecosystem integrity and sustain the society development in the lower reach of the Yellow River basin. In this study, the temporal trends of annual precipitation, air temperature, reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) and runoff during 1961–2000 in the Yiluo River basin were explored by the Mann‐Kendall method (M‐K method), Yamamoto method and linear fitted model. The impacts of the climatic variability and vegetation changes on the annual runoff were discussed by the empirical model and simple water balance model and their contribution to change of annual runoff have been estimated. Results indicated that (i) significant upwards trend for air temperature and significant downwards trend both for precipitation and ET₀ were detected by the M‐K method at 95% confidence level. And the consistent trends were obtained by the linear fitted model; (ii) the abrupt change started from 1987 detected by the M‐K method and Yamamoto method, and so the annual runoff during 1961–2000 was divided into two periods: baseline period (1961–1986) and changeable period (1987–2000); and (iii) the vegetation changes were the main cause for change of annual runoff from baseline period to changeable period, and climatic variability contributed a little to the change of annual runoff of the Yiluo River. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tidal and Fluvial Influence on Shallow Groundwater Fluctuation in Coastal Wetlands in Yellow River Delta,China

In coastal wetland, groundwater is influenced by both tidal processes and land hydrological processes. To study the influences of tidal processes and river runoff on the shallow groundwater dynamic in coastal wetland of the Yellow River Delta, surface and shallow groundwater depth were monitored. It was found that in the east part of the study area where close to the shoreline, surface is characteristic of obvious periodicity, the fluctuation of surface water was mainly controlled by tidal processes. As to the shallow groundwater, fluctuation of water depth is also influenced by the tidal process and has obvious periodicity similar to the surface water. In the north part of the study area, the shallow groundwater is mainly influenced by the Yellow River runoff. The influence distance of tidal processes and river runoff on shallow groundwater system is 14 700 and 11 600 m, respectively.     

Analysis of long‐term water balance in the source area of the Yellow River basin

To analyse the long‐term water balance of the Yellow River basin, a new hydrological model was developed and applied to the source area of the basin. The analysis involved 41 years (1960–2000) of daily observation data from 16 meteorological stations. The model is composed of the following three sub‐models: a heat balance model, a runoff formation model and a river‐routing network model. To understand the heat and water balances more precisely, the original model was modified as follows. First, the land surface was classified into five types (bare, grassland, forest, irrigation area and water surface) using a high‐resolution land‐use map. Potential evaporation was then calculated using land‐surface temperatures estimated by the heat balance model. The maximum evapotranspiration of each land surface was calculated from potential evaporation using functions of the leaf area index (LAI). Finally, actual evapotranspiration was estimated by regulating the maximum evapotranspiration using functions of soil moisture content. The river discharge estimated by the model agreed well with the observed data in most years. However, relatively large errors, which may have been caused by the overestimation of surface flow, appeared in some summer periods. The rapid decrease of river discharge in recent years in the source area of the Yellow River basin depended primarily on the decrease in precipitation. Furthermore, the results suggested that the long‐term water balance in the source area of the Yellow River basin is influenced by land‐use changes. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiple temporal scale relationships of bankfull discharge with streamflow and sediment transport in the Yellow River in China

This paper presents a study on the characteristics of multiple time scales of bankfull discharge and its delayed response to changes of flow conditions using continuous wavelet analysis for data from selected hydrological stations in the Yellow River basin. Results showed that bankfull discharge series had one or two dominant time scales. For example, the Huayuankou station in the lower reach of the Yellow River had two dominant time scales of 19-20 years and 545 years. The dominant time scales of the bankfull discharge series were generally consistent with the dominant time scales of water discharge and sediment concentration series, indicating that the channel morphology inherits the characteristics of the hydrological system in terms of multiple time scales. In addition, the wavelet coefficients of the bankfull discharge series had a phase difference in relation to those of the sediment concentration series, with a delay time that varied from 3 to 16 years at different sites. This delay time or relaxation time is a result of the delayed response of bankfull discharge to flow conditions, which was significant for channel adjustments in response to changes of flow conditions. The findings of the multiple time scales and the delayed response are of importance for further study of channel morphology of fluvial systems.     

Analysis of Many-Year Variations in River Runoff into the Arctic Ocean

Statistical analysis of long-term hydrological observations has shown that the interannual variations in the total river runoff into the Arctic Ocean can be considered as a stationary process. Similar are the variations in the annual runoff of the Ob, Lena, and rivers of the northwestern Asia. However, some components of the total runoff into the Arctic Ocean feature distinct and fairly complicated disturbances in the homogeneity of runoff variations. For example, variations in the annual runoff of the Yenisei River have a distinct nonmonotonic trend: the runoff systematically decreased till the late 1950s and increased since the late 1960s. The rivers of the European part of the Arctic Ocean drainage basin featured a decrease in the amplitude of variations in runoff during the past decades. Rivers of the northwestern America and northeastern Asia featured a regular increase in the amplitude of runoff variations and their autocorrelation since the late 1960s.