Impacts of climate change and LULC change on runoff in the Jinsha River Basin

The climate change and Land Use/Land Cover(LULC) change both have an important impact on the rainfall-runoff processes. How to quantitatively distinguish and predict the impacts of the above two factors has been a hot spot and frontier issue in the field of hydrology and water resources. In this research, the SWAT(Soil and Water Assessment Tool) model was established for the Jinsha River Basin, and the method of scenarios simulation was used to study the runoff response to climate change and LULC change. Furthermore, the climate variables exported from 7 typical General Circulation Models(GCMs) under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios were bias corrected and input into the SWAT model to predict runoff in 2017–2050. Results showed that:(1) During the past 57 years, the annual average precipitation and temperature in the Jinsha River Basin both increased significantly while the rising trend of runoff was far from obvious.(2) Compared with the significant increase of temperature in the Jinsha River Basin, the LULC change was very small.(3) During the historical period, the LULC change had little effect on the hydrological processes in the basin, and climate change was one of the main factors affecting runoff.(4) In the context of global climate change, the precipitation, temperature and runoff in the Jinsha River Basin will rise in 2017–2050 compared with the historical period. This study provides significant references to the planning and management of large-scale hydroelectric bases at the source of the Yangtze River.     

Assessing the impacts of climate change on water resources of a West African trans-boundary river basin and its environmental consequences (Senegal River Basin)

The Senegal River Basin (SRB) is a shared watershed in West Africa which includes regions (the upper basin, valley, and delta), characterized by distinct environmental conditions. An important feature of the Senegal River flow volume historically was its inter- annual irregularity, which caused a major water resource constrain. This situation has been accentuated during the long-term drought (1969–1984) in the Sahel zone which highlights the vulnerability of food-producing systems to climate change and variability. SRB is undergoing fundamental environmental, hydrologic, and socioeconomic transitions and represents a good illustration of sensitivity to climatic variations and opportunities for adaptation. This paper aims to study water resources systems under stress from climate variability and change in the Senegal River Basin. The results show (1) through the compilation of available data, information and knowledge (sedimentological, climatical, geological, environmental, archeological, etc.), the chronological consequences of climate change during the past millennium in West Africa, and also (2) an analysis of the recent impacts and vulnerability to climate change in the SRB and finally (3) the adaptation strategies in the SRB in order to identify and resolve problems associated with this water scarcity and to address the potential for guaranteed agricultural production in this narrow geographic area.     

江河源区生态环境范围的探讨

The Tibetan Plateau, as the origin of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers, is the region of climate variation and is very sensitive to climate change in China (Feng etal., 1998). The runoff in the upper reaches of the Yellow River has been decreasing at a rate of 9.8 m3/s per decade due to rapid climate warming in the Tibetan Plateau since the mid- and late 1980s (Zhang etal., 2000). Eco-environmental change is also extremely substantial in the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers. T…     

阿克苏河流域气候变化对潜在蒸散量影响评价(英文)

Evapotranspiration is one of the key components of hydrological processes. Assessing the impact of climate factors on evapotranspiration is helpful in understanding the impact of climate change on hydrological processes. In this paper, based on the daily meteorological data from 1960 to 2007 within and around the Aksu River Basin, reference evapotranspiration (RET) was estimated with the FAO Penman-Monteith method. The temporal and spatial variations of RET were analyzed by using ARCGIS and Mann-Kendall method. Multiple Regression Analysis was employed to attribute the effects of the variations of air temperature, solar radiation, relative humidity, vapour pressure and wind speed on RET. The results showed that average annual RET in the eastern plain area of the Aksu River Basin was about 1100 mm, which was nearly twice as much as that in the western mountainous area. The trend of annual RET had significant spatial variability. Annual RET was reduced significantly in the southeastern oasis area and southwestern plain area and increased slightly in the mountain areas. The amplitude of the change of RET reached the highest in summer, contributing most of the annual change of RET. Except in some high elevation areas where relative humidity predominated the change of the RET, the variations of wind velocity predominated the changes of RET almost throughout the basin. Taking Kuqa and Ulugqat stations as an example, the variations of wind velocity accounted for more than 50% of the changes of RET.     

1958-2017年长江流域气候变化的时空特征与热点区域

The Yangtze River Watershed in China is a climate change hotspot featuring strong spatial and temporal variability;hence, it poses a certain threat to social development. Identifying the characteristics of and regions vulnerable to climate change is significantly important for formulating adaptive countermeasures. However, with regard to the Yangtze River Watershed, there is currently a lack of research on these aspects from the perspective of natural and anthropogenic factors. To address this issue, in this study, based on the temperature and precipitation records from 717 meteorological stations, the RClim Dex and random forest models were used to assess the spatiotemporal characteristics of climate change and identify mainly the natural and anthropogenic factors influencing climate change hotspots in the Yangtze River Watershed for the period 1958-2017. The results indicated a significant increasing trend in temperature, a trend of wet and dry polarization in the annual precipitation, and that the number of temperature indices with significant variations was 2.8 times greater than that of precipitation indices. Significant differences were also noted in the responses of the climate change characteristics of the sub-basins to anthropogenic and natural factors;the delta plain of the Yangtze River estuary exhibited the most significant climate changes, where 88.89% of the extreme climate indices varied considerably. Furthermore, the characteristics that were similar among the identified hotpots, including human activities(higher Gross Domestic Product and construction land proportions) and natural factors(high altitudes and large proportions of grassland and water bodies), were positively correlated with the rapid climate warming.     

2000–2011年三江源区植被覆盖时空变化特征(英文)

The Three-River Headwaters Region(TRHR), which is the source area of the Yangtze River, Yellow River, and Lancang River, is of key importance to the ecological security of China. Because of climate changes and human activities, ecological degradation occurred in this region. Therefore, "The nature reserve of Three-River Source Regions" was established, and "The project of ecological protection and construction for the Three-River Headwaters Nature Reserve" was implemented by the Chinese government. This study, based on MODIS-NDVI and climate data, aims to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in vegetation coverage and its driving factors in the TRHR between 2000 and 2011, from three dimensions. Linear regression, Hurst index analysis, and partial correlation analysis were employed. The results showed the following:(1) In the past 12 years(2000–2011), the NDVI of the study area increased, with a linear tendency being 1.2%/10a, of which the Yangtze and Yellow River source regions presented an increasing trend, while the Lancang River source region showed a decreasing trend.(2) Vegetation coverage presented an obvious spatial difference in the TRHR, and the NDVI frequency was featured by a bimodal structure.(3) The area with improved vegetation coverage was larger than the degraded area, being 64.06% and 35.94%, respectively during the study period, and presented an increasing trend in the north and a decreasing trend in the south.(4) The reverse characteristics of vegetation coverage change are significant. In the future, degradation trends will be mainly found in the Yangtze River Basin and to the north of the Yellow River, while areas with improving trends are mainly distributed in the Lancang River Basin.(5) The response of vegetation coverage to precipitation and potential evapotranspiration has a time lag, while there is no such lag in the case of temperature.(6) The increased vegetation coverage is mainly attributed to the warm-wet climate change and the implementation of the ecological protection project.     

近159年东亚夏季风年代际变化与中国东部旱涝分布(英文)

Based on the drought/flood grades of 90 meterological stations over eastern China and summer average sea-level pressure (SLP) during 1850–2008 and BPCCA statistical methods, the coupling relationship between the drought/flood grades and the East Asian summer SLP is analyzed. The East Asian summer monsoon index which is closely related with interdecadal variation of drought/flood distribution over eastern China is defined by using the key areas of SLP. The impact of the interdecadal variation of the East Asian summer monsoon on the distribution of drought/flood over eastern China in the last 159 years is researched. The results show that there are four typical drought and flood spatial distribution patterns in eastern China, i.e. the distribution of drought/flood in southern China is contrary to the other regions, the distribution of drought/flood along the Huanghe River–Huaihe River Valley is contrary to the Yangtze River Valley and regions south of it, the distribution of drought/flood along the Yangtze River Valley and Huaihe River Valley is contrary to the other regions, the distribution of drought/flood in eastern China is contrary to the western. The main distribution pattern of SLP in summer is that the strength of SLP is opposite in Asian continent and West Pacific. It has close relationship between the interdecadal variation of drought/flood distribution patterns over eastern China and the interdecadal variation of the East Asian summer monsoon which was defined in this paper, but the correlation is not stable and it has a significant difference in changes of interdecadal phase. When the East Asian summer monsoon was stronger (weaker), regions north of the Yangtze River Valley was more susceptible to drought (flood), the Yangtze River Valley and regions south of it were more susceptible to flood (drought) before the 1920s; when the East Asian summer monsoon was stronger (weaker), the regions north of the Yangtze River Valley was prone to flood (drought), the Yangtze River Valley and regions south of it were prone to drought (flood) after the 1920s. It is indicated that by using the data of the longer period could get much richer results than by using the data of the last 50–60 years. The differences in the interdecadal phase between the East Asian summer monsoon and the drought/flood distributions in eastern China may be associated with the nonlinear feedback, which is the East Asian summer monsoon for the extrinsic forcing of solar activity.     

1960-2007年中国地表潜在蒸散发敏感性的时空变化(英文)

Potential evapotranspiration (E0), as an estimate of the evaporative demand of the atmosphere, has been widely studied in the fields of irrigation management, crop water demand and predictions in ungauged basins (PUBs). Analysis of the sensitivity of E0 to meteorological factors is a basic research on the impact of climate change on water resources, and also is important to the optimal allocation of agricultural water resources. This paper dealt with sensitivity of E0 over China, which was divided into ten drainage systems, including Songhua River basin, Liaohe River basin, Haihe River basin, Yellow River basin, Yangtze River basin, Pearl River basin, Huaihe River drainage system, Southeast river drainage system, Northwest river drainage system and Southwest river drainage system. In addition, the calculation method of global radiation in Penman-Monteith formula was improved by optimization, and the sensitivities of Penman-Monteith potential evapotranspiration to the daily maximum temperature (STmax), daily minimum temperature (STmin), wind speed (SU2), global radiation (SRs) and vapor pressure (SVP) were calculated and analyzed based on the long-term meteorological data from 653 meteorological stations in China during the period 1960-2007. Results show that: (1) the correlation coefficient between E0 and pan evaporation increased from 0.61 to 0.75. E0 had the decline trends in eight of ten drainage systems in China, which indicates that "pan evaporation paradox" commonly exists in China from 1960 to 2007. (2) Spatially, Tmax was the most sensitive factor in Haihe River basin, Yellow River basin, Huaihe River drainage system, Yangtze River basin, Pearl River basin and Southeast river drainage system, and VP was the most sensitive factor in Songhua River Basin, Liaohe River basin, Northwest river drainage system while Rs was the most sensitive factor in Southwest river drainage system. For the nation-wide average, the most sensitive factor was VP, followed by Tmax, Rs, U2 and Tmin. In addition, the changes in sensitivity coefficients had a certain correlation with elevation. (3) Temporally, the maximum values of STmax and SRs occurred in July, while the maximum values of STmin, SVP and SU2 occurred in January. Moreover, trend analysis indicates that STmax had decline trends, while STmin, SU2, SRs and SVP had increasing trends.     

Climate transformation to warm-humid and its effect on river runoff in the source region of the Yellow River

The change characteristics and trends of the regional climate in the source region of the Yellow River, and the response of runoff to climate change, are analyzed based on observational data of air temperature, precipitation, and runoff at 10 main hydrological and weather stations in the region. Our results show that a strong signal of climate shift from warm-dry to warm-humid in the western parts of northwestern China （Xinjiang） and the western Hexi Corridor of Gansu Province occurred in the late 1980s, and a same signal of climate change occurred in the mid-2000s in the source region of the Yellow River located in the eastern part of northwestern China. This climate changeover has led to a rapid increase in rainfall and stream runoff in the latter region. In most of the years since 2004 the average annual precipitation in the source region of the Yellow River has been greater than the long-term average annual value, and after 2007 the runoff measured at all of the hydrologic sections on the main channel of the Yellow River in the source region has also consistently exceeded the long-term average annual because of rainfall increase. It is difficult to determine the prospects of future climate change until additional observations and research are conducted on the rate and temporal and spatial extents of climate change in the region. Nevertheless, we predict that the climate shift from warm-dry to warm-humid in the source region of the Yellow River is very likely to be in the decadal time scale, which means a warming and rainy climate in the source region of the Yellow River will continue in the coming decades.     

RS analysis of glaciers change in the Heihe River Basin,Northwest China,during the recent decades

The Heihe River Basin is the second largest inland river basin in Northwest China and it is also a hotspot in arid hydrology, water resources and other aspects of researches in cold regions. In addition, the Heihe River Basin has complete landscape, moderate watershed size, and typical social ecological environmental problems. So far, there has been no detailed assessment of glaciers change information of the whole river basin. 1：50,000 topographic map data, Landsat TM/ETM＋ remote sensing images and digital elevation model data were used in this research. Through integrated computer automatic interpretation and visual interpretation methods, the object-oriented image feature extraction method was applied to extract glacier outline information. Glaciers change data were derived from analysis, and the glacier variation and its response to climate change in the period 1956/1963–2007/ 2011 were also analyzed. The results show that：（1） In the period 1956/1963–2007/2011, the Heihe River Basin＇s glaciers had an evident retreat trend, the total area of glaciers decreased from 361.69 km2 to 231.17 km~2; shrinking at a rate of 36.08%, with average single glacier area decrease 0.14 km~2; the total number of the glaciers decreased from 967 to 800.（2） Glaciers in this basin are mainly distributed at elevations of 4300–4400 m, 4400–4500 m and 4500–4600 m; and there are significant regional differences in glaciers distribution and glaciers change.（3） Compared with other western mountain glaciers, glaciers retreat in the Heihe River Basin has a higher rate.（4） Analysis of the six meteorological stations＇ annual average temperature and precipitation data from 1960 to 2010 suggests that the mean annual temperature increased significantly and the annual precipitation also showed an increasing trend. It is concluded that glacier shrinkage is closely related with temperature rising, besides, glacier melting caused by rising temperatures greater than glacier mass supply by increased precipitation to     

近50年黑河流域的冰川变化遥感分析(英文)

The Heihe River Basin is the second largest inland river basin in Northwest China and it is also a hotspot in arid hydrology, water resources and other aspects of researches in cold regions. In addition, the Heihe River Basin has complete landscape, moderate watershed size, and typical social ecological environmental problems. So far, there has been no detailed assessment of glaciers change information of the whole river basin. 1:50,000 topographic map data, Landsat TM/ETM+ remote sensing images and digital elevation model data were used in this research. Through integrated computer automatic interpretation and visual interpretation methods, the object-oriented image feature extraction method was applied to extract glacier outline information. Glaciers change data were derived from analysis, and the glacier variation and its response to climate change in the period 1956/1963–2007/ 2011 were also analyzed. The results show that:(1) In the period 1956/1963–2007/2011, the Heihe River Basin's glaciers had an evident retreat trend, the total area of glaciers decreased from 361.69 km2 to 231.17 km~2; shrinking at a rate of 36.08%, with average single glacier area decrease 0.14 km~2; the total number of the glaciers decreased from 967 to 800.(2) Glaciers in this basin are mainly distributed at elevations of 4300–4400 m, 4400–4500 m and 4500–4600 m; and there are significant regional differences in glaciers distribution and glaciers change.(3) Compared with other western mountain glaciers, glaciers retreat in the Heihe River Basin has a higher rate.(4) Analysis of the six meteorological stations' annual average temperature and precipitation data from 1960 to 2010 suggests that the mean annual temperature increased significantly and the annual precipitation also showed an increasing trend. It is concluded that glacier shrinkage is closely related with temperature rising, besides, glacier melting caused by rising temperatures greater than glacier mass supply by increased precipitation to some extent.     

Glacier retreat and its effect on stream flow in the source region of the Yangtze River

There is growing concern over the effects of climate change on glacier melt and hydrology. In this article, we used two natural small-scale basins, Tuotuo River and Buqu River in the source region of the Yangtze River, China, to show the impacts of glacier melt on stream flow. Changes in the extent of glaciers and ice volume in 1970, 1992 and 2009 are evaluated using remote sensing images. Changes to the glacier surface area over the same time interval are estimated through the delineation of glacier outlines and positions using Landsat TM/ETM＋ imagery. By 2009, the glacier surface area had decreased by 20.83% and 34.81% of the 1970 values in Tuotuo River and Baqu River basins respectively. The total meltwater supply in each basin is estimated to be 2.56×10^9 m^3/yr and 1.24×10^9 m^3/yr respectively. Mass balance calculations show that glaciers in the study area suffered a constant mass loss of snow and ice, accumulatively approximately -24 m over the past 40 years. The annual and summer stream flow tended to increase in Tuotuo River basin from 1970 to 2009 while a negative trend of change was shown in Buqu River basin during 1970-1986. Glaciers became shorter, narrower and thinner under the effect of atmospheric warming. Streamflow increase has been recorded at Tuotuo River station in response to increased glacier and permafrost melt. However, streamflow decrease has been recorded at Yanshiping station on Buqu River, where glacier melt has lagged behind atmospheric warming. These results show a close but variable linkage among climate change, glacier melting and water resources in the source region of the Yangtze River.     

三江源区径流演变及其对气候变化的响应(英文)

Runoff at the three time scales(non-flooding season,flooding season and annual period) was simulated and tested from 1958 to 2005 at Tangnaihai(Yellow River Source Region:YeSR),Zhimenda(Yangtze River Source Region:YaSR) and Changdu(Lancang River Source Region:LcSR) by hydrological modeling,trend detection and comparative analysis.Also,future runoff variations from 2010 to 2039 at the three outlets were analyzed in A1B and B1 scenarios of CSIRO and NCAR climate model and the impact of climate change was tested.The results showed that the annual and non-flooding season runoff decreased significantly in YeSR,which decreased the water discharge to the midstream and downstream of the Yellow River,and intensified the water shortage in the Yellow River Basin,but the other two regions were not statistically significant in the last 48 years.Compared with the runoff in baseline(1990s),the runoff in YeSR would decrease in the following 30 years(2010-2039),especially in the non-flooding season.Thus the water shortage in the midstream and downstream of the Yellow River Basin would be serious continuously.The runoff in YaSR would increase,especially in the flooding season,thus the flood control situation would be severe.The runoff in LcSR would also be greater than the current runoff,and the annual and flooding season runoff would not change significantly,while the runoff variation in the non-flooding season is uncertain.It would increase significantly in the B1 scenario of CSIRO model but decrease significantly in B1 scenario of NCAR model.Furthermore,the most sensitive region to climate change is YaSR,followed by YeSR and LcSR.     

长江流域1961-2002年极端降水特征

The total precipitation of the highest 1 day, 3 day, 5 day and 7 day precipitation amount （R1 D, R3D, R5D and R7D） in the Yangtze River basin was analyzed with the help of linear trend analysis and continuous wavelet transform method. The research results indicated that： 1） Spatial distribution of RID is similar in comparison with that of R3D, R5D and R7D. The Jialingjiang and Hanjiang river basins are dominated by decreasing trend, which is significant at 〉95% confidence level in Jialingjiang River basin and insignificant at 〉95% confidence level in Hanjiang River basin. The southern part of the Yangtze River basin and the western part of the upper Yangtze River basin are dominated by significant increasing trend of RID extreme precipitation at 〉95% confidence level. 2） As for the R3D, R5D and R7D, the western part of the upper Yangtze River basin is dominated by significant increasing trend at 〉95% confidence level. The eastern part of the upper Yangtze River basin is dominated by decreasing trend, but is insignificant at 〉95% confidence level. The middle and lower Yangtze River basin is dominated by increasing trend, but insignificant at 〉95% confidence level. 3） The frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events are intensified over time. Precipitation anomalies indicated that the southeastern part, southern part and southwestern part of the Yangtze River basin are dominated by positive extreme precipitation anomalies between 1993-2002 and 1961-1992. The research results of this text indicate that the occurrence probability of flash flood is higher in the western part of the upper Yangtze River basin and the middle and lower Yangtze River basin, esp. in the southwestern and southeastern parts of the Yangtze River basin.     

Impact of the Grain-for-Green Programme and climate change on the soil erosion decline in the Yangtze River,China

The area of land that is affected by soil erosion in the Yangtze River has been reduced by 146,000 km²(accounting for 27% of the entire Yangtze River) since 2000. However, the contributions of different tributaries to this soil erosion decline and the underlying causes have not been determined. Here we quantify the soil erosion decline in the Yangtze River and the impacts of the Grain-for-Green Programme(GFGP) and climate change using the RUSLE model and statistical methods. The resul...     

中国干湿格局对未来高排放情景下气候变化响应的敏感性（英文）

Changes in regional moisture patterns under the impact of climate change are an important focus for science. Based on the five global climate models(GCMs) participating in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5(CMIP5), this paper projects trends in the area of arid/humid climate regions of China over the next 100 years. It also identifies the regions of arid/humid patterns change and analyzes their temperature sensitivity of responses. Results show that future change will be characterized by a significant contraction in the humid region and an expansion of arid/humid transition zones. In particular, the sub-humid region will expand by 28.69% in the long term(2070–2099) relative to the baseline period(1981–2010). Under 2℃ and 4℃ warming, the area of the arid/humid transition zones is projected to increase from 10.17% to 13.72% of the total of China. The humid region south of the Huaihe River Basin, which is affected mainly by a future increase in evapotranspiration, will retreat southward and change to a sub-humid region. In general, the sensitivity of responses of arid/humid patterns to climate change in China will intensify with accelerating global warming.     

Vulnerability of an inland river basin water resource system under the background of future accelerated glacier melt: A case of Yarkent River Basin in arid Northwest China

Water resources of inland river basins of arid Northwest China will be profoundly affected by future accelerated glacier melt. Based on scenarios of climate warming, accelerated glacier melt and socioeconomic development in the future, vulnerability of the Yarkent River Basin water resources for 2010–2030 is evaluated quantitatively using the indicator of water deficiency ratio. Results show that the quantity of the basin’s water resources will continuously increase over the next 20 years, mainly due to the effect of climate warming and accelerated glacier melt. But, in the next 10 years, the basin will have a deficient water status, and the water resource system will be quite vulnerable. This is due to an increased water demand from rapidly increasing socioeconomic development and a lack of low water-use efficiency in the near future. After about 2020, water supply will outstrip demand, greatly relieving the basin’s water deficient due to increased water resources and the advancement of water-saving technology. Contrast to the hypothetical situation of unchanged glacier melt, climate warming and resulting accelerated glacier melt may play a role in relieving the supply-demand strain to some extent.     

Quantify the impacts of climate variability and anthropogenic activities on runoff:With an improved double mass curve method

Quantitative assessments of the impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activities on runoff help us to better understand the mechanisms of hydrological processes. This study analyzed the dynamics of mountainous runoff in the upper reaches of the Shiyang River Basin(USRB) and its sub-catchments, and quantified the impacts of climate change and human activities on runoff using the improved double mass curve(IDMC) method, which comprehensively considers the effects of precipitation and evapotr...     

1975-2016年天山中段阿克苏河流域冰川变化分析（英文）

In this study, we analyzed glacier changes in the Aksu River Basin during the period 1975–2016, based on Landsat MSS/TM/ETM+/OLI imagery analysis and the Chinese Glacier Inventory(CGI). The results showed that the total number, area, and volume of the studied glaciers in the Aksu River Basin decreased by 202(7.65%), 965.7 km~2(25.88%), and 74.85–78.52 km~3(23.72%–24.3%), respectively. The rate of glacier retreat in the basin was slower in the north, northwest and west, but reached the highest in the east(measuring 0.86% yr~(-1)). Furthermore, there were significant regional differences in the distribution and change of glaciers, the Kumalak River Basin had the largest glacier number and area, about 63.15% and 76.47% of the studied basin, and the rate of glacier retreat in the Kumalak River Basin was 0.65% yr~(-1), it was higher than the Toxkan River Basin which reached 0.57% yr~(-1). We found the shrinkage rate of glacier for different periods in the past 41 years, during 1975–1990 the glaciers showed the greatest retreat, while the rate of glacier area retreat slowed down significantly from 1990 to 2000. In recent 16 years since 2000, the rate of glacier retreat in the Toxkan River Basin was higher compared with 1990–2000. The RGI50~(-1)3.04920 glacier of Kumalak River Basin had been in a state of retreat since 1990. Over the past 41 years, the temperature and precipitation in the Aksu River Basin increased obviously, and the warming temperatures were clearly the main reason for glacier retreat in the region, while the increased precipitation in the mountain area may have a direct relation with the retreating rate of glaciers.     

Responses to climate warming of hydrological processes in the upper Kelan River in the Altay Mountains, Xinjiang, China

Kelan River is a branch of the Ertix River, originating in the Altay Mountains in Xinjiang, northwestern China. The upper streams of the Kelan River are located on the southern slope of the Altay Mountains; they arise from small glacial lakes at an elevation of more than 2,500 m. The total water-collection area of the studied basin, from 988 to 3,480 m, is about 1,655 km2. Almost 95 percent of the basin area is covered with snow in winter. The westerly air masses deplete nearly all the moisture that comes in the form of snow during the winter months in the upper and middle reaches of the basin. That annual flow from the basin is about 382 mm, about 45 percent of which is contributed by snowmelt. The mean annual precipitation in the basin is about 620 mm, which is primarily concentrated in the upper and middle basin. The Kelan River system could be vulnerable to climate change because of substantial contribution from snowmelt runoff. The hydrological system could be altered significantly because of a warming of the climate. The impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle and events would pose an additional threat to the Altay region. The Kelan River, a typical snow-dominated watershed, has more area at higher elevations and accumulates snow during the winter. The peak flow occurs as a result of snow-melting during the late spring or early summer. Stream flow varies strongly throughout the year because of seasonal cycles of precipitation, snowpack, temperature, and groundwater. Changes in the temperature and precipitation affect the timing and volume of stream-flow. The stream-flow consists of contributions from meltwater of snow and ice and from runoff of rainfall. Therefore, it has low flow in winter, high flow during the spring and early summer as the snowpack melts, and less flows during the late summer. Because of the warming of the current climate change, hydrology processes of the Kelan River have undergone marked changes, as evidenced by the shift of the maximum flood peak discharge from May to June