Spatial and temporal variations in rainfall erosivity during 1960–2005 in the Yangtze River basin

Water resources and soil erosion are the most important environmental concerns in the Yangtze River basin, where soil erosion and sediment yield are closely related to rainfall erosivity. The present study explores the spatial and temporal changing patterns of the rainfall erosivity in the Yangtze River basin of China during 1960–2005 at annual, seasonal and monthly scales. The Mann–Kendall test is employed to detect the trends during 1960–2005, and the T test is applied to investigate possible changes between 1991–2005 and 1960–1990. Meanwhile the Rescaled Range Analysis is used for exploring future trend of rainfall erosivity. Moreover the continuous wavelet transform technique is using studying the periodicity of the rainfall erosivity. The results show that: (1) The Yangtze River basin is an area characterized by uneven spatial distribution of rainfall erosivity in China, with the annual average rainfall erosivity range from 131.21 to 16842 MJ mm ha^?1 h^?1. (2) Although the directions of trends in annual rainfall erosivity at most stations are upward, only 22 stations have significant trends at the 90 % confidence level, and these stations are mainly located in the Jinshajiang River basin and Boyang Lake basin. Winter and summer are the seasons showing strong upward trends. For the monthly series, significant increasing trends are mainly found during January, June and July. (3) Generally speaking, the results detected by the T test are quite consistent with those detected by the Mann–Kendall test. (4) The rainfall erosivity of Yangtze River basin during winter and summer will maintain a detected significant increasing trend in the near future, which may bring greater risks to soil erosion. (5) The annual and seasonal erosivity of Yangtze River basin all have one significant periodicity of 2–4 years.     

Spatial distribution and temporal variation of reference evapotranspiration during 1961–2006 in the Yellow River Basin,China

Abstract

To explore the spatial and temporal variations of the reference evapotranspiration (ET_ref) is helpful to understand the response of hydrological processes to climate changes. In this study, ET_ref was calculated by the Penman-Monteith method (P-M method) using air temperature, wind speed, relative humidity and sunshine hours at 89 meteorological stations during 1961–2006 in the Yellow River Basin (YRB), China. The spatial distribution and temporal variations of ET_ref were explored by means of the kriging method, the Mann-Kendall (M-K) method and the linear regression model, and the causes for the variations discussed. The contribution of main meteorological variables to the variations of ET_ref was explored. From the results we found that: (1) the spatial distributions of ET_ref display seasonal variation, with similar spatial patterns in spring, summer and autumn; (2) temporal trends for ET_ref showed large variation in the upper, middle and lower regions of the basin, most of the significant trends (P?=?0.05) were detected in the middle and lower regions, and, in particular, the upward and downward trends were mainly detected in the middle region and lower region of the basin, respectively; and (3) sensitivity analysis identified the most sensitive variable for ET_ref as relative humidity, followed by air temperature, sunshine hours and wind speed at the basin scale.

Citation Yang, Zhifeng, Liu, Qiang & Cui, Baoshan (2011) Spatial distribution and temporal variation of reference evapotranspiration during 1961–2006 in the Yellow River Basin, China. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(6), 1015–1026.     

Spatial–temporal variability in water quality and macro-invertebrate assemblages in the Upper Mara River basin,Kenya

Tropical rivers display profound temporal and spatial heterogeneity in terms of environmental conditions. This aspect needs to be considered when designing a monitoring program for water quality in rivers. Therefore, the physico-chemical composition and the nutrient loading of the Upper Mara River and its two main tributaries, the Amala and Nyangores were monitored. Initial daily, and later a weekly monitoring schedule for 4 months spanning through the wet and dry seasons was adopted. Benthic macro-invertebrates were also collected during the initial sampling to be used as indicators of water quality. The aim of the current study was to investigate the physico-chemical status and biological integrity of the Upper Mara River basin. This was achieved by examining trends in nutrient concentrations and analyzing the structure, diversity and abundance of benthic macro-invertebrates in relation to varying land use patterns. Sampling sites were selected based on catchment land use and the level of human disturbance, and using historical records of previous water quality studies. River water pH, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity (EC), temperature, and turbidity were determined in situ. All investigated parameters except iron and manganese had concentration values within allowable limits according to Kenyan and international standards for drinking water. The Amala tributary is more mineralized and also shows higher levels of pH and EC than water from the Nyangores tributary. The latter, however, has a higher variability in both the total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) concentrations. The variability in TP and TN concentrations increases downstream for both tributaries and is more pronounced for TN than for TP. Macro-invertebrate assemblages responded to the changes in land use and water quality in terms of community composition and diversity. The study recommends detailed continuous monitoring of the water quality at shorter time intervals and to identify key macro-invertebrate taxa that can be used to monitor changes of the water quality in rivers of the Mara basin as a result of anthropogenic changes.     

Spatial and temporal variation of precipitation in Sudan and their possible causes during 1948–2005

Temporal and spatial patterns of precipitation are essential to the understanding of soil moisture status which is vital for vegetation regeneration in the arid ecosystems. The purposes of this study are (1) to understand the temporal and spatial variations of precipitation in Sudan during 1948–2005 by using high quality global precipitation data known as Precipitation REConstruction (PREC), which has been constructed at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Climate Prediction Center, and (2) to discuss the relationship between precipitation variability and moisture flux based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data in order to ascertain the potential causes of the spatial and temporal variations of precipitation in the region. Results showed that (1) annual and monthly precipitation in Sudan had great spatial variability, and mean annual precipitation varied from almost nil in the North to about 1500 mm in the extreme Southwest; (2) precipitation of the main rain season, i.e., July, August and September, and annual total precipitation in the central part of Sudan decreased significantly during 1948–2005; (3) abrupt change points were found in the annual, July, August and September in the late 1960s, when precipitation decreased more rapidly than in other periods; and (4) the decreasing precipitation was associated with the weakening African summer monsoon. The summer moisture flux over Sudan tended to be decreasing after the late 1960s which decreased the northward propagation of moisture flux in North Africa. This study provides a complementary view to the previous studies that attempted to explain the Sahel persistent drought and possible causes.     

Impact of land-use change on hydrological processes in the Maying River basin, China

Since the 1960s, dramatic changes have taken place in land-use patterns characterized by the persistent expansion of cultivated land and a continuous decrease in natural woodland and grassland in the arid inland river basins of China. It is very important to assess the effects of such land-use changes on the hydrological processes so vital for water resource management and sustainable development on the catchment scale. The Maying River catchment, a typical arid inland watershed located in the middle of the Hexi Corridor in northwest China, was the site chosen to investigate the hydrological responses to land-use changes. The annual runoff, base flow, maximum peak flow, and typical seasonal runoff in both spring and autumn flood periods were selected as the variables in the hydrological processes. Statistical-trend analysis and curvilinear regression were utilized to detect the trends in hydrological variables while eliminating the climatic influence. The relationship between cultivated land-use and hydrological variables was analyzed based on four periods of land-use variation data collected since 1965. A runoff model was established composed of two factors, i.e., cultivated land use and precipitation. The impact of land use changes, especially in the large ar- eas of upstream woodland and grassland turned into cultivated lands since 1967, has resulted in a mean annual runoff decrease of 28.12%, a base flow decline of 35.32%, a drop in the maximum peak discharge of 35.77%, and mean discharge decreases in spring and autumn of 36.05% and 24.87% respectively, of which the contribution of cultivated land expansion to the influence of annual runoff amounts to 77%-80%, with the contribution to the influence of spring discharge being 73%-81%, and that to the influence of base flow reaching 62%-65%. Thus, a rational regulation policy of land use patterns is vitally important to the sustainable use of water resources and the proper development of the entire catchment.     

Spatial and temporal variation of gravity field in the capital region

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Spatio-temporal characteristics of extreme precipitation events during 1951–2011 in Shandong,China and possible connection to the large scale atmospheric circulation

Analyses of the spatio-temporal variability of precipitation extremes defined by eleven extreme precipitation indices in Shandong were conducted by utilizing the methods of linear regression, ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and Mann–Kendall test. The results revealed that statistically significant decreasing trends existed for almost all extreme precipitation indices except for the consecutive dry days (CDD) and simple daily intensity index. A periodicity of 10–15 years for precipitation extremes is detected by EEMD analysis. Greatest 5-day total rainfall (RX5day), very wet days (R95p) and annual total wet-day precipitation (PRCPTOT) experienced decreasing trends in the region stretching from the southeast coast to the west, while the spatial distribution of the decreasing trends for other indices was more complicated. Moreover, the frequency of occurrence in precipitation extremes at Changdao station, surrounded by the sea in the northeast region, increased in contrast to surrounding stations. This may suggest a possible effect from the local marine environment on extreme precipitation. In addition, the stations with statistically significant positive trends for CDD were mainly located in mid-west Shandong and along the southeast coast, where the extreme precipitation and total rainfall were, on the contrary, characterized by decreasing trends. These results indicate that drought or severe drought events have become more frequent in those regions. Analysis of large-scale atmospheric circulation changes indicates that a strengthening anticyclonic circulation and increasing geopotential height as well as decreasing strength of monsoonal flow in recent decades may have contributed to the variations in extreme precipitation in Shandong.     

Climate and hydrological changes in the Ob River Basin during 1936–2017

Changes in the hydrological regimes of Arctic rivers could affect the thermohaline circulation of the Arctic Ocean. In this study, we analysed spatiotemporal variations in temperature and precipitation in the Ob River Basin regions during 1936–2017 based on data from the Global Precipitation Climatology Center. Changes in discharge and response to climate change were examined based on monthly observed data during the same period. It is indicated the Ob River Basin experienced significant overall rapid warming and wetting (increased precipitation) in the study period, with average rates of 0.20°C (10 year⁻¹) and 5.3 mm (10 year⁻¹), respectively. The annual spatial variations of temperature and precipitation showed different scales in different regions. The discharge in spring and winter significantly increased at a rate of 384.1 and 173.1 m³/s (10 year⁻¹), respectively. Hydrograph separation indicated infiltration and supported that deep flow paths increased the contribution of groundwater to base flow. Meanwhile, the variation of the ratio of Q_max/Q_min suggested that the basin storage and the mechanism of discharge generation have significantly changed. The hydrological processes were influenced by changes of permafrost in a certain in the Ob River Basin. An increase in the recession coefficient (RC) implies that the permafrost degradation in the basin due to climate warming affected hydrological processes in winter. Permafrost degradation affected the Q_max/Q_min more significantly in the warm season than RC due to the enhanced infiltration that converted more surface water into groundwater in the cold season. The impact of precipitation on discharge, including surface flow and base flow, was more significant than temperature at the annual and seasonal scales in the Ob River Basin. The base flow was more obviously influenced by temperature than surface flow. The results of this study are significant for analyses of the basin water budget and freshwater input to the Arctic Ocean.     

Spatial and temporal characteristics of acoustic emission activity during deformation of rock samples with inhomogeneous fault under biaxial compression

The spatial and temporal distributions of acoustic emission （AE） during the deformation of samples containing an inhomogeneous fault have been studied under biaxial compression. The results show that the fault strength and the duration from loading to failure increase and the failure mode changes from abrupt instability to gradual failure with increase of lateral stress σ2. The pre-setting fault and its heterogeneity play an important role in controlling AE spatial distribution during the deformation. The basic pattern of AE spatial distribution is controlled by the pre-setting fault, especially the parts with inhomogeneous strength and the strong segment, and the localization of fracturing starts from the positions with inhomogeneous strength, With increase of σ5, the dense AE distribution area spreads from the positions with inhomogeneous strength to the whole strong segment gradually. AE temporal sequence is significantly affected by σ2. The fault shows abrupt instability in final failure, which occurs on a background of ＂enhancement-quiescence＂ in microfracturing activity at lower σ2. At higher σ5, the fault shows gradual failure, and AE occurrence rate increases continuously and AER increase exponentially before and after the failure, The effect of σ2 on b-value is also remarkable, b-value shows precursory decrease in the weakening stage when fault behavior is abrupt instability, but it shows balanced change when fault behavior is gradual failure,     

Monitoring temporal–spatial variations of AOD over the Yangtze River Delta,China

Aerosol can induce visibility reduction, affect radiation balance and modify cloud property on the environmental effect, and show the harmful effects on human health. Insight of aerosol becomes an integral task in the process of control measures for environmental pollution. The present study provided an analysis of temporal–spatial variations of aerosol optical depth (AOD) using the MOD04 level-2 in collection 6 (C6) with the deep blue retrieval algorithm from January 2005 to December 2015 over Yangtze River Delta (YRD) in China. The AOD validations between MODIS and Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) were estimated by the methods of regression, correlation. Then, the periodic features and trends of AOD and angstrom exponent (AE) were explored with the wavelet transformation (WT) procedure. Further, the variations of AOD and AE spatial distribution on multi-time scales (annual, monthly and season) were demonstrated. Meantime, the sources of AOD are discussed. It was found that the daily AOD from MODIS has a strong correlation relationship (slope?=?0.9838, r?=?0.84) with AERONET over YRD. The variations of both AOD and AE on time series have been distinct temporal periodic (12, 6 and 4 months) characteristics, and show the decreasing trends on annual and semi-annual periods. On annual, the AOD on spatial distribution is slowly declining from the northwest towards the southeast, and the AE on spatial distribution is gradually decreasing from the northwest to the southeast and from the land to the coast. The variations both inter-annual AOD and AE on spatial distribution show the inverse trends, respectively. On monthly, the means of AOD range from minimum 0.46 in January to maximum 0.90 in July, and the variations of spatial distribution mainly occur in the north parts of Yangtze River and some scattered areas with high terrain and south coast. The means of AE range from minimum 1.13 in October to maximum 1.58 in April, and the variations of spatial distribution are mainly found in the south of Henan, the north of Jiangsu, the coast belt and the riverside of Yangtze River and the high terrain regions. On seasonality, the means of AOD reaches its maximum 0.68 in summer and minimum 0.50 in winter, and the variations of spatial distribution mainly occur in the coast belt, the north parts of Hongze Lake and the south parts with high terrain. The means of AE reaches its maximum 1.48 in spring and minimum 1.25 in autumn, and the variations of spatial distribution were shown the similarity with that of monthly.     

Temporal and spatial variation and stability of the oasis in the Sangong River Watershed, Xinjiang, China

The unique ecological landscapes are composed of the mountain systems with the obviousvertical differentiation, vast natural desert systems, and oasis systems on which the human beings rely for the existence in the arid areas in West China. Oases are the …     

Spatial–temporal changes in Andean plateau climate and elevation from stable isotopes of mammal teeth

Paleoelevation constraints from fossil leaf physiognomy and stable isotopes of sedimentary carbonate suggest that significant surface uplift of the northern Andean plateau, on the order of 2.5 ± 1 km, occurred between ～ 10.3 and 6.4 Ma. Independent spatial and temporal constraints on paleoelevation and paleoclimate of both the northern and southern plateau are important for understanding the distribution of rapid surface uplift and its relation to climate evolution across the plateau. This study focuses on teeth from modern and extinct mammal taxa (including notoungulates, pyrotheres, and litopterns) spanning ～ 29 Ma to present, collected from the Altiplano and Eastern Cordillera of Bolivia (16.2°S to 21.4°S), and lowland Brazil. Tooth enamel of large, water-dependent mammals preserves a record of surface water isotopes and the type of plants that animals ingested while their teeth were mineralizing. Previous studies have shown that the δ¹⁸O of modern precipitation and surface waters decrease systematically with increasing elevations across the central Andes. Our results from high elevation sites between 3600 and 4100 m show substantially more positive δ¹⁸O values for late Oligocene tooth samples compared to < 10 Ma tooth δ¹⁸O values. Late Oligocene teeth collected from low elevation sites in southeast Brazil show δ¹⁸O values similar (within 2‰) to contemporaneous teeth collected at high elevation in the Eastern Cordillera. This affirms that the Andean plateau was at a very low elevation during the late Oligocene. Late Oligocene teeth from the northern Eastern Cordillera also yield consistent δ¹³C values of about ? 9‰, indicating that the environment was semi-arid at that time. Latitudinal gradients in δ¹⁸O values of late Miocene to Pliocene fossil teeth are similar to modern values for large mammals, suggesting that by ～ 8 Ma in the northern Altiplano and by ～ 3.6 Ma in the southern Altiplano, both regions had reached high elevation and established a latitudinal rainfall gradient similar to modern.     

Spatial–temporal changes in potential evaporation patterns based on the Cloud model and their possible causes

It is of importance to comprehensively investigate the spatial–temporal changes in potential evaporation patterns, which helps guide the long-term water resource allocation and irrigation managements. In this study, the Cloud model was adopted to quantify the average, uniformity, and stability of the annual potential evaporation in the Wei River Basin (WRB), a typical arid and semi-arid region in China, with the purpose of objectively and comprehensively characterizing its changing patterns. The cross wavelet analysis was then applied to explore the correlations between annual potential evaporation and Arctic Oscillation (AO)/El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) with an aim to determine the possible causes of annual potential evaporation variations. Results indicated that: (1) the average of annual potential evaporation in the WRB first declined and then increased, and its stability also showed the same change characteristics, whilst its dispersion degree exhibited a decreasing trend, implying that potential evaporation has a smaller inter-annual variation; (2) the average of annual potential evaporation in the western basin was obviously smaller than that in the other areas, while its uniformity and stability in the Guanzhong plain and the Loess Plateau areas are larger than those in other areas, especially in the western basin where the uniformity and stability are the smallest; (3) both AO and ENSO exhibited strong correlations with annual potential evaporation variations, indicating that both AO and ENSO have played an important role in the annual potential evaporation variations in the WRB.     

Spatial variations and temporal changes in potential evaporation in the Tarim Basin,northwest China (1960–2006): influenced by irrigation?

The spatial pattern and temporal changes in potential evaporation (1960–2006) were evaluated using data from 48 meteorological stations in the Tarim Basin. These stations are located in four typical landscapes with varying irrigation influences. Mean annual potential evaporation is low in stations in the mountainous regions, next in the large oasis regions with extensive irrigation and small oasis regions with restricted irrigation, whereas they are high in the desert regions. The spatial pattern of annual mean potential evaporation is owing to the aerodynamic term, while the radiation term is relatively constant in different regions. The significant levels of the trends in potential evaporation and the radiation and aerodynamic terms in different regions were detected using the non‐parametric Mann–Kendall test. More significant decreasing trends in annual potential evaporation with relatively constant radiation term were found in the oasis regions (especially the large oasis regions) than that in the mountainous and desert regions. In the large oasis regions, the pronounced decrease in potential evaporation is mainly attributed to the decrease in wind speed and the increase in relative humidity. The long‐term mean and annual potential evaporation with an almost constant radiation term were found to be complementary with actual evaporation influenced by irrigation. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Hydrological effects of water management measures in the Dovinė River basin,Lithuania

Abstract

Lake ?uvintas, located in southern Lithuania in the Dovin? River basin, is one of the largest lakes and oldest nature reserves in the country. However, changes in the hydrology of the Dovin? River basin, caused by large-scale land reclamation and water management works carried out in the 20th century, have resulted in a significant decrease in the biodiversity of the lake and surrounding wetlands. In order to halt the ongoing deterioration of the lake and wetlands, solutions have to be found at the basin level. Using the SIMGRO model, various measures were therefore analysed to evaluate their impact on the water management in the Dovin? River basin. The results show that it is impossible to fully restore the water dynamics and flow pattern in the Dovin? River to their original state. However, a good measure for improving the hydrological conditions is to block drainage ditches and remove bushes and trees from the wetlands.     

Regional difference of annual precipitation and discharge variation over west China during the last 50 years

Using annual precipitation and discharge data measured in the past five decades,this paper analyzed the regional differences over west China in terms of climate and discharge variations,and investigated the relationship between the regional characteristics and the activities of South and East Asian sum-mer monsoon. Results revealed that the precipitation and discharge in the upper reaches of the Yellow River (Central West China) have a negative correlation with those in Xinjiang (northwest China) and the Yarlung Zangbo River (the upper reaches of the Brahmaputra Rive,southwest China) regions. The geographical patterns of precipitation and discharge variations are different over west China,i.e. the regional climate displays the alteration of dry-wet-dry or wet-dry-wet from north to south in west China. The negative correlation of annual discharges between Xinjiang and the upper reaches of the Yellow River is found statistically significant in the decadal scale,and that between the Yarlung Zangbo River and the upper reaches of the Yellow River is found active in the interannual scale. The regional char-acteristics indicate that the discharge/precipitation variations in the upper reaches of the Yellow River are dominated by the East Asian summer monsoon while their variations in Xinjiang are affected by both the west wind and East Asian summer monsoon.     

Regionalization of annual runoff characteristics and its indication of co-dependence among hydro-climate–landscape factors in Jinghe River Basin,China

It is a challenge to properly generalize hydrological characteristics under the great heterogeneity of climate and landscape conditions across space because the linkage and interaction among hydro-climate–landscape factors are complicate and ambiguous at regional scale. In this study, multivariate statistical analyses including clustering, correlation and regression analysis were combined with Budyko and L’vovich frameworks to regionalize runoff characteristics over Jinghe River Basin of northwest China. For all 23 sub-basins, the hydrologic factors were quantified using the metrics of mean annual values and intra-annual variability of runoff. The climatic factors are determined from precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and aridity index, and the landscape factors were extracted from topography, soils and vegetation of the sub-basins. Results illustrated that the 23 sub-basins can be classified into two groups, the dry Loess Plateau (LP) and the wet Mountain Region (MR) in the study basin. The runoff metrics of sub-basins in each group present similarity in spatial distribution, intra-annual variations and the dominant influence factors of climate and landscape. But such runoff metrics characteristics and their co-dependence are significantly different between the two clustered sub-basins. Higher runoff and gentler hydrographs were observed in the MR in response to wetter and greater intra-annual variability in climate and greater spatial variability in landscape, whereas lower runoff and sharper hydrograph were seen in response to drier and greater intra-annual variability in climate, and less spatial variability in landscape in the LP. The runoff spatial distribution is more sensitive to climate spatial variation than to landscape in LP as opposed to the MR. Among the landscape factors, forest distribution is the dominant control on the spatial runoff characteristics in LP whereas topography is principal factor in MR. Our results highlight that current measures of reforestation plus marked change in climate in the Loess Plateau could lead to significant change in streamflow.     

Evidence of earthquakes triggered by the tidal force of the sun and the moon——On the temporal characteristics of the earthquakes in Xingtai,Hejian and Tangshan

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