Stable isotopes in precipitation in Xilin River Basin, northern China and their implications

Under the increasing pressure of water shortage and steppe degradation,information on the hydrological cycle in steppe region in Inner Mongolia,China is urgently needed.An intensive investigation of the temporal variations ofδD andδ1 8O in precipitation was conducted in 2007-2008 in the Xilin River Basin,Inner Mongolia in the northern China.TheδD andδ1 8O values for 54 precipitation samples range from+1.1‰to-34.7‰and-3.0‰to -269‰,respectively.This wide range indicates that stable isotopes in precipitation are primarily controlled by different condensation mechanisms as a function of air temperature and varying sources of vapor.The relationship between δD andδ1 8 O defined a well constrained line given by δD =7.89 δ18O+9.5,which is nearly identical to the Meteoric Water Line in the northern China.The temperature effect is clearly displayed in this area.The results of backward tra- jectory of each precipitation day show that the vapor of the precipitation in cold season(October to March)mainly originates from the west while the moisture source is more complicated in warm season(April to September).A light precipitation amount effect existes at the precipitation event scale in this area.The vapor source of precipitation with higher d-excesses are mainly from the west wind or neighboring inland area and precipitation with lower d-excesses from a monsoon source from the southeastern China.     

Spatial differentiation in stable isotope compositions of surface waters and its environmental significance in the Issyk-Kul Lake region of Central Asia

Stable isotope values of oxygen(~(18)O) and hydrogen(~(2)H) of surface waters were used to study the origin and environmental significances in the Issyk-Kul basin of Kyrgyzstan in Central Asia, which is the most important intermountain basin in the modern Tien Shan orogen. This study is the first analysis of hydrochemical spatial differentiation in the stable isotopes of surface waters in this watershed.75 samples were collected from rivers, springs, lakes,rain and snow during the rainy season in July and August of 2016. Stable isotopes of ~(18)O and ~(2)H were studied for all samples, and cation ratios(Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca) were also determined for lake water samples.Stable isotope values from precipitation scattered around the Local Meteoric Water Line(determined from Urumqi Station of the global network of isotopes in precipitation(GNIP)), together with values of the Deuterium excess parameter(d) from 15.3‰ to30.5‰, with an average of 19.8‰, indicating that the moisture sources are primarily from regions with low relative humidity. The δ~(18)O and δ~(2)H values were significantly different between the river and lake samples, indicating that regional evaporation caused the isotopic enrichment of lake water. Geospatial autocorrelation, measured by Moran's I coefficient,indicated weak spatial autocorrelation within stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the surface waters of the studied area, which is primarily an effect of climate during the water chemistry evolution. The cation ratios Sr/Ca and Mg/Ca in lake water samples were not correlated with the concentration of total dissolved solids, but did show correlation with stable isotopic values, which is significant for paleoenvironmental reconstruction.     

Stable Isotopes in Precipitation and Atmospheric Moisture of Pailugou Catchment in Northwestern China′s Qilian Mountains

Hydrogen and oxygen isotopes in precipitation have been widely used as effective traces to investigate hydrological processes such as evaporation and atmospheric moisture source. This study analyzed δD and δ~(18)O of precipitation in continuous event-based samples at three stations of Pailugou Catchment from November 2012 to December 2013. The δ~(18)O and δD values ranged from-32.32‰ to +3.23‰ and from-254.46‰ to +12.11‰, respectively. Results show that the δ~(18)O displayed a distinct seasonal variation, with enriched values occurring in summer and relatively depleted values in winter, respectively. There was a statistically significant positive correlation between the δ~(18)O and δD values and local surface air temperature at all the three stations. The nearest Global Network of Isotopes in Precipitation(GNIP) station(Zhangye), compared to the Meteoric Water Lines for this study, showed the obvious local evaporation effects with lower intercept and slope. Additionally, d-excess(δD- 8δ~(18)O) parameter in precipitation exhibited an anti-phase seasonal variability with the δ~(18)O. The 96-h back trajectories for each precipitation event using Hybrid Single Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory(HYSPLIT) model indicated a dominant effect of westerly air masses in summer and the integrated influence of westerly and polar air masses in winter.     

Assessing spatio-temporal characteristics of water storage changes in the mountainous areas of Central Asia based on GRACE

The mountainous areas of Central Asia provide substantial water resources, and studying change in water storage and the impacts of precipitation and snow cover in the mountain ranges of Central Asia is of the greatest importance for understanding regional water shortages and the main factors. Data from the GRACE(Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment) satellites, precipitation products and snow-covered area data were used to analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of water storage changes and the effects of precipitation and snow cover from April 2002 to December 2013. The results were computed for each mountain ranges, and the following conclusions were drawn. The water storage in the mountainous areas of Central Asia as a whole increases in summer and winter, whereas it decreases in autumn. The water storage is affected by precipitation to some extent and some areas exhibit hysteresis. The area of positive water storage changes moves from west to east over the course of the year. The water storage declined during the period 2002–2004. It then returned to a higher level in 2005–2006 and featured lower levels in 2007–2009 Subsequently, the water storage increased gradually from 2010 to 2013. The Eastern Tianshan Mountains and Western Tianshan Mountain subzones examined in this study display similar tendencies, and the trends observed in the Karakorum Mountains and the Kunlun Mountains are also similar. However, the Eastern Tianshan Mountains and Western Tianshan Mountains were influenced by precipitation to a greater degree than the latter two ranges. The water storage in Qilian Mountains showed a pronounced increasing trend, and this range is the most strongly affected by precipitation. Based on an analysis of all investigated subzones, precipitation has the greatest influence on total water storage relative to the snow covered area in some areas of Central Asia. The results obtained from this study will be of value for scientists studying the mechanisms that influence changes in water storage in Central Asia.     

Application of stable isotope tracing technologies in identification of transformation among waters in Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

In order to investigate the transformation among the precipitation,groundwater,and surface water in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China,precipitation and groundwater samples which were collected at the meteorological station of the Sanjiang Mire Wetland Experimental Station,Chinese Academy of Sciences and the surface water which collected from the Wolulan River were used to identify the transformation of three types of water.The isotope composition of different kinds of water sources were analyzed via stable isotope(deuterium and oxygen-18) investigation of natural water.The results show a clear seasonal difference in the stable isotopes in precipitation.During the cold half-year,the mean stable isotope in precipitation in the Sanjiang Plain reaches its minimum with the minimum temperature.The δ18O and δD values are high in the rainy season.In the Wolulan River,the evaporation is the highest in August and September.The volume of evaporation and the replenishment to the river is mostly same.The groundwater is recharged more by the direct infiltration of precipitation than by the river flow.The results of this study indicate that the water bodies in the Sanjiang Plain have close hydrologic relationships,and that the transformation among each water system frequently occurs.     

Stable Isotope Signatures and Moisture Transport of a Typical Heavy Precipitation Case in the Southern Tianshan Mountains

Stable oxygen isotopes in precipitation contain meaningful environmental information on a synoptic scale and can be applied to diagnose hydrometeorological processes.A series of rainstorms occurred at the southern Tianshan Mountains during the period from May to June 2013,and the event-based precipitation was sampled along the mountain range from west to east.Based on δ18 O values in precipitation samples as well as the corresponding meteorological parameters,the moisture transport paths during the sampling period were identified.In late-May(stage 1),isotopes in precipitation collected generally showed a depleting trend.In mid-June(stage 2),there was no coherent trend of isotopes in precipitation for these stations,and only isotope values in Aksu showed a continually depleting trend.Checking other meteorological proxies during the sampling period,the event-based precipitation isotopes sensitively reflected the moisture process.In central Asia,both the westerly and monsoon moisture can be delivered to cause extreme precipitation events,and the isotopic information provides an alternative tool to investigate the atmospheric processes.     

Distribution features of stable oxygen isotopes in the typical monsoon temperate-glacier region, Mountain Yulong in China

During the summers of 1999 and 2000, sampling was carried out in Mt.Yulong, for the investigation of the spatial distribution of oxygen stable isotope in the atmospheric-glacial-hydro system and similar results obtained in the two years have confirmed our conclusion. There is an evident negative correlation between stable isotopic composition and air temperature-precipitation amount, suggesting that there exits a strong “precipitation amount effect” in this typical monsoon temperate-glacier region. There are marked differences between the δ1'O values in winter-accumulated snow, glacial meltwater, summer precipitation and glacier-feeding stream. Under the control of varied climatic conditions, spatial and temporal variations of above glacialhydro mediums are apparent. Isotopic depletion or fractionation and ionic changes had occurred during the phase-change and transformation processes of snow-ice, icemeltwater, flowing of runoff and contact with bedrock. The variation of stable isotope in a runoff can reflect not only its own flowing process but also its different feeding sources.     

贵州高原1960-2016年降水变化特征及重心转移分析

利用贵州高原34个气象站1960-2016年共57 a的降水资料,基于协同克里金法、Mann-Kendall趋势检验法、气候倾向率、重心模型等方法分析了贵州高原降水在不同时间尺度下的时空分布规律以及降水重心的转移趋势。结果表明：① 贵州高原多年平均降水量呈现南多北少特征。在南部与东部存在3个多雨中心,分别位于西南暖湿气流的北上通道（兴义-安顺一带）、苗岭山脉的迎风坡（都匀-独山一带）以及武陵山脉的迎风坡（铜仁–松桃一带）;少雨区位于乌蒙山脉背风坡的威宁–毕节一带。② 1960-2016年降水量年代变化呈现出波动性,2010s的降水变异性最大,1990s的降水变异性最小;年际变化较为剧烈,呈不显著减少的趋势,在空间上呈现中部西部减少、东部增加的趋势;降水季节差异显著,春季、秋季降水显著减少,夏季、冬季的降水不明显增加;各月降水变化情况不同,1、3月降水增加最明显,4月降水下降最明显。③ 降水重心呈西南-东北向分布,有明显的东移趋势。贵州高原降水量的减少可能与西南季风的减弱有关。研究结果对贵州地区水资源配置及洪涝灾害预防具有重要意义。     

Mapping daily temperature and precipitation in the Qilian Mountains of northwest China

Daily meteorological data are the critical inputs for distributed hydrological and ecological models. This study modified mountain microclimate simulation model （MTCLIM） with the data from 19 weather stations, and compared and validated two methods （the MTCLIM and the modified MTCLIM） in the Qilian Mountains of Northwest China to estimate daily temperature （i.e., maximum temperature, minimum temperature） and precipitation at six weather stations from i January 2000 to 31December 2009. The algorithm of temperature in modified MTCLIM was improved by constructing the daily linear regression relationship between temperature and elevation, aspect and location information. There are two steps to modify the MTCLIM to predict daily precipitation： firstly, the linear regression relationship was built between annual average precipitation and elevation, location, and vegetation index; secondly, the distance weight for measuring the contribution of each weather station on target point was improved by average wind direction during the rainy season. Several regression analysis and goodness-of-fit indices （i.e., Pearson＇s correlation coefficient, coefficient of determination, mean absolute error, root-mean-square error and modelingefficiency） were used to validate these estimated values. The result showed that the modified MTCLIM had a better performance than the MTCLIM. Therefore, the modified MTCLIM was used to map daily meteorological data in the study area from 2000 to 2009. These results were validated using weather stations with short time data and the predicted accuracy was acceptable. The meteorological data mapped could become inputs for distributed hydrological and ecological models applied in the Qilian Mountains.     

Altitudinal trends in δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C value,stomatal density and nitrogen content of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus tabuliformis</Emphasis> needles on the southern slope of the middle Qinling Mountains,China

In this study, a coniferous tree species (Pinus tabuliformis Carr.) was investigated at a moderate-altitude mountainous terrain on the southern slope of the middle Qinling Mountains (QLM) to detect the trends in carbon isotope ratio (δ¹³C), leaf nitrogen content (LNC) and stomatal density (SD) with altitude variation in north-subtropical humid mountain climate zone of China. The results showed that LNC and SD both significantly increased linearly along the altitudinal gradient ranging from 1000 to 2200 m, whereas leaf δ¹³C exhibited a significantly negative correlation with the altitude. Such a correlation pattern differs obviously from that obtained in offshore low-altitude humid environment or inland high-altitude semi-arid environment, suggesting that the pattern of increasing δ¹³C with the altitude cannot be generalized. The negative correlation between δ¹³C and altitude might be attributed mainly to the strengthening of carbon isotope fractionation in plants caused by increasing precipitation with altitude. Furthermore, there was a remarkable negative correlation between leaf δ¹³C and LNC. One possible reason was that increasing precipitation that operates to increase isotopic discrimination with altitude overtook the LNC in determining the sign of leaf δ¹³C. The significant negative correlation between leaf δ¹³C and SD over altitudes was also found in the present study, indicating that increases in SD with altitude would reduce, rather than enhance plant δ¹³C values.     

云南空中水资源的季节变化研究

用1961—2008年NOAA的月平均再分析资料和1980—2006年云南5个探空站的资料,采用大气可降水量和水汽通量公式计算分析大气可降水量和水汽通量,并用线性趋势分析其变化特征。结果表明：云南四季的可降水量北少南多,呈“u”型分布,夏季最大,冬季最小。对云南地区四季的水汽通量分析表明,四季的水汽净收入主要集中在对流层低层;地面-300hPa的水汽净收入在夏季最大、秋季次之,而冬季最小。云南经向的水汽输送和纬向的水汽输送呈反相关,近48年,云南四季水汽呈增加趋势,其中夏季增加最多,春季次之。     

The Evaporation Effect on the Isotopes in the Yellow River Water

Based on the isotope analysis result of water samples in the 18 sections of the Yellow River, the variation of δ18Oand δD have been analyzed. From near the source to the entrance to the sea, the Yellow River has a general trend that the ratios of the stable isotope increase progressively; The main factors affecting the isotopes in the river water are mixing of external water bodies, evaporation and others; In the river segment between Lanzhou and Baotou and in lower reaches, the extent of the evaporation effect on the isotope fractionation from the river water surface is limited but the evaporation from the irrigated river water and the return flow is one of the main factors affecting the isotopes in river water.     

Variation of Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains,China

The Thornthwaite moisture index, an index of the supply of water(precipitation) in an area relative to the climatic demand for water(potential evapotranspiration), was used to examine the spatial and temporal variation of drought and to verify the influence of environmental factors on the drought in the Hengduan Mountains, China. Results indicate that the Thornthwaite moisture index in the Hengduan Mountains had been increasing since 1960 with a rate of 0.1938/yr. Annual Thornthwaite moisture index in Hengduan Mountains was between –97.47 and 67.43 and the spatial heterogeneity was obvious in different seasons. Thornthwaite moisture index was high in the north and low in the south, and the monsoon rainfall had a significant impact on its spatial distribution. The tendency rate of Thornthwaite moisture index variation varied in different seasons, and the increasing trends in spring were greater than that in summer and autumn. However, the Thornthwaite moisture index decreased in winter. Thornthwaite moisture index increased greatly in the north and there was a small growth in the south of Hengduan Mountains. The increase of precipitation and decrease of evaporation lead to the increase of Thornthwaite moisture index. Thornthwaite moisture index has strong correlation with vegetation coverage. It can be seen that the correlation between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index(NDVI) and Thornthwaite moisture index was positive in spring and summer, but negative in autumn and winter. Correlation between Thornthwaite moisture index and relative soil relative moisture content was positive in spring, summer and autumn, but negative in winter. The typical mountainous terrain affect the distribution of temperature, precipitation, wind speed and other meteorological factors in this region, and then affect the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The unique ridge-gorge terrain caused the continuity of water-heat distribution from the north to south, and the water-heat was stronger than that from the east to west part, and thus determined the spatial distribution of Thornthwaite moisture index. The drought in the Hengduan Mountains area is mainly due to the unstable South Asian monsoon rainfall time.     

Peat humification- and δ<Superscript>13</Superscript>C<Subscript>cellulose</Subscript>-recorded warm-season moisture variations during the past 500 years in the southern Altai Mountains within northern Xinjiang of China

To predict future spatio-temporal patterns of climate change, we should fully understand the spatio-temporal patterns of climate change during the past millennium. But, we are not yet able to delineate the patterns because the qualities of the retrieved proxy records and the spatial coverage of those records are not adequate. Northern Xinjiang of China is one of such areas where the records are not adequate. Here, we present a 500-yr land-surface moisture sequence from Heiyangpo Peat (48.34°N, 87.18°E, 1353 m a.s.l) in the southern Altai Mountains within northern Xinjiang. Specifically, peat carbon isotope value of cellulose (δ¹³C_cellulose) was used to estimate the warm-season moisture variations and the degree of humification was used to constrain the δ¹³C_cellulose-based hydrological interpretation. The climatic attributions of the interpreted hydrological variations were based on the warm-season temperature reconstructed from Belukha ice core and the warm-season precipitation inferred from the reconstructed Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillations (AMO). The results show that humification decreased and the δ¹³C_cellulose-suggested moisture decreased from ~1510 to ~1775 AD, implying that a constant drying condition may have inhibited peat decay. Our comparison with reconstructed climatic parameters suggests that the moisture-level decline was most likely resulted from a constant decline of precipitation. The results also show that humification kept a stable level and the δ¹³C_cellulose-suggested moisture also decreased from ~1775 to ~2013 AD, implying that peat decay in the acrotelm primarily did not depend on the water availability or an aerobic environment. Again, our comparison with reconstructed climatic parameters suggests that the land-surface moisturelevel decline was most likely resulted from a steady warming of growing-season temperature.     

东亚副热带西风急流的时间演变特征及其与中国东部夏季降水的关系

为深入了解东亚副热带西风急流与中国天气系统之间的联系,利用1961-2007年美国国家环境预报中心（NCAR／NCEP）再分析月资料和同期中国596站的降水资料,运用经一纬向急流轴和区域平均两种定义方法分析了西风急流的时间演变特征及其与中国东部降水型的关系,结果表明：（1）两种方法对西风急流东西、南北位置转折时段的分析很接近,分别出现在20世纪80年代和70年代;对西风急流强度、南北位置周期的表征也很一致,分别为10-15年和5-10年。（2）当西风急流位置偏北（南）时,东部地区整层大气环流呈“南北上升中间下沉（南北下沉中间上升）”的形势,850hPa的流场和水汽通量输送都有利于华北地区（江淮河流）的降水,易于形成“南北多中间少（南北少中间多）”的雨带分布,推测这两种反相位雨型的间隔时间为2．5-5年;相比之下,急流东西位置和强度的周期性变化与东部局地降水存在一定联系。     

Seasonal variations of several main water masses in the southern Yellow Sea and East China Sea in 2011

The seasonal variations of several main water masses in the southern Yellow Sea (SYS) and East China Sea (ECS) in 2011 were analyzed using the in-situ data collected on four cruises. There was something special in the observations for the Yellow Sea Warm Current (YSWC), the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass (YSCWM) and the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW) during that year. The YSWC was confirmed to be a seasonal current and its source was closely associated with the Kuroshio onshore intrusion and the northerly wind. It was also found that the YSCWM in the summer of 2011 occupied a more extensive area in comparison with the climatologically-mean case due to the abnormally powerful wind prevailing in the winter of 2010 and decaying gradually thereafter. Resulting from the reduced Changjiang River discharge, the CDW spreading toward the Cheju Island in the summer of 2011 was weaker than the long-term mean and was confined to flow southward in the other seasons. The other water masses seemed normal without noticeable anomalies in 2011. The Yellow Sea Coastal Current (YSCC) water, driven by the northerly wind, flowed southeastward as a whole except for its northeastward surface layer in summer. The Taiwan Warm Current (TWC) was the strongest in summer and the weakest in winter in its northward movement. The Kuroshio water with an enhanced onshore intrusion in autumn was stable in hydrographic features apart from the seasonal variation of its surface layer.     

Temporal and spatial variations in extreme temperatures in the Qilian Mountains-Hexi Corridor over the period 1960-2013

Based on daily maximum and minimum temperatures at 18 meteorological stations in the Qilian Mountains and Hexi Corridor between 1960 and 2013, temporal and spatial variations in extreme temperatures were analysed using linear trends, ten-point moving averages and the Mann-Kendall test. The results are as follows: The trends in the majority of the extreme temperature indices were statistically significant, and the changes in the extreme temperatures were more obvious than the changes in the extreme values. The trends were different for each season, and the changes in rates and intensities in summer and autumn were larger than those in spring and winter. Unlike the cold indices, the magnitudes and trends of the changes in the warm indices were larger and more significant in the Hexi Corridor than in the Qilian Mountains. Abrupt changes were detected in the majority of the extreme temperature indices, and the extreme cold indices usually occurred earlier than the changes in the extreme warm indices. The abrupt changes in the extreme temperatures in winter were the earliest among the four seasons, indicating that these temperature changes were the most sensitive to global climate change. The timing of the abrupt changes in certain indices was consistent throughout the study area, but the changes in the cold indices in the Hexi Corridor occurred approximately four years before those in the Qilian Mountains. Similarly, the changes in the warm indices in the western Hexi Corridor preceded those of the other regions.     

江汉平原高砷地下水稳定碳同位素特征及其指示意义

溶解性有机碳（DOC）是地下水中砷释放过程的关键因素,为查明江汉平原高砷地下水稳定碳同位素特征,识别有机质的降解过程对砷富集的影响,采用稳定碳同位素分析测试技术并结合地下水化学特征,对江汉平原典型砷中毒病区的浅层地下水进行了区域采样分析。结果表明:浅层承压水的砷质量浓度为0.23~2 621 μg/L。地表水较地下水具有更负的δ13C_DOC、δ13C_DIC值。地下水中溶解性无机碳（DIC）的δ13C_DIC值在-11.9‰~-3.99‰之间,溶解性有机碳的δ13C_DOC值在-28.5‰~-19.6‰之间。地下水的δ13C_DIC-δ13C_DOC差值与ρ（As）呈一定负相关关系,表明微生物作用下有机质的降解促进了As的富集。δ13C_DIC-δ13C_DOC差值与δ13C_DIC和ρ（DOC）均具有较显著的正相关关系,表明地下水中有机质的氧化分解是导致δ13C_DIC贫化的重要过程,微生物作用下溶解性有机质的降解是地下水中无机碳的重要来源。此外,江汉平原少数高砷地下水呈现较大的δ13C_DIC值,推断江汉平原高砷含水层强还原环境下可能存在的产甲烷过程导致了明显的碳同位素分馏。      

威海市温泉汤温泉形成模式

温泉汤温泉是威海地区一个非常重要的温泉,综合地球化学和地质调查方法,分析温泉汤温泉的形成模式。本文采集温泉汤温泉水样进行了水化学和氢氧稳定同位素测试,通过分析温泉水的水质类型、补给来源,估计水循环深度,结合地热地质条件进一步丰富了地热成因机制。水化学Piper分析图表明温泉水属于Na-Cl型温泉,水岩作用分析表明温泉水具有浅层水的特征,而氢氧稳定同位素值分布于中国东部大气降水线附近,推测温泉水主要受大气降水、地表水、地下水等浅层水的影响。根据δ~2H同位素高程效应,计算得到温泉的补给高程为225～265m之间,根据周边地形地貌特征,南部山区约为240m左右,确定南部山区是主要的补给源。综合分析认为,大气降水从温泉汤温泉南部山区汇聚到盆地中,大气降水、地表水、地下水等通过断裂破碎带在深部进行热交换形成温泉热水,然后运移到地表,出露成温泉汤温泉。通过成因模式分析,为温泉汤温泉的资源评价和开发利用提供科学依据,也为威海地区其他温泉的研究和开发利用提供参考。     

Topographic controls on the annual runoff coefficient and implications for landscape evolution across semiarid Qilian Mountains,NE Tibetan Plateau

The combination of different topographic and climatic conditions results in varied precipitation-runoff relations, which in turn influences hillslope erosion, sediment transport and bedrock incision across mountainous landscapes. The runoff coefficient is a suitable tool to represent precipitation-runoff relations, but the spatial distribution of the runoff coefficient across tectonically active mountains in semi-arid environments has received little attention because of limited data availability. We calculated annual runoff coefficients over 22 years for 26 drainage basins across the semi-arid Qilian Mountains based on:(i) annual discharge records; and(ii) the China Meteorological Forcing Dataset to enhance our understanding of the precipitation-runoff processes. The mean annual runoff coefficients show no obvious spatial trends. When compared to potential controlling factors, mean annual runoff coefficients are highly correlated with mean slope rather than any climatic characteristics(e.g., mean annualprecipitation and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index). The slope-dependent runoff coefficient could theoretically have enhanced the topographic control on erosion rates and dampen the influence of precipitation. The enhanced discharge for drainage basins with less precipitation but steep topography in the western Qilian Mountains will enable fluvial incision to keep pace with ongoing uplift caused by the northward growth of the Qilian Mountains. The geomorphic implications are that tectonic rather than climatic factors are more significant for long-term landscape evolution in arid and semi-arid contexts.