Human activities and climate change in the Tarim River watershed

Abstract

The relationship between the change of stream flow and the human activities in the Tarim River watershed is investigated based on the observed data collected by 13 meteorological stations from 1961 to 2000 and 8 hydrologic stations in the watershed. It is preliminarily attempted to quantify the impact intensity of the human activities. The influence index of water consumption is put forward, and the impact trend of human activities to the mainstream of Tarim River is analyzed. It is considered that the increase amplitude of the impact of human activities was the highest during the period from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, and the increase amplitude of human activities has been slowed down to some extent during the recent 10 years. Moreover, the temporal and spatial distribution characteristics of the climate change, sand-dust storms, floating dusts and strong winds in all the areas of the source streams and the mainstream of Tarim River are compared and analyzed. It is pointed out that the precipitation in the Tarim River watershed has increased since the 1990s, especially in the areas of its main source streams, and the occurring days of sand-dust storms, floating dusts and strong winds have obviously reduced. The possible relationship between the climate change and the human activities is also discussed.