Identification of relationship between sunspots and natural runoff in the Yellow River based on discrete wavelet analysis

Abstract

Annual natural runoff is an important index of a river, which may be affected by solar activities. In this study, 304 years of annual natural runoff at the Sanmenxia station located in the Yellow River and the sunspot relative number are decomposed with the application of a Complex Morlet. According to the results of real part, modulus and second power of modulus, the annual runoff series at the Sanmenxia station has an obvious periodic oscillation on 90–100, 50–80, 35–50, 15–35, about 10, and less than 10-year scales. Also, there are obvious periodic variability with 60–90 years, 30–50 years and about 10 years. There are two centers of energy: one is about 1840–1850 on 7–11-year scale and the other is about 1825–1925 on 60–70-year scale. From the wavelet variance, 3, 26, 46, 68 year periods are detected within a 100-year scale, and the 68-year period is the most significant. Similar analyses are conducted for the sunspot relative number within the same period 1700–2003. The sunspot series shows 11- and 60-year period variation, as well as eight energy centers. Then, the correlation analyses for 11- and 60-year serial scales are computed. From a long-term period (1700–2003) view, there is no notable correlation between the natural runoff and the sunspot relative number; however, it is evident that the correlations exist within a short-term period. The results also indicate that the relationships between solar activities and the natural runoff in the Yellow River are complicated.