Spatiotemporal changes in extreme ground surface temperatures and the relationship with air temperatures in the Three-River Source Regions during 1980–2013

Abstract

Climate changes are affecting plant growth, ecosystem evolution, hydrological processes, and water resources in the Three-River Source Regions (TRSR). Daily ground surface temperature (GST) and air temperature (Ta) recordings from 12 meteorological stations illustrated trends and characteristics of extreme GST and Ta in the TRSR during 1980–2013. We used the Mann-Kendall test and Sen’s slope estimate to analyze 12 temperature extreme indices as recommended by the Expert Team on Climate Change Detection and Indices (ETCCDI). The mean annual ground surface temperatures (MAGST) are 2.4–4.3 °C higher than the mean annual air temperatures (MAAT) in the TRSR. The increasing trends of the MAGST are all higher than those of the MAAT. The multi-year average maximum GST (28.1 °C) is much higher than that of the Ta (7.6 °C), while the minimum GST (−8.7 °C) is similar to that of the minimum Ta (−6.9 °C). The minimum temperature trends are more significant than those of the maximum temperature and are consistent with temperature trends in other regions of China. Different spatiotemporal patterns of GST extremes compared to those of Ta may result from greater warming of the ground surface. Consequently, the difference between the GST and Ta increased. These findings have implications for variations of surface energy balance, sensible heat flux, ecology, hydrology, and permafrost.