Study on the Variation of Terrestrial Water Storage and the Identification of Its Relationship with Hydrological Cycle Factors in the Tarim River Basin, China

Peng Yang,Yongyong Zhang,Jun Xia,Chesheng Zhan,Jie Chen

doi:10.1155/2017/5086854

Abstract

The terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSAs) in the Tarim River Basin (TRB) were investigated and the related factors of water variations in the mountain areas were analyzed based on Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data, in situ river discharge, and precipitation during the period of 2002–2015. The results showed that three obvious flood events in 2005, 2006, and 2010 resulted in significant water surplus, although TWSA decreased in the TRB during 2002–2015. However, while the significant water deficits in 2004, 2009, and 2011 were associated with obvious negative river discharge anomalies at the hydrological stations, the significant water deficits were not well consistent with the negative anomalies of precipitation. While the river discharge behaved with low correlations with TWSA, linear relationships between TWSA and climate indices were insignificant in the TRB from 2002 to 2015. The closest relationship was found between TWSA and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), with correlations of -0.56 and 0.58 during January 2010–December 2015 and during January 2006–December 2009, respectively. Meanwhile, the correlation coefficient between TWSA and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index in the period of April 2002–December 2005 was -0.25, which reached the significant level (p<0.05).

Highlights

The Tarim River Basin (TRB) is located in the heart of China’s Silk Road economic belt and has abundant natural resources and extremely vulnerable ecological environment [1]
While the river discharge behaved with low correlations with terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSAs), linear relationships between TWSA and climate indices were insignificant in the TRB from 2002 to 2015
Wang et al [2] found that the drought evolution in the TRB was affected by the northern hemisphere polar vortex, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Arctic Oscillation (AO); Li et al [7] reported that the increasing precipitation in the northwest China, including TRB, owned to the South China Sea Subtropical High (SCSSH), West Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH), and North America Subtropical High (NASH); Liu et al [8] concluded that the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index could be another factor for the variations of the dryness/wetness conditions in the northwest of China

Summary

Introduction

The TRB is located in the heart of China’s Silk Road economic belt and has abundant natural resources and extremely vulnerable ecological environment [1]. The main water resource in the TRB is sourced from the surrounding mountains for the glacier snowmelt in alpine regions and precipitation in mid-mountains [2]. The famous Silk Road with lots of fertile oases located at the edges of the TRB is nurtured by the glacier-snowmelt water. These oases play important roles and are the inward and outward kernel for economic and social development in the region [3, 4]. Because of the arid and semiarid climate, water is the main limiting factor of the development of oasis in the TRB [1]. Wang et al [2] found that the drought evolution in the TRB was affected by the northern hemisphere polar vortex, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Arctic Oscillation (AO); Li et al [7] reported that the increasing precipitation in the northwest China, including TRB, owned to the South China Sea Subtropical High (SCSSH), West Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH), and North America Subtropical High (NASH); Liu et al [8] concluded that the El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index could be another factor for the variations of the dryness/wetness conditions in the northwest of China

Methods

Results

Conclusion