Inland China Research Articles

Beyond destinations: Environmental perception and village attachment among stayers, outmigrants and returnees in rural China

AbstractMoving beyond the prior studies on destinations, this study identifies people's perceptions of and attachments to their places of origin to theoretically address how social groups defined by environmental experiences perceive the environment and how these perceptions affect their attachment. Villages in inland China are empirically examined as shared places of origin for stayers, outmigrants and returnees. This study confirms a positive relationship between the frequency and intensity of people‐environment interactions and the levels of environmental perception, as shown by the decreasing perception levels among stayers, returnees and outmigrants. Environmental perception occurs when individuals selectively perceive environmental features that have special meaning to them in meeting their functional needs. Such selectivity leads to differences in the environmental perception variables that significantly affect group attachment. The village attachment of both outmigrants and stayers is significantly affected by their perception of socioeconomic environmental features, while the perception of physical environmental features is only significant for returnees. The strong impact of social environmental features on outmigrants’ level of attachment confirms the rootedness of such attachment to one's place of origin and challenges the belief that mobility and attachment to place are negatively related.

The Yunnan–Burma railway, 1860s–1940s: Imagining, planning and rejecting a railway that was never built

In the late nineteenth century, British commercial interests in Asia and back home visualised a railway connecting British Burma with inland China, which they saw as a vast unexplored market. British engineers and adventurers were then employed by the commercial bodies to investigate the economy and geography of Yunnan and Upper Burma for the project. The railway was eventually rejected by the British as being unviable and unprofitable. The colonial knowledge created by these missions (in the form of travelogues, survey reports, interviews and studies) was later interpreted by Chinese nationalists as evidence of Britain's ambitions to colonise southwest China in 1905 (the Russo-Japanese War) and 1927 (the Northern Expedition) when the Chinese nation was in deep crisis. But the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War led the Chinese Nationalist government to reconsider the Yunnan–Burma railway as necessary infrastructure for obtaining foreign supplies to save the nation. The colonial knowledge produced by British explorers and merchants earlier was reinterpreted by the Nationalists to try to persuade the British authorities to construct the Burma section of the railway. By tracing the history of this failed project, this article argues that nationalist understandings of colonial infrastructure were far from fixed and consistent. It recounts the circulation of colonial knowledge on the Yunnan–Burma railway from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, showing how different nationalist agents in Asia interpreted and reinterpreted colonial infrastructure at various critical periods.

Analysis of radiation diffusion of COVID-19 driven by social attributes

This paper first estimated the infectious capacity of COVID-19 based on the time series evolution data of confirmed cases in multiple countries. Then, a method to infer the cross-regional spread speed of COVID-19 was introduced in this paper, which took the gross domestic product (GDP) of each region as one of the factors that affect the spread speed of COVID-19 and studied the relationship between the GDP and the infection density of each region (mainland China, the United States, and EU countries). In addition, the geographic distance between regions was also considered in this method and the effect of geographic distance on the spread speed of COVID-19 was studied. Studies have shown that the probability of mutual infection of these two regions decreases with increasing geographic distance. Therefore, this paper proposed an epidemic disease spread index based on GDP and geographic distance to quantify the spread speed of COVID-19 in a region. The analysis results showed a strong correlation between the epidemic disease spread index in a region and the number of confirmed cases. This finding provides reasonable suggestions for the control of epidemics. Strengthening the control measures in regions with higher epidemic disease spread index can effectively control the spread of epidemics.

Decomposing structural changes of production network for electronics industry in Northeast Asia regions in the 2010s

ABSTRACT This article analyzes structural changes of regional production network (RPN) for the electronics industry across 20 Northeast Asia regions for the period 2005–2015. We develop an extended Structural Decomposition Analysis approach which decomposes changes in Vertical Specialization (VS) share into seven components of foreign intermediate suppliers, input composition, and import intensity in terms of the import structure; and production structure, trade balance, trade openness, and domestic demand in terms of the export one. The development of production fragmentation in Northeast Asia’s electronic industry was associated with the coexistence of nine subregional patterns, including four VS patterns of Coastal China, Inland China, North China, and Central China; four vertical integration (VI) patterns of Northeast Japan, Central Japan, Seoul region, and Busan region. The substantial increases in the VS of North China and Central China result from changes in domestic demand and production structure, while the decline in the VS in Central Japan and Busan region is influenced by the shifts in import intensity and trade openness.

Poleward migration of tropical cyclones in the western North Pacific and its regional impacts on rainfall in Asia

AbstractThe region of Asia, which is surrounded by the western North Pacific (WNP), is one of the areas most affected by tropical cyclones (TCs). Since the 20th century, the characteristics and regional impact of TCs in this area have changed significantly, possibly due to global warming. However, the relationships between changes in the translation speed of TCs, poleward migration and TC‐induced rainfall in the WNPs have not been well investigated. Using daily precipitation and TC data from 1979 to 2020, this diagnostic study explored the poleward migration of TCs, changes in their TC translation speeds and the effects of TCs on countries along the Pacific Rim. Over the 42‐year study period, TCs experienced a decrease in intensity, lifespan, frequency and translation speeds and a northwestward migration in the genesis position, recurving position and tracks. However, the intensity and lifespan of high‐intensity TCs, which are defined as those with intensities exceeding 75% of all TCs, have increased significantly. Consequently, daily maximum precipitation of TCs decreased significantly with a τ value ranging from 0.294 to 0.442 for the M‐K test on inland China, the Philippines and Myanmar, but increased significantly with a τ value ranging from −0.410 to −0.615 in coastal areas of East Asia, especially China and northern Kalimantan Island, as confirmed by the distribution of TC‐induced precipitation. Our findings indicate that coastal East Asian countries are becoming increasingly vulnerable to high‐intensity TCs.

Global Navigation Satellite System-Based Retrieval of Precipitable Water Vapor and Its Relationship with Rainfall and Drought in Qinghai, China

Qinghai Province is situated deep in inland China, on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, and it has unique climate change characteristics. Therefore, understanding the temporal and spatial distributions of water vapor in this region can be of great significance. The present study applied global navigation satellite system (GNSS) technology to retrieve precipitable water vapor (PWV) in Qinghai and analyzed its relationship with rainfall and drought. Firstly, radiosonde (RS) data is used to verify the precision of the surface pressure (P) and temperature (T) from the fifth-generation atmosphere reanalysis data set (ERA5) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), as well as the zenith troposphere delay (ZTD), calculated based on the data from continuously operating reference stations (CORS) in Qinghai. Secondly, a regional atmospheric weighted mean temperature (Tm) (QH-Tm) model was developed for Qinghai based on P, T, and relative humidity, as well as the consideration of the influence of seasonal changes in Tm. Finally, the PWV of each CORS in Qinghai was calculated using the GNSS-derived ZTD and ERA5-derived meteorological data, and its relationship with rainfall and drought was evaluated. The results show that the ERA5-derived P and T have high precision, and their average root mean square (RMS), mean absolute error (MAE) and bias were 1.06/0.85/0.01 hPa and 2.98/2.42/0.03 K, respectively. The RMS, MAE and bias of GNSS-derived ZTD were 13.2 mm, 10.3 mm and −1.8 mm, respectively. The theoretical error for PWV was 1.98 mm; compared with that of RS- and ERA5-derived PWV, the actual error was 2.69 mm and 2.16 mm, respectively. In addition, the changing trend of GNSS-derived PWV was consistent with that of rainfall events, and it closely and negatively correlated with the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index. Therefore, the PWV retrieved from GNSS data in this study offers high precision and good feasibility for practical applications; thus, it can serve as a crucial tool for investigating water vapor distribution and climate change in Qinghai.

Distribution characteristics and optical properties of carbonaceous aerosol: brown carbon and black carbon in Nanchang, inland China

PM2.5 samples were collected from October 31, 2019, to November 10, 2019, in Nanchang for 10 consecutive days. The mass concentrations of PM2.5 and carbon components were measured, and the distribution characteristics of carbonaceous aerosols were discussed. The optical properties of carbonaceous aerosols were quantified by the thermal-optical method and solvent extraction method, respectively. The results showed that the average concentrations of organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in aerosols in Nanchang were 11.79 ± 3.86 and 3.51 ± 1.59 μg m−3, respectively. The average OC/EC was 3.62, and OC2, OC3, OC4 and EC1 accounted for relatively large proportions (19.55, 24.96, 22.37 and 17.38%). Carbonaceous aerosols in Nanchang were greatly affected by coal combustion, vehicle exhaust emissions and secondary organic carbon (SOC) formation. For particulate brown carbon (BrC), the average light absorption coefficient (babs) and mass absorption efficiency (MAE) at 405 nm were 16.87 Mm−1 and 1.49 m2g−1, respectively. The average Absorption Ångström exponent (AAE) was 8.58. For water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) and methanol-soluble organic carbon (MSOC), the average babs,365,WSOC and babs,365,MSOC were 14.79 and 22.51 Mm−1, respectively. The mean values of AAE300-600,WSOC and AAE300-600,MSOC were 4.17 and 4.84, respectively. The mean MAE365,WSOC and MAE365,MSOC were 1.83 and 2.18 m2 g−1, respectively. The mean value of MAEBC at 405 nm was 10.28 m2 g−1. The optical properties of particulate BrC and dissolved BrC were similar at 405 nm. The light absorption of BrC cannot be ignored, although BC was the main light absorption component.

THE IMPACT OF INDUSTRIAL TOURISM ON ECONOMIC MODELS - TRANSFORMATION OF ZHENGZHOU'S ECONOMIC MODEL

Zhengzhou, along with Xi'an, Chengdu, Chongqing and Wuhan, is one of the most important cities in inland China. It is the second largest city in central China, after Wuhan. It is the economic center of the province and the surrounding areas such as southeastern Shanxi and southwestern Shandong. The main purpose of this study is to learn the effect of Zhengzhou industrial tourism on Zhengzhou economic models as well as the deep changing of Zhengzhou’s economic model. The result shows that the relationship between industrial tourism and Zhengzhou’s economic is significant. The findings can suggest that developing industrial tourism in Zhengzhou influences on Zhengzhou’s economy positively.

Retrospective analysis of Plasmodium vivax genomes from a pre-elimination China inland population in the 2010s.

In malaria-free countries, imported cases are challenging because interconnections with neighboring countries with higher transmission rates increase the risk of parasite reintroduction. Establishing a genetic database for rapidly identifying malaria importation or reintroduction is crucial in addressing these challenges. This study aimed to examine genomic epidemiology during the pre-elimination stage by retrospectively reporting whole-genome sequence variation of 10 Plasmodium vivax isolates from inland China. The samples were collected during the last few inland outbreaks from 2011 to 2012 when China implemented a malaria control plan. After next-generation sequencing, we completed a genetic analysis of the population, explored the geographic specificity of the samples, and examined clustering of selection pressures. We also scanned genes for signals of positive selection. China's inland populations were highly structured compared to the surrounding area, with a single potential ancestor. Additionally, we identified genes under selection and evaluated the selection pressure on drug-resistance genes. In the inland population, positive selection was detected in some critical gene families, including sera, msp3, and vir. Meanwhile, we identified selection signatures in drug resistance, such as ugt, krs1, and crt, and noticed that the ratio of wild-type dhps and dhfr-ts increased after China banned sulfadoxine-pyrimethamine (SP) for decades. Our data provides an opportunity to investigate the molecular epidemiology of pre-elimination inland malaria populations, which exhibited lower selection pressure on invasion and immune evasion genes than neighbouring areas, but increased drug resistance in low transmission settings. Our results revealed that the inland population was severely fragmented with low relatedness among infections, despite a higher incidence of multiclonal infections, suggesting that superinfection or co-transmission events are rare in low-endemic circumstances. We identified selective signatures of resistance and found that the proportion of susceptible isolates fluctuated in response to the prohibition of specific drugs. This finding is consistent with the alterations in medication strategies during the malaria elimination campaign in inland China. Such findings could provide a genetic basis for future population studies, assessing changes in other pre-elimination countries.

Typical organic contaminants in hair of adult residents between inland and coastal capital cities in China: Differences in levels and composition profiles, and potential impact factors

The growing of urbanization, industrialization, and agricultural production have resulted in the increasing contamination of typical organic contaminants (OCs) in China. However, data on differences in exposure characteristics of typical OCs between the coastal and inland cities among residents in China are limited. In this study, hair samples were collected from adult residents in 10 and 17 provincial capital cities in coastal and inland China, respectively, to investigate the differences in the levels and composition profiles of typical OCs. The potential factors impacting the human exposure to OCs were also examined based on the relationship among the hair OC levels and the population characteristics and statistical indicators. The median concentrations of dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane's (DDTs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), and organophosphorus flame retardants (PFRs) in hair of coastal urban residents were 3.64, 5.58, and 268 ng/g, respectively, while their concentrations in samples from inland urban residents were 1.84, 3.85, and 202 ng/g, respectively. Coastal residents showed significantly higher hair OC concentrations than inland residents (p < 0.05). BDE209 and p,p′-DDE were the predominant chemicals for PBDEs and DDTs, respectively, in both coastal and inland cities. Tris(2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCIPP) was the dominant PFR in coastal residents' hair, while triphenyl phosphate (TPHP) was the major PFR in inland residents' hair, possibly owing to the different usages of the PFRs. Significant gender differences were observed in the levels and composition profiles of OCs (p < 0.05). The levels of p,p′-DDE and TCIPP were significantly related to the gross domestic product (GDP), gross secondary industry product, and the per capita consumption of aquatic products (p < 0.05). This study provides scientific data for evaluating human exposure to OCs in urban residents at a large scale and its associations with statistical indicators including urbanization, industrialization, agricultural production, and diet in China.

Measuring film: A visual exploration of cinema under the wave of digital humanities

Searching the relevant literature analysis in the CNKI database, it is found that the research boom of quantitative film science in the domestic academic community has been heating up year by year in recent years. Quantitative empirical research is integrated into the research of film ontology, which really finds a new path for the domestic film research academic community. According to Barry Salt, the director's personal style can be expressed in the external form of the film. Taking the inland China film “Spring Tide” and the Taiwan film “ Little Big Women” as examples, the quantitative film thinking combined with narrative theory as a reference frame is used to conduct quantitative empirical research on the text of family ethics films in the same period between inland China and China Taiwan.

A dataset of remote sensing-based inherent optical properties of Hulun Lake from 2016 to 2020

Hulun Lake, the largest steppe lake in the high latitude semi-arid region of inland China, holds great significance for grassland production and steppe-lake ecosystem. The absorption coefficient of water constitutes is indicative of the optically active components in water, thus conducive to estimating the optically active substances and other related bio-optical parameters of waters. In this study, we used the quasi-analytical algorithm (QAA), a QAA-750E absorption coefficient inversion algorithm suitable for inland waters. Based on Sentinel-3/OLCI remote sensing reflectance data, we produced a dataset of monthly mean phytoplankton absorption coefficient aph(675)and backscattering coefficient bbp(560) of Hulun Lake during 2016-2020. Validation analysis results show that the model-derived b_bp (560) has an R2 value of 0.59, RMSE of 0.55, and MRD of 0.54 (N = 15), indicating a high level of reliability of the dataset. The dataset is expected to offer data support for water quality monitoring and ecological environment protection of Hulun Lake.

Economic and Spatial Integration of Land-Lost Households in Inland China: Evidence from a Survey in Nanchang City

Many farmers lost their land and resettled in urban areas because of the rapid urban expansion of China. Although many studies have investigated the livelihood conditions of farmers after their resettlement, very little is known about their long-term outcomes. Based on a questionnaire survey, this study investigated the economic and spatial integration of land-lost farmers living in urban areas for more than ten years. Further, this study also examined the association between their economic and spatial integration. Our survey results indicate that the economic and spatial integration of the offspring from land-lost households were low. Although the educational level of the offspring was higher compared to the previous generation, there were still considerable disparities between them and other urbanites. Additionally, although their employment rate was improved, the quality of their occupations was not significantly enhanced, with unskilled or semi-skilled jobs being the most common. Furthermore, nearly half of the offspring reported a relatively low level of spatial integration (still living in the collective resettlement neighborhoods), which is influenced by demographic characteristics, family characteristics, and economic integration. To achieve sustainable urbanization, efforts should be made to improve the employment qualities and the residential mobility of land-lost households.

Corrective feedback, individual differences in working memory, and L2 development.

The present study investigated the differential effects of explicit corrections, meta-linguistic corrective feedback (CF), and analogy-based CF on L2 learners' acquisition of English third-person singular form -s and whether and how individual differences in working memory (WM) mediate such effects. One hundred secondary school English-as-a-foreign-language (EFL) learners at a junior middle school in inland China were randomly assigned to the explicit correction group (EG), the meta-linguistic CF group (MG), the analogy-based CF group (AG), and the control group (CG). Learners performed both an information-gap activity and a picture-description activity where their errors on target structure were treated according to their group assignment. The Untimed Grammatical Judgement Test (UGJT) and the Elicited Oral Production Test (EOPT) were used to measure learners' resulting performance. Learners' WM was measured with operation span test. Results revealed that (1) compared to the control group, all the CF groups significantly improved their performance of English third-person singular form -s over time; (2) explicit corrections and meta-linguistic CF displayed superior advantages over analogy-based CF on the immediate posttest. However, the three CF groups demonstrated no significant difference in their performance of English third-person singular form -s on the delayed posttest; (3) WM was only able to predict the effects of analogy-based CF but not explicit corrections and meta-linguistic CF; and (4) analogy-based CF was more favorable to learners with higher WM who can regulate their limited attentional resources more efficiently, whereas explicit corrections and meta-linguistic CF equalize learning opportunities for all learners with different levels of WM. The findings of this study suggest optimal, profile-matched pedagogical options for L2 learning through identifying CF conditions that cater to the needs of young learners with different levels of WM.

Endogenous Driving Forces in Ecology-Production-Living Space Changes at Micro-Scale: A Mountain Town Example in Inland China

Studying land use transition and restructuring has value for promoting sustainable regional development, especially in China’s vast rural areas, which are undergoing rapid changes. Current research tends to focus on the macro level, and analyses of driving forces are mostly based on the correlation analysis of influencing factors. However, in the case of villages and towns, which are at the micro level, it is important to know who promotes land use transition and how to promote it under the influence of the macro environment. This study, therefore, focused on the endogenous driving force behind land use transition and its characteristics at the micro level of villages and towns. On the basis of our theoretical framework, an empirical study was carried out on the transformation and restructuring of ecology–production–living (EPL) spaces in the town of Zhulin in Central China over the past 30 years. We found the following: (1) The overall distribution of EPL spaces in Zhulin shifted from mixed distribution to relatively concentrated distribution, and the spatial transfer of EPL spaces showed fluctuations in the expansion and contraction of different types of spaces. (2) Land use transition was more active in spatial interface areas than in noninterface areas, where the interconversion of ecological space and agricultural production space was concentrated at the terrain interface. In addition, transformation processes related to living space and non-agricultural production space were concentrated at the urban–rural interface. (3) Macro-level social and economic changes were the root cause of land use transformation, and the autonomous spatial governance capability of villagers’ self-organization institutions was key to regulating land use transformation. The spatial interface was a sensitive area for land use transformation in a natural state. An endogenous driving mode of active response to land use transformation based on rural autonomous spatial governance capability and spatial interface sensitivity is proposed. How to improve the rural governance capacity of key local actors in different regions and at different levels is an aspect worthy of further consideration.

Different physicochemical behaviors of nitrate and ammonium during transport: a case study on Mt. Hua, China

Abstract. To understand the chemical evolution of aerosols in the transport process, the chemistry of PM2.5 and nitrogen isotope compositions on the mountainside of Mt. Hua (∼1120 m above sea level, a.s.l.) in inland China during the 2016 summertime were investigated and compared with parallel observations collected at surface sampling site (∼400 m a.s.l.). The PM2.5 exhibited a high level at the mountain foot site (MF; average 76.0±44.1 µg m−3) and could be transported aloft by anabatic valley winds, leading to the gradual accumulation of daytime PM2.5 with a noon peak at the mountainside sampling site (MS). As the predominant ion species, sulfate exhibited nearly identical mass concentrations at both sites, but its PM2.5 mass fraction was moderately enhanced by ∼4 % at the MS site. The ammonium variations were similar to the sulfate variations, the chemical forms of both of which mainly existed as ammonium bisulfate (NH4HSO4) and ammonium sulfate ((NH4)2SO4) at the MF and MS sites, respectively. Unlike sulfate and ammonium, nitrate mainly existed as ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) in fine particles and exhibited decreasing mass concentration and proportion trends with increasing elevation. This finding was ascribed to NH4NO3 volatilization, in which gaseous HNO3 from semi-volatile NH4NO3 subsequently reacted with dust particles to form nonvolatile salts, resulting in significant nitrate shifts from fine particles into coarse particles. Such scavenging of fine-particle nitrate led to an enrichment in the daytime 15N of nitrate at the MS site compared with to the MF site. In contrast to nitrate, at the MS site, the 15N in ammonium depleted during the daytime. Considering the lack of any significant change in ammonia (NH3) sources during the vertical transport process, this 15N depletion in ammonium was mainly the result of unidirectional reactions, indicating that additional NH3 would partition into particulate phases and further neutralize HSO4- to form SO42-. This process would reduce the aerosol acidity, with a higher pH (3.4±2.2) at the MS site and lower ones (2.9±2.0) at the MF site. Our work provides more insight into physicochemical behaviors of semi-volatile nitrate and ammonium, which will facilitate the improvement in the model for a better simulation of aerosol composition and properties.

Nocturnal Convection Initiation over Inland South China during a Record-Breaking Heavy Rainfall Event

Abstract A local long-lived convective system developed at midnight over inland South China, producing record-breaking rainfall in Guangzhou on 7 May 2017. This study examines the physical processes responsible for nocturnal convection initiation (CI) and growth. Observational analyses show that the CI occurs in the warm sector under weakly forced synoptic conditions at 500 hPa, while moderate but nocturnally enhanced low-level southeasterlies with a mesoscale moist tongue at 925 hPa intrude inland from the northern South China Sea. Convection-permitting model results show that mesoscale low-level convergence and increased moisture at the leading edge of the southeasterlies are favorable for CI dynamically and thermodynamically. Local ascent and potential instability are further enhanced by orographic lifting and warm moist air from the urban surface, respectively, which trigger convection in northern Guangzhou. The mesoscale moist tongue of southeasterly flows then meets convectively generated outflows, thereby maintaining strong updrafts and continuously triggering back-building convective cells in eastern Guangzhou. Sensitivity tests are conducted to estimate the relative roles of ambient southeasterly moist tongue and urban thermal effects. The southeasterly moist tongue provides moisture that is crucial for CI, while warm moist air from the urban surface is lifted at the leading edge of the southeasterlies and locally facilitates convection. Therefore, the mesoscale processes of lifting and moistening due to nocturnal southeasterlies and their strong interaction with the local factors (orographic lifting, urban heating, and cold-pool-related ascent) provide the sustained lifting and instability crucial for triggering the local long-lived convective systems. The multiscale processes shed light on the understanding of the nocturnal warm-sector heavy rainfall inland.

To keep or not to keep the farmland? Incentives and barriers to farmers’ decisions in urbanizing China

Global societies are becoming increasingly urbanized, which is posing serious challenges to the efficient use of farmland. In response to this, a suite of institutional reforms in China from 1978 onwards has been released to combat the marginalizing of smallholder farming, and drive the modernization of agriculture. Nevertheless, the conventional literature sidelines the outcomes of the reforms eventually undertaken varied, and the knowledge concerning the behavior logic of farmers. This article aims to understand the contributory barriers and potential incentives that drive the adaptation of farmers to a recent farmland use right reform. Such institutional reform, that is “the withdrawal from farmland contracting management right (FCMR)”, which allows farmers to terminate their FCMR at any time, and at the same time, can withdraw from their agreement on the ground of the principle of voluntariness and compensation by law. Through the questionnaire surveys and semi-structured interviews in two pilot areas in inland China, this article has interrogated the factors that drive or impede the farmers in selecting to discontinue holding their FCMR by employing the Probit model. We argue that firstly, notwithstanding the positive effects of farmland scale upon the withdrawal from FCMR, it is jointly inhibited by the risk aversion of smallholding farmers, the expected potential property value, and the exaggerated transaction costs. Secondly, in contrast to the traditional perception, those who have a lower reliance on agricultural production are disinclined to terminate their FCMR instead. Overall, this article articulates the determining role of the rise in property value in the conceptualization of the behavior logic of farmers in relation to the withdrawal from FCMR. Also, this article unravels that the abovementioned factors complicate the realization of central government directives on the ground.

Changes of total and artificial water bodies in inland China over the past three decades

• A New China’s artificial water bodies (WBs) dataset from 1987 to 2020 is developed. • The total area of WB in inland China increased by 38.8% from1987 to 2020. • The artificial area of WB in inland China increased by 32.3% from1987 to 2020. • Climate change dominates the WB increasing in the western basins of China. • Most WB changes are controlled by dam construction in the eastern basins of China. As an important surface water resource that can be directly used, water bodies (WBs) have a non-negligible impact on human life, production and maintaining ecological balance. Over the past few decades, how many WB have changed to different degrees due to climate change, dam construction and other factors? Using the high-resolution WB mask dataset and dam point data, the study distinguished artificial and natural WBs, calculated their spatiotemporal changes, and quantified climatic and human contributions in 17 basins in inland China during 1987–2020. The results show WBs exhibited a spatial pattern of contraction in the northeast and expansion in the southwest in inland China. The total, artificial and natural area of inland WBs in China increased by 38.8%, 32.3%, 40.8% from 1987 to 2020, respectively. In the western basins of China such as Inland rivers in Northern Tibet (61%), Upper Yellow River (61%), Upper Yangtze River (52%), Inland rivers in Xinjiang (51%), climate change dominates the increase of WBs. While in the eastern basins such as the Middle and Lower Yangtze River (60.84%), Lower Yangtze River (60.53%), and Songhua basins (52.66%), dam construction is the main reason for the area change in WBs. The analysis of the spatiotemporal evolution of WBs in inland China in the past three decades and the quantification of climate and human contributions are of great significance for the rational development and sustainable use of water resources.

Aerosol Property Analysis Based on Ground-Based Lidar in Sansha, China

Marine aerosol is one of the most important natural aerosols. It has a significant impact on marine climate change, biochemical cycling and marine ecosystems. Previous studies on marine aerosols, especially in the South China Sea, were carried out by satellite and shipborne measurements. The above methods have drawbacks, such as low temporal–spatial resolution and signal interference. However, lidar has high accuracy and high temporal–spatial resolution, so it is suitable for high-precision long-term observations. In this work, we obtain marine aerosol data using Mie Lidar in Sansha, an island in the South Chain Sea. Firstly, by comparing boundary layer height (BLH) between Sansha and Hefei, we found that Sansha’s boundary layer height has significant differences with that of inland China. Secondly, we compare the aerosol extinction coefficients and their variation with height in Sansha and Hefei. Finally, we obtain hourly averaged aerosol optical depth at Sansha and explore its relation with weather. To analyze the AOD–weather relation, we select three meteorological factors (sea surface temperature, mean sea level pressure and 10 m u-component of wind) based on their feature importance, which is determined by random forest regression. We also analyze the relationship between AOD and the above meteorological factors in each season separately. The results show that there is a strong relation between the meteorological factors and AOD in spring and summer, while there is no clear correlation in fall and winter. These analyses can provide valid data for future researches on marine aerosols in the South China Sea.