Kendall Method Research Articles

A 50-year analysis of hydrological trends and processes in a Mediterranean catchment

Abstract. The Réal Collobrier hydrological observatory in south-eastern France, managed by Irstea since 1966, constitutes a benchmark site for regional hydro-climatology. Because of the dense network of stream gauges and rain gauges available, this site provides a unique opportunity to evaluate long-term hydro-meteorological Mediterranean trends. The main catchment (70 km2) and its sub-catchments are located in the Massif des Maures of south-eastern France, close to the Mediterranean coast. The vegetation is composed of forest mainly calcified on crystalline soils (maquis of heath, cork-oak, maritime pine and chestnut). Direct human influence has been negligible over the past 50 years. The land use and land cover has remained almost unchanged, with the notable exception of a wildfire in 1990 that impacted a small sub-catchment. Therefore changes in the hydrological response of the catchments are caused by changes in climate and/or physical conditions. This study investigates changes in observational data using up to 50-year daily series of precipitation and streamflow. The analysis used several climate indices describing distinct modes of variability, at inter-annual and seasonal timescales. Trends were assessed by the Mann–Kendall method. The analysis also used hydrological indices describing drought events based on daily data for a description of low flows, in particular in terms of timing and severity. The analysis shows that there is a marked tendency towards a decrease in the water resources of the Réal Collobrier catchment in response to climate trends, with a consistent increase in drought severity and duration. But the changes are variable among the sub-catchments.

Long-term and inter-annual variations of tropical cyclones affecting Taiwan region

This study investigates the frequency, intensity, and duration of tropical cyclones and the resulting precipitation affecting Taiwan region between 1958 and 2016. Monthly distributions, inter-annual variability, and long-term trends are examined by piecewise linear regression, the Mann–Kendall method, empirical orthogonal function, and Morlet wavelet. The periodicity of climatic factors can reflect and express climate change. The quantified patterns of tropical cyclones affecting Taiwan allow inference of potential impact in the coming years, providing essential information for storm surge modeling and hazard mitigation. Under climate change, the frequency, intensity, and duration of tropical cyclones show an overall statistical tendency of decline, but Taiwan is currently in a period of stronger tropical cyclones. The precipitation intensity has a very little decreasing tendency, and the results of the inter-annual analysis indicate that it is smaller for the 2017–2019 period.

Analysis of the Spatiotemporal Variation in Land Subsidence on the Beijing Plain, China

Since the 1970s, land subsidence has been rapidly developing on the Beijing Plain, and the systematic study of the evolutionary mechanism of this subsidence is of great significance in the sustainable development of the regional economy. On the basis of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) results, this study employed the Mann–Kendall method for the first time to determine the mutation information of land subsidence on the Beijing Plain from 2004 to 2015. By combining the hydrogeological conditions, “southern water” project, and other data, we attempted to analyse the reasons for land subsidence mutations. First, on the basis of ENVISAT ASAR and RADARSAT-2 data, the land subsidence of the Beijing Plain was determined while using small baseline interferometry (SBAS-InSAR) and Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI). Second, on the basis of the Geographic Information System (GIS) platform, vector data of displacement under different scales were obtained. Through a series of tests, a scale of 960 metres was selected as the research unit and the displacement rate from 2004 to 2015 was obtained. Finally, a trend analysis of land subsidence was carried out on the basis of the Mann–Kendall mutation test. The results showed that single-year mutations were mainly distributed in the middle and lower parts of the Yongding River alluvial fan and the Chaobai River alluvial fan. Among these mutations, the greatest numbers occurred in 2015 and 2005, being 1344 and 915, respectively. The upper and middle alluvial fan of the Chaobai River, the vicinity of the emergency water sources, and the edge of the groundwater funnel have undergone several mutations. Combining hydrogeological data of the study area and the impact of the south-to-north water transfer project, we analysed the causes of these mutations. The experimental results can quantitatively verify the mutation information of land subsidence in conjunction with time series to further elucidate the spatial-temporal variation characteristics of land subsidence in the study area.

Trend Analysis of Temperature and Precipitation Extremes during Winter Wheat Growth Period in the Major Winter Wheat Planting Area of China

In this study, the major winter wheat planting area of China is selected as the study area, with the time scale of the growth period of winter wheat (a total of 56 growth periods during October 1961 to May 2016). The significance, stability, magnitude of the trend and the average trend of the study area with eight temperature indices and seven precipitation indices of 453 meteorological stations are tested by Mann–Kendall method and Sen’s nonparametric method. The following observation can be made: (1) the cold extreme indices show strong and stable downward trend in most of the stations in the study area, while the hot extreme indices show a strong and stable upward trend, especially in the northern winter wheat planting area and the north of the southern winter wheat planting area. (2) The trends of extreme precipitation indices in most of the sites in the study area are insignificant and unstable. Only in R20mm, a significant and stable decreasing trend is shown in some stations, which is mainly located in the northern winter wheat planting area and part of the central and western regions in the study area. The results in some ways could enrich the references for understanding the climate change in the growth period of winter wheat in the region and help to formulate a better agronomic management practice of winter wheat.

Effect of natural conditions and mining activities on vegetation variations in arid and semiarid mining regions

Abstract Variation in vegetation can provide fundamental information about environment and resources management, especially in mining areas with vulnerable ecosystems. Research has demonstrated that vegetation patterns across river basins, plateaus, and mountains have been affected by climate change. However, variation in vegetation caused by natural conditions and mining activities in arid and semiarid mining areas is rarely examined. Using the Yushenfu mining area as a case study, based on the Sen + Mann–Kendall method, spatiotemporal characteristics of variation in vegetation were first analyzed using normal difference vegetation index (NDVI) time series data from 2006 to 2015. For comparison, a traditional linear regression method was applied to characterize NDVI trends, indicating the feasibility of the Sen + Mann–Kendall method. Subsequently, the effect of geomorphology, groundwater depth, and drought index on NDVI was assessed. The same geomorphology or groundwater depth did not correspond to a specific NDVI value, and a relationship between the drought index and NDVI was obtained. Then, unexploited areas and mined areas were compared, revealing that mining activities have a very obvious negative impact on vegetation ecology. Furthermore, the buried depth of the eco-safety groundwater table was determined to be 1.5–5.0 m based on the curve describing the relationship between groundwater depth and NDVI. This analysis produced an ecological sensitivity map with four key zones: primary, secondary, and tertiary sensitive areas and non-sensitive areas. These results provide a theoretical basis for developing fair and equitable outcomes for mineral resource development and environmental protection.

Methods of evaluation the quality of teaching in higher education institutions

Purpose of research. The article describes an approach to assessing the quality of education at universities. Innovative processes in higher education increase the requirements to the quality assurance system for bachelors, masters, specialists and postgraduates. Such a system includes not only educational processes, but also the results of the quality of education. This problem is relevant because the quality of students’ training influences the formation of professional competencies and the demand on the labor market directly. The aim of the study is to develop a methodology for assessing the quality of training for different groups of experts.Materials and methods. The method of quality assessment and the results of the study, based on the proposed pyramid model of quality assessment with the details of the components, included in its composition, and the designation of their values for evaluation are considered in the paper. A method of assessing the quality of education at universities, based on the criteria of quality of education, the method of expert evaluation, formalization and algorithmization of the process is proposed. The generalized assessment of the group of experts is formed on the basis of average values. Formalization of assessment begins with the fact that in the built pyramid of quality of training each criterion is assigned a variable that reflects its assessment. The indicator, which is characterized by the average values of experts' assessments, is an assessment of the quality of training. Setting the relationship between quantitative and qualitative value is carried out using the established quality scale, which is based on the Likert scale. For a clear understanding of how the conclusion about the degree of consistency of experts by Kendall method is formed, the situation is considered when experts are asked to rank the criteria by significance, that is, to assign a place in the rating for each criterion. The overall assessment of the quality of education can be obtained based on a questionnaire that should be conducted on a specific topic and for all participants in the educational process, followed by an analysis of the survey results. Each expert group is offered a list of questions on a specific topic. To solve this problem, we should use the method of expert assessments, which is part of the theory of decision-making and expert evaluation - the procedure for obtaining an assessment of the task based on the opinion of experts, followed by decision-making.Results. The interest of the employer in carrying out this study is to increase the effectiveness of the quality of training, the formation of professional competencies, as well as an objective comprehensive assessment of the quality of training. As a result of the study, the pyramid of criteria and the model of evaluation of the quality of education allow to determine the value that reflects the qualitative characteristics of the learning process in higher education.Conclusion. The introduction of this model will improve the quality of the educational process in the University, to prepare highly qualified specialists in demand in the labor market, meet the needs of socio-economic development of modern society.

Analysis of abrupt changes in the PM2.5 concentration in Beijing during the conversion period from the summer to winter half-year in 2006–2015

Beijing has experienced increasingly frequent heavy air pollution caused by high loadings of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in recent decades, especially in autumn and winter. In this study, the formation mechanisms of air pollution episodes between late September and early October were investigated on the basis of observations and reanalysis data from 2006 to 2015. During the transitional period from the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) to the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM), an abrupt change in meteorological conditions resulting in heavy PM2.5 pollution episodes was regularly observed in autumn (around October 4–5). Thereafter, pollution episodes with higher PM2.5 concentrations and more frequent and longer duration occurred after October 4–5. In particular, another marked increase in the PM2.5 concentration occurred around mid-November when city heat supply began. We applied the moving t-test (MTT) and Mann–Kendall (MK) methods to investigate the role of meteorological factors affected by the Asian monsoon. The abrupt change in the PM2.5 concentration in autumn (around October 5) was closely related to the monsoon transition, during which the atmospheric circulation and diffusion conditions were undergoing a transition from summer to winter type. This could be favorable for the transport, accumulation and secondary formation of PM2.5. The PM2.5 concentration increased obviously around November 15, and it could be caused by the combination of more emissions from city heat supply and the more stable winter atmosphere. This study revealed significant differences between the two mechanisms that produced increases in the PM2.5 concentration in autumn and winter, and indicated close connections between the variation of monsoon type and air pollution characteristics to some extent. When considering emission reductions, attention could also be given to the monsoon transition period when the atmospheric circulation pattern and diffusion conditions begin to change.

Evaluation of trends and predictability of short‐term droughts in three meteorological subdivisions of India using multivariate EMD‐based hybrid modelling

AbstractThis paper presented trend analysis of droughts in Kerala, Telangana, and Orissa meteorological subdivisions in India and proposed a framework for drought prediction by employing the Empirical Mode Decomposition (EMD)‐based prediction models. The study used 3‐month standardized precipitation index (SPI3) for drought analysis. The trend analysis of SPI3 series for the period 1871–2012 using Mann–Kendall method showed statistically significant increasing trend in Kerala and Telangana subdivisions and a decreasing trend in Orissa subdivision. In addition, the non‐linear trend component extracted from EMD showed statistically significant changes in all the three subdivisions. Then, the study proposed a hybrid approach for prediction of short‐term droughts by coupling multivariate extension of EMD (MEMD) with stepwise linear regression (SLR) and genetic programming (GP) methods. First, the multivariate dataset comprising the SPI3 series of current and lagged time steps are decomposed using the MEMD. Then, SLR/GP models are developed to predict each subseries of SPI3 of desired time step considering the subseries of predictor variables at the corresponding timescales as inputs. The resulting models at different timescales are recombined to obtain the SPI3 values of the desired time step. The method is applied for prediction of short‐term droughts in the three subdivisions. The results obtained by the hybrid models are compared with that obtained by conventional prediction models using M5 Model Trees and GP. The rigorous performance evaluation based on multiple statistical criteria clearly exhibited the superiority of the hybrid approaches (i.e., prediction models with MEMD‐based decomposition over models without decomposition) for prediction of SPI3 in three subdivisions. Further, the study found that MEMD‐GP model performs marginally better than the MEMD‐SLR model due to its efficacy in modelling high frequency modes.

Evaluating the Impaction of Coal Mining on Ordovician Karst Water through Statistical Methods

This study aims to reveal karst water trend change and the variation of affecting factors in the Heilongdong spring area due to long-term coal mining. In this study, five yearly recoded data over more than 40 years were collected, including underground water level dynamics, water flow, groundwater withdrawal for industrial and agricultural production and domestic production (groundwater withdrawal), mine drainage and rainfall. On that basis, we conducted linear regression, innovative trend analysis (ITA) and the Mann–Kendall method to quantitative analyze the trend and mutation sequence of the time series of environmental hydrological parameters in the study area. To determine the correlation of different affecting parameters under coal mining, as well as the trend of the correlation, we conducted multivariate linear regression analysis and exploited wavelet coherence. The results suggest: (1) under human influence, the annual value of underground water level in the Heilongdong spring area shows an insignificant decrease of 0.42 m/a; precipitation shows a significant downward trend of 2.34 mm/a, primarily the decrease of rainstorm; the spring flow shows a significant decrease of 9.41 × 106 m3/a, and springs with different flow show a significant decrease. (2) The abrupt changes of various factors affecting spring flow in the study area were successively delayed by rainfall, mine drainage rate, industrial and agricultural water consumption and underground water level. (3) Since the year of the start of dramatic changes, under the impact of increased manual mining and mine drainage, the amount of spring overflow has decreased, the groundwater level has decreased, and the groundwater dynamics have varied from meteorological type to meteorology-artificial type. Moreover, the factors affecting the dynamic changes of groundwater have been changed to rainfall and artificial mining and drainage. (4) As the results of Wavelet coherence analysis suggest, the spring flow resonates significantly with rainfall from the period of 3a to 15a. The correlation between the original spring flow and groundwater level is more obvious than that between the original spring flow and rainfall. The correlation between residual flow and groundwater level is less obvious than that between residual flow and rainfall. The above results provide a basis for comprehensively exploiting water resources in coal mining areas and regional groundwater resources protection measures.

Trends in return levels of 24‐hr precipitation extremes during the typhoon season in Taiwan

This study is to investigate changes in maximum 24‐hr precipitation for 20 stations during the typhoon season (July–October) and how the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) may modulate precipitation extremes in Taiwan. Based on the nonparametric Mann–Kendall method and Sens's test, 15 out of 20 stations (three fourth) exhibited an upward trend from 1958 to 2013. Results of the field significance test suggest that the significant increasing trend is not caused by random variability.The method of the non‐stationary generalized extreme value distribution (NGEV) is then applied to determine temporal changes in return levels. Results show that a large majority of stations are marked by an increasing trend in the three chosen return levels (2, 20, and 100 years) over the last 56 years. Therefore, more intense typhoon producing seasonal maximum 24‐hr precipitation has been observed in Taiwan. The waiting time for an extreme event to occur has shortened considerably in recent years. For stations located in western/central Taiwan, an El Niño (La Niña) event favours low (high) precipitation extremes. It is the opposite for stations in northern and eastern Taiwan. Thus, an east–west regional difference in precipitation extremes across Taiwan is noted. A NGEV model based on both time and ENSO as covariates is also applied. Inter‐annual variations influenced by ENSO are more dominant than long‐term trend in return levels for most stations in western/central Taiwan.

Expressions of a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 and epidermal growth factor recepter in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma and their significances

Objective To investigate the expressions of a disintegrin and metalloprotease 17 (ADAM17) and epidermal growth factor recepter (EGFR) in human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESC), and to explore their relationship with clinicopathological characteristics. Methods The paraffin specimens in postoperative pathological tissues of 66 ESC patients in the Third People's Hospital of Hefei from January 2013 to December 2017 were selected. Expressions of ADAM17 and EGFR proteins were examined by using immunohistochemistry in 66 cases of ESC tissues and 33 cases of adjacent tissues of the tumors. The relationship of ADAM17 and EGFR with clinicopathological features was analyzed. Kendall method was used to detect the expression correlation of ADAM17 and EGFR. Results The positive rate of ADAM17 protein in ESC tissues was higher than that in the adjacent tissues of the tumors [68.2 % (45/66) vs. 33.3 % (11/33), χ 2 = 10.874, P = 0.001]. The positive rate of EGFR protein in ESC tissues was higher than that in the adjacent tissues of the tumors [66.7 % (44/66) vs. 39.4 % (13/33), χ2 = 6.699, P = 0.01]. The expressions of ADAM17 and EGFR protein were related with ESC pathological TNM staging, infiltration depth, lymph node metastasis (χ2 = 4.797, 4.890, 6.089; 8.790, 8.766, 10.154, respectively, all P < 0.05). ADAM17 expression was positively correlated with EGFR protein (rs = 0.368, P < 0.05). Conclusions ADAM17 and EGFR are highly expressed in human ESC. Besides, ADAM17 and EGFR have the interaction in the occurrence and development of esophageal cancer. Joint detection may help to determine the degree of metastasis and evaluate prognosis. Key words: Esophageal neoplasms; A disintegrin and metalloprotease 17; Recepter, epidermal growth factor; Immunohistochemistry

Monsoon Agriculture - Suggestieve Methods Using Dependable Inflow &amp; Rainfall for a Command Area

In the recent trend of changing environment, the rainfall and the inflow to the reservoir are getting reduced year by year respectively in agricultural field and in river basins. In this paper the dependable inflow into the reservoir and the rainfall in the command area is estimated with the past 30 years data. The statistical methods and formulae (Variance, Mann- Kendall method) are used to determine the dependable inflow and rainfall for both the monsoons. It is found that the inflow is not dependable for South –West monsoon, to do the agriculture, for a normal crop, with medium water requirement.. For the North - East monsoon both the inflow and rainfall are dependable hence the agriculture can be carried out with a single crop (paddy) having more water requirement (or) possible multi-crops, according to the storage in the reservoir and prediction of rainfall in that season. The deductions for other requirements of the dam, losses for evaporation, conveyance etc has been taken into account. The case study is done with the data for 30 years (1982-2012)for a dam in Tamil Nadu, India.

Groundwater Level Analysis Using Regional Kendall Test for Trend with Spatial Autocorrelation.

Assessment of historical evolution of groundwater levels is essential for understanding the anthropogenic impact on groundwater exploitation and developing response policies. In this study, regional groundwater level trend was addressed based on the regional Kendall test with correlated spatial data. With a limited number of data at one location, an exponential relation was proposed to be used to approximate covariances of a variable as a function of distances between locations. The effectiveness of the method was demonstrated using synthetic data experiments. The regional Kendall method was applied to assess evolution of groundwater levels and their annual decline rates in Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei in China based on county-level data in 1959, 1984, 2005, and 2013. Results indicated that a continuing declining regional trend was shown in groundwater levels, revealing generally higher groundwater recharge rates than withdrawal rates in the study region. The annual groundwater decline rates presented a firstly increasing then decreasing regional trend, which is consistent with the environmental Kuznets curve. The earlier accelerating groundwater decline rate was attributed to supply-driven water resources management, whereas the reversed trend in accelerating groundwater decline rate in the latter period was due to many measures implemented to relieve local water stresses.

Perancangan Sistem Informasi Pelayanan Pelanggan Pada Citra Laundry Bogor

&#x0D; Clean clothes are very necessary human to treat themselves to stay healthy and protected from all kinds of diseases that come from viruses and bacteria that live and grow around humans. One effort to keep clothes clean is to wash regularly clothes that have been exposed to dirt coming from dust, garbage, and odor. Washing activities are activities that take a lot of time because this activity is done with great care. This encourages the business to open a laundry business, even now developing not only washing clothes but serving the laundering of various types of goods made of fine fiber materials such as cotton, wool, polyester, and others. Customer service, washing quality, and washing time become the point of consumer satisfaction assessment of laundry services offered. Consumer Service System which was originally manual and then replaced with a computerized Consumer Service System. The process of data processing was switched into a database and the use of application programs. Citra Laundry then took this opportunity by providing customer service information system. Development of customer service system using Waterfall method in the software. The description of the current system and proposed system is described in the form of data flow diagrams, Kendall and Kendall methods. Data collection is done by observation on the same type of business and conducting interviews with related parties. The results of this study resulted in a customer service information system more efficient in the storage and processing of large data and very effective in dealing with the needs of customer service quickly and systematically.

Quantification of spatial temporal variability of snow cover and hydro-climatic variables based on multi-source remote sensing data in the Swat watershed, Hindukush Mountains, Pakistan

The northern part of Hindukush Mountains has a perplexing environment due to the influence of adjacent mountains of Himalaya, Karakoram, and Tibetan Plateau. Although reliable evidences of climate change are available; however, a clear knowledge of snow cover dynamics in the context of climate change is missing for this region. In this study, we used various remotely sensed (TRMM precipitation product, while MODIS temperature and snow cover products) and gauge-based datasets to quantify the spatiotemporal variability of climatic variables and their turn effects over the snow cover area (SCA) and river discharge in the Swat watershed, northern Hindukush Mountains, Pakistan. The Mann–Kendall method and Sen’s slope estimator were used to estimate the trends in SCA and hydro-climatic variables, at 5% significant level (P = 0.05). Results show that the winter and springs temperatures have increased (at the rate of 0.079 and 0.059 °C year−1, respectively), while decreasing in the summer and autumn (at the rate of 0.049 and 0.070 °C year−1, respectively). Basin-wide increasing tendency of precipitation was identified with a highest increasing rate of 3.563 mm year−1 in the spring season. A decreasing trend in the winter SCA (at the rate of -0.275% year−1) and increasing trends in other seasons were identified. An increasing tendency of river discharge on annual and seasonal scales was also witnessed. The seasonal variations in discharge showed significant positive and negative relationships with temperature and SCA, respectively. We conclude that the future variations in the temperature and SCA in the higher altitudes of the Swat watershed could substantially affect the seasonality of the river discharge. Moreover, it implies that the effect of ongoing global warming on the SCA in the snowmelt-dominated river basins needs to be considered for sustainable regional planning and management of water resources, hydropower production, and downstream irrigation scheduling.

Character Association Studies in Groundnut (&amp;lt;i&amp;gt;Arachis hypogaea&amp;lt;/i&amp;gt; L.)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the degree of relationship and association amongst morphological characters of groundnut as an important food crop in Nigeria. 118 cultivars were planted in a completely randomized design structure. Characterization was based on qualitative and quantitative evaluations of 62 characters. Data were analysed on the SPSS software (20.0 versions). Correlation tools were applied using Spearman, Kendall and Pearson methods. Level of relationship was determined based on the strength of coefficients R. Dependence among traits was tested using the Chi square. Multiple regression analysis was carried out in a predictive model. As a result, many of the traits are very weakly correlated. Day to emergence has no effect on Day to 50% flowering (R = 0.237, p 0.6, p < 0.9) were observed amongst pod and seed parameters. Pod sizes significantly affect the number of seeds present (R = 0.551, p < 0.01) with R2 of 30%. Qualitative traits have no effect on each other as all coefficients are very low. Pod constriction and sizes have no relationship (R = -0.029). Tolerance to diseases is not affected by any qualitative trait. Also, no trait determines seed colour. Pubescence of young and mature leaflets recorded the only high positive correlation among all qualitative traits (R = 0.837, p = 0.01). However, leaf and stem pubescence have no relationship. The following traits significantly depend on cultivar type: disease tolerance (χ2 = 17.93, p = 0.000), plant survivorship (χ2 = 39.97, p = 0.000) and pod yield (χ2 = 69.695, p = 0.008). Seed yield has been predicted in a fit model with R2 of 51% and significant p values (p < 0.05) among some predictors. When appropriately applied, the information provided in this report may be useful to groundnut growers and breeders as well those interested in systematic studies of the crop.

Study on temporal and spatial characteristics of cold waves in Shandong Province of China

Based on daily minimum temperature data during 1979–2013, the frequency of occurrence,the beginning date and ending date and other characteristic values of cold waves at all levels are processed. Then, by using the method of Mann–Kendall method, correlation analysis, empirical orthogonal function and Morlet wavelet analysis, the spatiotemporal distribution and inter-annual variation and other characteristics of cold wave, strong cold wave and ultra-strong cold wave of Shandong Province are analyzed. The tendency of cold waves at all levels in Shandong Province is predicted for the coming years, which might be referable in the prevention of cold wave and storm surge disaster.

Accessing the Difference in the Climate Elasticity of Runoff across the Poyang Lake Basin, China

Understanding the effects of climate and catchment properties’ changes on water yield is a challenging component in assessments of future water resources. Here, we spatially applied the water-energy balance equation, based on the widely-used Budyko framework, to quantify the temporal and spatial differences of the climate elasticity of runoff in the Poyang Lake Basin (PYLB), highlighting the influence of the catchment properties’ parameter n variation on the climate elasticity and runoff prediction. By using Sen’s slope and the Mann–Kendall method, we found that, for the whole study period (1960–2010), annual temperature in PYLB significantly increased at a rate of 1.44% per decade. Basin-wide wind speed and net radiation had been declining at 0.17 m/s and 46.30 MJ/m2 per decade. No significant trend was detected in precipitation and relative humidity. The moving average method was applied to evaluate the temporal pattern of n. The results showed that the calibrated catchment properties’ parameter and the derived elasticities were not constant during the past 50 years. We found that in most sub-basins, the n values increased during 1970–1980, followed by a decreasing trend in the period from 1980 to 1990, whereas the n value in Fuhe sub-basin kept increasing for the almost the whole study period. In addition, the climate elasticity is highly correlated with the n value, indicating that the catchment properties’ parameter was the dominant factor influencing climate elasticity in PYLB in the past 50 years. We also attempted to predict the runoff trend with the consideration of trends in n. However, in some sub-basins, there were still considerable differences between the predicted runoff trend and the observed one. The method used here to evaluate the temporal pattern of n should be an extension of the existing literature and will provide a better understanding of elasticity in the regional hydrological cycle.

Spatial and temporal variability of reference evapotranspiration and influenced meteorological factors in the Jialing River Basin, China

Reference evapotranspiration (ETr) is one of the important parameters in the hydrological cycle. The spatio-temporal variation of ETr and other meteorological parameters that influence ETr were investigated in the Jialing River Basin (JRB), China. The ETr was estimated using the CROPWAT 8.0 computer model based on the Penman–Montieth equation for the period 1964–2014. Mean temperature (MT), relative humidity (RH), sunshine duration (SD), and wind speed (WS) were the main input parameters of CROPWAT while 12 meteorological stations were evaluated. Linear regression and Mann–Kendall methods were applied to study the spatio-temporal trends while the inverse distance weighted (IDW) method was used to identify the spatial distribution of ETr. Stepwise regression and partial correlation methods were used to identify the meteorological variables that most significantly influenced the changes in ETr. The highest annual ETr was found in the northern part of the basin, whereas the lowest rate was recorded in the western part. In the autumn, the highest ETr was recorded in the southeast part of JRB. The annual ETr reflected neither significant increasing nor decreasing trends. Except for the summer, ETr is slightly increasing in other seasons. The MT significantly increased whereas SD and RH were significantly decreased during the 50-year period. Partial correlation and stepwise regression methods found that the impact of meteorological parameters on ETr varies on an annual and seasonal basis while SD, MT, and RH contributed to the changes of annual and seasonal ETr in the JRB.

An Analysis of Decaying Situation of Traditional Handloom Industry of Gangarampur Block of Dakshin Dinajpur of West Bengal, India

Handloom industry in India is an ancient cottage industry. Handloom Industry of Gangarampur of West Bengal enjoys a prominent place in the handloom map of rural India. This study is aimed to address these reasons by investigating the present conditions of this industry and problems of the handloom industry that are affecting badly. Kendall's method has been used to show the handloom productivity of different mouzas in this block. It is found that most of the cooperative society has been closed day by day and the trend of production is declining unexpectedly. Inequality has been measured in relation handloom worker to total worker with the help of Lorenz Curve and Gini's Coefficient. The handloom industry facing a number of challenges such as financial constraint, inability to purchase up-to-date machineries, poor working condition, increased price of yarn, the absence of government support, lack of domestic market and demand and so on. People are enjoying a moderately better condition due to that cooperative system development but most of the weavers are working under Mahajan. Government support and help for the development is very much essential.