Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global Warming
Characterized by increasing surface air temperature, global warming has altered the hydrological cycle at global and regional scales. In order to adapt water resources management under the context of global warming, attribution analysis on regional differentiation of water resources in the Yangtze R...
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MDPI AG
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Water |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1809 |
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| author | Xuchun Ye Zengxin Zhang Chong-Yu Xu Jia Liu |
| author_facet | Xuchun Ye Zengxin Zhang Chong-Yu Xu Jia Liu |
| author_sort | Xuchun Ye |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Characterized by increasing surface air temperature, global warming has altered the hydrological cycle at global and regional scales. In order to adapt water resources management under the context of global warming, attribution analysis on regional differentiation of water resources in the Yangtze River basin (YRB) was conducted in this study. Meteoro-hydrological variations across the basin were examined for the period 1960–2013, and then a statistic-based method was applied in quantifying the contributions of climate variability and human activities on annual runoff variations in different tributary sub-basins in the YRB. Our observation indicates that both the annual increasing rate and the inter-annual fluctuations of temperature in China and in the YRB were higher than that of the global average since the turn of the century. Climate change analysis indicates that the YRB experienced a hot-wet period during 1994–2002 and a hot-dry period during 2003–2013, since the step change of temperature in 1993. Contributions of climate change and human activities on runoff variations varied spatially in the basin. With reference to the baseline period of 1960–1993, the contribution of climate change played a dominant role in most regions of the basin, especially in those upstream sub-basins. The effect of human activities in the basin was quite complicated, not only its regional differentiation, but also its contribution were opposite during the hot-wet period and the hot-dry period in some sub-basins. The result of this study is helpful in understanding the impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources variation in both temporal and spatial scales. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:54:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fec69634868e4f5fab69131b0170d15c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4441 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T18:54:52Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Water |
| spelling | doaj.art-fec69634868e4f5fab69131b0170d15c2023-11-20T04:53:08ZengMDPI AGWater2073-44412020-06-01126180910.3390/w12061809Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global WarmingXuchun Ye0Zengxin Zhang1Chong-Yu Xu2Jia Liu3School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Hydrology–Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, ChinaDepartment of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047 Blindern, 0316 Oslo, NorwayState Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, ChinaCharacterized by increasing surface air temperature, global warming has altered the hydrological cycle at global and regional scales. In order to adapt water resources management under the context of global warming, attribution analysis on regional differentiation of water resources in the Yangtze River basin (YRB) was conducted in this study. Meteoro-hydrological variations across the basin were examined for the period 1960–2013, and then a statistic-based method was applied in quantifying the contributions of climate variability and human activities on annual runoff variations in different tributary sub-basins in the YRB. Our observation indicates that both the annual increasing rate and the inter-annual fluctuations of temperature in China and in the YRB were higher than that of the global average since the turn of the century. Climate change analysis indicates that the YRB experienced a hot-wet period during 1994–2002 and a hot-dry period during 2003–2013, since the step change of temperature in 1993. Contributions of climate change and human activities on runoff variations varied spatially in the basin. With reference to the baseline period of 1960–1993, the contribution of climate change played a dominant role in most regions of the basin, especially in those upstream sub-basins. The effect of human activities in the basin was quite complicated, not only its regional differentiation, but also its contribution were opposite during the hot-wet period and the hot-dry period in some sub-basins. The result of this study is helpful in understanding the impacts of climate change and human activities on water resources variation in both temporal and spatial scales.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1809Yangtze Riverglobal warmingannual runoffclimate changehuman activities |
| spellingShingle | Xuchun Ye Zengxin Zhang Chong-Yu Xu Jia Liu Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global Warming Water Yangtze River global warming annual runoff climate change human activities |
| title | Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global Warming |
| title_full | Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global Warming |
| title_fullStr | Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global Warming |
| title_full_unstemmed | Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global Warming |
| title_short | Attribution Analysis on Regional Differentiation of Water Resources Variation in the Yangtze River Basin under the Context of Global Warming |
| title_sort | attribution analysis on regional differentiation of water resources variation in the yangtze river basin under the context of global warming |
| topic | Yangtze River global warming annual runoff climate change human activities |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4441/12/6/1809 |
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