Runoff variation characteristics, association with large-scale circulation and dominant causes in the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

Qingping Cheng; Xiaoan Zuo; Fanglei Zhong; Lu Gao; Shengchun Xiao

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.397

Runoff variation characteristics, association with large-scale circulation and dominant causes in the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Oct 20:688:361-379. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.397. Epub 2019 Jun 1.

Authors

Qingping Cheng¹, Xiaoan Zuo², Fanglei Zhong³, Lu Gao⁴, Shengchun Xiao⁵

Affiliations

¹ Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China; Northwest Institute of Eco-Environmental and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Urat Desert-Grassland Research Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, China; Northwest Institute of Eco-Environmental and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: zuoxa@lzb.ac.cn.
³ School of Economics, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China. Electronic address: flzhong@lzb.ac.cn.
⁴ Institute of Geography, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China; Fujian Provincial Engineering Research Center for Monitoring and Assessing Terrestrial Disasters, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China; State Key Laboratory of Subtropical Mountain Ecology (Funded by Ministry of Science and Technology and Fujian Province), Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou 350007, China.
⁵ Northwest Institute of Eco-Environmental and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China.

PMID: 31233917
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.397

Abstract

The water resources in arid and semi-arid regions are critical to providing reliable sources of water for food production and ecosystem functioning. In this study, continuous wavelet transform and wavelet coherence were used to analyse the runoff periodicity and relationship with climate indices, respectively. Additionally, the double mass curve (DMCD), the slope changing ratio of cumulative quantity (SCRCQ) and the Choudhury-Yang equation (Budyko-CY) methods for different potential evapotranspiration data (E₀(E₀-20 cm, E₀-PM, E₀-H)) were used to separate the impacts of climate changes and anthropogenic activities on runoff variations. The results demonstrated that the flow regimes in high and low flow seasons were not obvious shifts, and that after implementation of the Ecological Water Diversion Project (EWDP), ecosystems were gradually restored in the downstream portion of the Heihe River Basin (DHRB). Periodicities of 1-7 years and 1-5.8 years were detected in Yingluoxia and Zhengyixia, respectively. Additionally, on a 1-148.2 month timescale, the monthly runoff with AO, NAO, PDO, and AMO had significant resonance periodicity and a 1-48 month Spearman's lag correlation. On the annual and high-flow, climate changes dominant determinant to an increase of runoff for the DMCD and Budyko-CY in period 2, SCRCQ and Budyko-CY in period 3 for different E₀ in the upstream (UHRB). In the midstream (MHRB) region, anthropogenic activities played a dominant role in deducing the runoff by the SCRCQ and Budyko-CY methods for different E₀ values in period 3. During the low-flow season, the impact of human activities in the UHRB and climate changes in the MHRB was significant for period 2 and 3. Therefore, the impacts of climate change and human activities on runoff changes caused by the introduction of different E₀ on different timescales should be fully considered in the future.

Keywords: Dominant causes; Heihe River Basin; Potential evapotranspiration; Runoff variation; Separation methods.