Regional climate change and possible causes over the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Xiaojun Wu; Lunche Wang; Qian Cao; Zigeng Niu; Xin Dai

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166263

Regional climate change and possible causes over the Three Gorges Reservoir Area

Sci Total Environ. 2023 Dec 10:903:166263. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166263. Epub 2023 Aug 12.

Authors

Xiaojun Wu¹, Lunche Wang², Qian Cao¹, Zigeng Niu¹, Xin Dai¹

Affiliations

¹ Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Ecology and Environmental Change, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China; State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China.
² Hubei Key Laboratory of Regional Ecology and Environmental Change, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China; State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Geography and Information Engineering, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan, China; Hubei Luojia Laboratory, Wuhan 430079, China. Electronic address: wang@cug.edu.cn.

PMID: 37579807
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166263

Abstract

The Three Gorges Project, the largest hydroelectric project in the world, has attracted widespread attention regarding its impact on regional climate. However, existing studies on the climate effects of the Three Gorges Project construction are not sufficient due to limited data accumulation. In this study, we analyzed the annual and seasonal trend changes in temperature, precipitation, and humidity over the Three Gorges Reservoir Area (TGRA) based on long-term meteorological stations data, remote sensing data, and reanalysis products. Observation minus reanalysis method (OMR) was used to reveal possible impacts of land cover changes on climate changes. Major results indicated that the TGRA experienced an overall warming trend for both annual and seasonal variations, with greater rising trends in the upstream. Except for autumn, the relative humidity of most regions mainly showed significant downward trends, indicating an overall drying trend in the TGRA. There was insignificant change in total precipitation and precipitable water vapor, with the largest variation observed during the summer. Although there were small differences among these datasets, their results of climate changes showed good consistency overall. In addition, the results of OMR indicated that land cover changes mainly had a warming and drying effect on the middle and upper reaches, and a cooling and moistening effect on the lower reaches of the TGRA. This may be due to the impact of land cover changes on the surface energy balance, thus affected temperature and humidity. The study has important reference value for understanding the climate changes in the TGRA and the climate effects brought about by large-scale engineering construction.

Keywords: Climate change; Land cover change; OMR; Three Gorges Reservoir Area.