干旱区生态环境知识资源中心(Arid): Characteristics and Attribution of Spatiotemporal Changes in Qilian Mountains' Runoff Over the Past Six Decades

Arid

DOI	10.1029/2023JD039176
	Characteristics and Attribution of Spatiotemporal Changes in Qilian Mountains' Runoff Over the Past Six Decades
	Liu, Zhe; Wang, Ninglian; Cuo, Lan; Liang, Liqiao
通讯作者	Wang, NL
来源期刊	JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES
ISSN	2169-897X
EISSN	2169-8996
出版年	2023
卷号	128 期号:22
英文摘要	Tibet's Qilian Mountains (QM) include critical water conservation areas and important ecological barriers, which help maintain downstream inland river oasis stability. For decades, contemporaneous climatic and cryospheric variation has severely impacted QM's hydrological processes, challenging local water resource management and sustainable development. However, due to prevalent data and methodological limitations, QM research has primarily focused on runoff change at a basin scale. Spatial distributions and temporal changes in runoff subsequently remain unclear. Based on multi-source data and the literature, we estimated that QM's mountain outlets generate approximately 15.671 km3 in total annual runoff, exhibiting a spatially decreasing pattern from northeast to southwest. Moreover, runoff distribution and trend variation at seasonal and annual scales depend upon the river replenishment source type. Beginning in the 1950s and 1960s, eastern rain-fed rivers experienced a downward trend while those dominated by meltwater or simultaneously fed by multiple sources in its central and western regions experienced an upward trend. As an integrated product of mixed multi-factor effects, runoff is regulated by temperature, precipitation, and cryospheric meltwater. Moreover, the main controlling runoff factors varied seasonally under different water source concentrations. Annually, precipitation was the main driver for runoff change in the eastern region while, correspondingly, temperature was in the western region where glaciers and the snow line boundary predominant. Besides, this study highlighted that the existing literature has significant limitations in understanding interactions among different cryospheric components and hydrologic process mechanisms when exploring the reasons for runoff variations, which needs further exploration in the future. As a critical water conservation area and ecological security barrier in western China, the Qilian Mountains (QM) is a core region within the Silk Road Economic Belt. It is regarded as the water tower to inland rivers in the Hexi Corridor, the eastern margin of the Qaidam Basin desert, and upstream areas of the Yellow River, nurturing more than 5 million people. However, spatiotemporal patterns and driving factors of runoff variations under climate change conditions remain unclear. Based on multi-source data and published literature, this study estimated that 15.671 km3 of total annual runoff was generated on the QM, which generally decreased from northeast to southwest. Although seasonal distributions of runoff in major rivers were similar, their annual runoff trends showed a substantial difference between the eastern (i.e., downward trend) and western (i.e., upward trend) regions. From east to center to west, river replenishment types changed from rainfall dominant to mixed replenishment/groundwater dominant to meltwater dominant, causing different sensitivities to temperature and precipitation among rivers. Currently, the main approaches exploring physical mechanisms of QM runoff are qualitative analyses. Comprehensive quantitative research that encompasses various cryospheric components is needed to enhance scientific understanding of hydrological processes in this region. Average annual total river runoff on the Qilian Mountains was estimated at approximately 15.671 km3, decreasing from northeast to southwestA downward trend in annual runoff was observed in the eastern region, while an upward trend was observed in its central and western regionsRiver replenishment types changed from rainfall dominant (eastern) to mixed replenishment (central) to meltwater dominant (western)
英文关键词	Qilian Mountains runoff cryosphere climate change
类型	Article
语种	英语
收录类别	SCI-E
WOS记录号	WOS:001108790400001
WOS类目	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
WOS研究方向	Meteorology & Atmospheric Sciences
资源类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/397356
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Liu, Zhe,Wang, Ninglian,Cuo, Lan,et al. Characteristics and Attribution of Spatiotemporal Changes in Qilian Mountains' Runoff Over the Past Six Decades[J],2023,128(22).
APA	Liu, Zhe,Wang, Ninglian,Cuo, Lan,&Liang, Liqiao.(2023).Characteristics and Attribution of Spatiotemporal Changes in Qilian Mountains' Runoff Over the Past Six Decades.JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES,128(22).
MLA	Liu, Zhe,et al."Characteristics and Attribution of Spatiotemporal Changes in Qilian Mountains' Runoff Over the Past Six Decades".JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH-ATMOSPHERES 128.22(2023).