1961~2020年中国区域不同等级降水的变化趋势及其可能成因

已有的研究表明,增暖背景下全球降水的格局发生了变化,弱降水总体呈减小趋势,而强降水在一些区域呈明显的增加趋势。但在区域尺度上不同等级强度降水的变化还缺乏系统的研究。本文基于中国838个气象站点的降水资料,研究了1961~2020年来中国弱降水、中等强度降水和极端降水长期变化趋势及其年代际分量与年代际海温振荡型的关联性。结果表明:中国不同等级降水变化的空间分布差异较大。弱降水仅在西北西部和青藏高原地区以增加为主,在华南和西南地区以显著减少为主;中等强度降水在西南地区东部以显著减少为主,在其余地区以增长为主;强降水在大部分地区呈现增长趋势,仅在京津冀和重庆部分地区呈现减少趋势。中国大部分地区的弱降水量(日数)对总降水的贡献率以减少为主,中等强度降水日数、强降水量(日数)的贡献率以显著增长为主,各区域强降水贡献率与中等强度降水和弱降水贡献率呈相反的年代际变化。其中,弱降水日数和中等强度降水日数的变化主导了总降水日数的变化,中等强度降水量和强降水量的变化主导了总降水量的变化。进一步研究发现,在年代际尺度上,中国大部分地区的不同等级降水与太平洋年代际振荡(PDO)的相关系数随等级增大而趋于负值,与大西洋多年代际振荡(AMO)的相关系数则随等级增大而趋于正值。各区域不同等级降水与PDO/AMO相关关系的年代际突变主要发生在1980年代至1990年代。

中国北方干旱半干旱区植被对气候变化和人类活动的响应

干旱半干旱区是我国的生态环境脆弱的地区之一。伴随着气候变化和人类活动的加剧,近几十年该区域植被正发生着显著的变化,然而,至今还缺乏对植被变化原因的足够认识。本文基于GLASS(Global Land Surface Satellite)叶面积指数(Leaf Area Index,简称LAI)、CRU(Climate Research Unit)气温和降水数据,采用相关系数法及残差分析法研究了1982~2017年中国干旱半干旱区植被的时空变化特征,并分析了气温、降水及人类活动对LAI变化的相对贡献。结果发现:(1)干旱半干旱区植被显著改善,仅局部地区有所退化,且植被改善在夏季最为明显;(2)在植被变化中,长期趋势变化和年际变化的影响因子不同,前者受气候变暖影响,而后者则主要与降水的波动密切相关;(3)春、夏季气温和夏季降水对干旱半干旱地区植被生长的同季节影响显著,而在新疆北部和内蒙中部地区,植被对气候因子有季节尺度的滞后响应;(4)植被变化受到人类活动和气候变化的共同作用,不同地区植被变化的主导因子不同。在植被改善地区,气候因子的贡献率约为59%,人类活动的贡献率约为41%;而植被退化地区,气候因子的贡献率约为-51%,人类活动贡献率约为-49%。总的来说,近几十年来我国北方干旱半干旱区植被已发生了显著变化,该变化是气温、降水和人类活动多因素综合影响的结果。

近20年京津冀陆地水储量变化特征及其影响因子分析

水资源严重短缺是京津冀地区面临的重要生态环境问题之一,制约着区域协同发展战略的实施。陆地水储量变化深刻影响着水资源的分布和供给,因此,深入认识陆地水储量及其组分的变化特征和原因可以为完善区域水资源管理、实现水资源优化配置提供科学依据,对区域水资源可持续利用具有重要意义。目前,京津冀地区水储量和其组分的变化,以及自然和人为因素的影响特征尚不清楚。本文采用GRACE(Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment)卫星重力观测数据和全球陆面数据同化系统GLDAS(Global Land Data Assimilation System)数据分析了近20年(2002~2021年)年陆地水储量及其组分的时空变化特征,并结合降水、蒸散发、径流和人类活动用水数据从水循环角度分析了水储量变化的影响因素。结果表明:(1)2002~2021年,北京、天津、河北的陆地水储量(趋势系数分别为-0.71、-0.84、-1.26 cm/a)和地下水储量(趋势系数分别为-1.12、-1.01、-1.55 cm/a)都呈显著减少趋势,而土壤水储量呈现显著增加趋势。(2)北京、天津和河北地下水储量的变化与各自陆地水储量的变化高度一致,相关系数均高达0.8及以上,加之其它分量增加的相反变化趋势,表明地下水储量显著下降是京津冀地区陆地水储量减少的主要原因。(3)3个省/市降水增加对陆地水储量产生正向贡献,蒸散发和径流增加对陆地水储量产生负向贡献。气候/水文因子的综合作用使北京和天津的陆地水储量增加,却造成河北的陆地水储量减少。北京、天津、河北气候变化的贡献率分别为23.60%、33.95%和26.99%,人类活动的贡献率分别为76.40%、66.05%和73.01%,陆地水储量减少主要是人类活动的影响。(4)地下水储量的显著减少是人为活动大量开采地下水的直接结果,表明加强人为用水的管理是京津冀地区水资源可持续利用的关键环节。本文研究结果可为科学掌握京津冀的水储量时空变化规律及影响机制提供数据支撑,为该区域水资源有效管理提供理论依据。

中国干旱事件成因和变化规律的研究进展与展望

干旱是世界上危害最广泛、最严重的自然灾害之一。中国地处典型季风气候区,干旱灾害的影响尤为突出。国际上对干旱问题已经进行了大量研究,逐渐由对干旱的定性和表象的认识发展到对干旱客观特征的定量认识和形成机理的深入揭示。自新中国成立以来,中国从以往仅对一些重大干旱事件的零散认识逐步发展到与国际干旱研究的完全接轨,干旱研究取得了长足进展。但是,目前对干旱研究取得的科学进展缺乏客观全面的整体认识,对干旱研究的发展方向尚未能充分洞察。为此,基于国际干旱研究现状,系统回顾了新中国成立以来中国干旱研究的历程,总结了中国干旱研究的重要进展,划分出了干旱事件的现象特征和时空分布、干旱形成机理及变化规律、干旱灾害风险和骤发性干旱研究兴起等中国干旱研究的4个主要发展过程。并从干旱事件特征、干旱时空分布、干旱变化规律、干旱成因、干旱影响机制、干旱风险形成过程以及干旱对气候变暖的响应、骤发性干旱的特殊性等方面归纳凝练了中国干旱研究的主要成果。同时,结合干旱研究的国际前沿、热点问题和发展趋势,科学分析了中国干旱研究的不足和问题,提出了中国未来干旱研究需要在加强典型干旱频发区综合性干旱科学试验研究的基础上,对干旱形成的多因子协同影响、陆-气作用对干旱形成发展的作用、骤发性干旱的判别及监测预测、各类干旱之间转换规律及其非一致性特征、关键影响期对农业干旱发展的作用、干旱对气候变暖响应的复杂性、干旱灾害风险的科学评估等重点科学问题上取得突破。

关于我国北方干旱化及其转折性变化

过去半个世纪,中国经历了北方的"西湿东干"和东部的"南涝北旱"的降水分布格局。近十几年来,这种降水长期变化的分布格局是维持还是发生了变化?针对这个问题,本文基于年降水观测数据、自矫正的帕尔默干旱指数sc PDSI、地表湿润指数SWI及GRACE(Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment)卫星数据反演的陆地水储量(TWS)对中国区域干旱化问题进行了再分析。结果表明,近16年(2001~2016年),中国东部地区(100°E以东)"南涝北旱"的格局正在发生显著的变化,长江上中游及江淮流域已转为显著的干旱化趋势,而华北地区的降水已转为增加趋势,东部"南旱北涝"的格局基本形成;北方过去的"西湿东干"也转变为"西干东湿"的空间分布特征。显然,中国区域的降水格局在2001年后发生了明显的年代尺度转折性变化,两种常用干旱指数sc PDSI和SWI的分析也证明了这一点。但GRACE的陆地水储量(TWS)的分析却显示,最近16年来,中国东部"南涝北旱"的格局仍未发生变化,北方大部分地区仍然处于干旱化的时段,且有加剧的趋势,其原因有待于进一步研究。

2001~2010年中国区域土地利用/覆盖变化对陆面过程影响的模拟研究

基于2001年和2010年中分辨率成像光谱仪MODIS(MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)土地覆盖数据,利用公共陆面模式(Community Land Model, CLM)模拟真实的土地利用/覆盖变化(Land Use/Cover Change, LUCC)对地表能量平衡和水分循环过程的影响。研究表明:1)在2001~2010年,中国LUCC最明显的区域位于干旱半干旱区过渡带、半干旱半湿润区过渡带和南方地区;中国区域荒漠减少0.92%,草地减少0.01%,农田增加0.77%,森林增加2.86%,植被覆盖度整体增加。2)在2001年和2010年两种土地利用/覆盖背景下,LUCC使大部分地区感热通量增加,植被蒸腾、蒸发潜热通量增加,土壤表面蒸发潜热通量减小。3)LUCC使大部分地区地表径流减小;中国西北东部、华北和东北地区土壤湿度减小,其他地区土壤湿度增加,仅干旱半干旱过渡带上的土壤湿度发生了显著变化。4)当典型过渡带区域由荒漠变为草地后,感热通量增加1.11 W m-2,潜热通量增加0.14 W m-2;冠层蒸腾和蒸发分别增加0.039 mm d-1、0.009 mm d-1。土壤湿度平均减小0.01 m3 m-3,且随深度增加变干更明显,这是由于根系吸收了较多深层土壤水分,以满足植被显著增加的蒸腾而产生的结果。当草地变为灌木时,其能量通量和水分循环的变化与上述结果类似。

中国不同干湿区植被变化及其与气候因子的关系

中国各区植被覆盖和气候特征多样,植被覆盖变化和气候变化及植被对气候因子的响应存在明显的区域差异,研究不同气候区植被变化及其与气候变化的关系可以为各区针对性地应对气候变化、制定植物保护和生态环境修复政策提供科学依据。本文首先基于中分辨率成像光谱仪(MODIS)的土地覆盖数据,根据植被带的分布确定了划分中国干湿区的指标,其次利用归一化植被指数(NDVI)分析不同干湿区域NDVI的时空变化特征,最后探讨了NDVI变化与温度、降水的关系。结果表明:(1)中国区域200 mm、500 mm和800 mm年降水量等值线分别与荒漠/草地、草地/农田、农田(草地)/森林植被带的分界线吻合,气候过渡带对应着植被过渡带,这些等值线作为划分干湿气候区的指标比较合理。(2)中国年平均NDVI从东南向西北递减,从小到大依次为干旱区(0.11)、半干旱区(0.35)、半湿润区(0.57)、湿润区(0.68)。1982~2015年中国大部分区域NDVI呈显著的增加趋势,区域平均的NDVI在干旱区、半干旱区分别以0.002(10 a)^(-1)、0.008(10 a)^(-1)的趋势显著增加,在半湿润区和湿润区也呈现增加趋势,但不显著。(3)四个干湿区的年平均温度和NDVI均呈显著正相关,仅干旱区、半干旱区年降水和NDVI呈显著正相关,半湿润区和湿润区的年降水与NDVI呈微弱负相关。决定系数表明气候因子变化对NDVI变异的解释比例,温度对四个干湿区NDVI时间变化的解释率相差不大,均在30%左右;降水对NDVI时间变化的解释率低于温度,降水对干旱区(18%)和半干旱区(20%)NDVI时间变化的解释率较大,降水主要影响着北方地区植被的生长。(4)月平均NDVI随着温度和降水的增加都有显著的增加趋势,半湿润区的NDVI随温度升高增长的速率(0.026/℃)最快,半干旱区的NDVI对降水最敏感,随降水增多增加的速率为0.027/mm。

气候变化、植被改变及人类用水与黄河流域水循环的研究进展

受气候增暖和人类活动的双重影响,黄河流域的水循环正在发生显著变化,水资源供需矛盾突出。陆地水循环是一个复杂的非线性系统,为清晰认识水循环变化的全貌,并合理高效利用有限的水资源量,需要综合考虑水循环各个要素之间的协同变化机制。同时,在“人类世”背景下,黄河流域水循环研究必须考虑人类活动的影响,主要包括植被变化和人类用水,其中人类用水主体为农业灌溉。自从实施生态恢复工程以来,黄土高原植被覆盖明显改善的同时也引发了对径流、蒸散发、降水、土壤湿度以及地下水的一系列影响,且研究结论还存在一些争议,但黄土高原植被覆盖改善使得该地区蒸散发量增加基本达成共识,大多数研究支持植被改善减少径流的结论。黄河流域的农业灌溉方式主要为大水漫灌,其对地表蒸散发、地表水及地下水多个过程具有重要影响。本文主要针对黄河流域的水循环研究,讨论相关研究进展以及发展方向。

An Analysis of Historical and Future Temperature Fluctuations over China Based on CMIP5 Simulations

The trends and fluctuations of observed and CMIP5-simulated yearly mean surface air temperature over China were analyzed.In general,the historical simulations replicate the observed increase of temperature,but the multi-model ensemble （MME） mean does not accurately reproduce the drastic interannual fluctuations.The correlation coefficient of the MME mean with the observations over all runs and all models was 0.77,which was larger than the largest value （0.65） from any single model ensemble.The results showed that winter temperatures are increasing at a higher rate than summer temperatures,and that winter temperatures exhibit stronger interannual variations.It was also found that the models underestimate the differences between winter and summer rates.The ensemble empirical mode decomposition technique was used to obtain six intrinsic mode functions （IMFs） for the modeled temperature and observations.The periods of the first two IMFs of the MME mean were 3.2 and 7.2,which represented the cycle of 2-7-yr oscillations.The periods of the third and fourth IMFs were 14.7 and 35.2,which reflected a multi-decadal oscillation of climate change.The corresponding periods of the first four IMFs were 2.69,7.24,16.15 and 52.5 in the observed data.The models overestimate the period of low frequency oscillation of temperature,but underestimate the period of high frequency variation.The warming rates from different representative concentration pathways （RCPs） were calculated,and the results showed that the temperature will increase by approximately 0.9℃,2.4℃,3.2℃ and 6.1℃ in the next century under the RCP2.6,RCP4.5,RCP6.0 and RCP8.5 scenarios,respectively.

Responses of terrestrial water cycle components to afforestation within and around the Yellow River basin

Reforestation has attracted worldwide attention because of its multiple environmental benefits,but its impact on water resources is complicated and still controversial. In this study, the authors conducted numerical experiments within and around the Yellow River basin under the Grain-forGreen project using the Weather Research and Forecasting model. The results showed that the terrestrial water cycle process was sensitive to land use/cover change in the study region. Under the increase of mixed forests within and below the basin, the basin-averaged precipitation and evaporation increased by 223.17 and 223.88 mm respectively, but the surface runoff decreased by 2.22 mm from 2006 to 2010. In other words, the forest-induced increase in evaporation exceeded that of precipitation along with decreased surface runoff. Importantly, the afforestation effects on water resources seemed to enhance with time, and the effects of the same vegetation change were different in dry and wet years with different precipitation amounts(i.e. different atmospheric circulation background). It should be noted that it is difficult to obtain one product that can explicitly reflect the spatial distribution of actual land cover change promoted by the Grain-for-Green project in the Yellow River basin, which is an important obstacle to clearly identify the reforestation impacts. A land cover dataset derived from advantages of multiple sets of data therefore needs to be proposed.

Comparative analysis of interdecadal precipitation variability over central North China and sub Saharan Africa

The interdecadal variability of precipitation over sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and central North China (CNC) is examined and compared in this study. Previous studies have found that the two regions have similar interdecadal dry–wet evolution in the past 100 years. The results show obvious decadal precipitation fluctuations in the two regions. In CNC, a persistent negative precipitation anomaly is detected from the early 1970s to the 2000s. In SSA, a negative precipitation anomaly is apparent since the late 1970s, while a distinct upward trend is found since the 1990s although the precipitation anomaly is still negative. Significant correlation is found between the decadal precipitation anomalies in SSA and the SST modes (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)), as well as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), while in CNC the decadal precipitation is influenced by the NAO and PDO. The EOF results show that the total explained variance of the first four EOFs in SSA is smaller than that of CNC. The fourth and third modes in SSA are significantly associated with the AMO and PDO respectively, while the first, third, and fourth modes are significantly associated with the NAO. The first mode in CNC is significantly associated with the NAO. The first mode of the precipitation anomaly in SSA fluctuates out of phase with that in CNC, while in-phase changes are apparent among the third and the fourth modes.

Global aridification in the second half of the 20th century and its relationship to large-scale climate background

The variation in surface wetness index (SWI), which was derived from global gridded monthly precipi- tation and monthly mean surface air temperature datasets of Climatic Research Unit (CRU), from 1951― 2002 over global land was analyzed in this paper. The characteristics of the SWI variation in global continents, such as North America, South America, Eurasia, Africa, and Australia, were compared. In addition, the correlation between the SWI variation of each continent (or across the globe) and the large-scale background closely related to SST variations, which affects climate change, was analyzed. The results indicate that the SWI variation shows distinct regional characteristics in the second half of the 20th century under global warming. A drying trend in the last 52 years occurred in Africa, Eurasia, Australia and South America, most obviously in Africa and Eurasia. North America shows a wetting trend after 1976. A 30-year period of dry-wet oscillation is found in South America and Australia; the latest is in a drying period in two regions. The results also revealed that global warming has changed the dry-wet pattern of the global land. South America and Australia have a drying trend despite in- creases in precipitation. This indicates that increases in surface air temperature cannot be ignored in aridification studies. Global dry-wet variation is closely related to large-scale SST variations: the drying trend in Africa and Eurasia and the wetting trend in North America are correlated with Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO); the interdecadal oscillation of SWI in South America and Australia is consistent with the interdecadal variation in Southern Oscillation Index (SOI).

Soil moisture-based study of the variability of dry-wet climate and climate zones in China

An ensemble soil moisture dataset was produced from 11 of 25 global climate model (GCM) simulations for two climate scenarios spanning 1900 to 2099; this dataset was based on an evaluation of the spatial correlation of means and trends in reference to soil moisture simulations conducted using the community land model driven by observed atmospheric forcing. Using the ensemble soil moisture index, we analyzed the dry-wet climate variability and the dynamics of the climate zone boundaries in China over this 199-year period. The results showed that soil moisture increased in the typically arid regions, but with insignificant trends in the humid regions; furthermore, the soil moisture exhibited strong oscillations with significant drought trends in the transition zones between arid and humid regions. The dynamics of climate zone boundaries indicated that the expansion of semiarid regions and the contraction of semi-humid regions are typical characteristics of the dry-wet climate variability for two scenarios in China. During the 20th century, the total area of semiarid regions expanded by 11.5% north of 30°N in China, compared to the average area for 1970-1999, but that of semi-humid regions decreased by approximately 9.8% in comparison to the average for the period of 1970-1999, even though the transfer area of the humid to the semi-humid regions was taken into account. For the 21st century, the dynamics exhibit similar trends of climate boundaries, but with greater intensity.

黄河流域气候与水文变化的现状及思考

黄河是中华民族的母亲河,孕育了博大精深的中华文明。同时,流域频发的水旱灾害也给黄河两岸的人民群众带来了深重的灾难。当前,由于全球增暖和人类活动加剧的影响,黄河流域气候及水文过程发生了显著的变化,流域整体气候的暖干化和人类用水的不断增加使得黄河流域的水文干旱不断加剧。“退耕还林还草”政策的实施使得黄土高原的植被覆盖得到极大改善,有效地抑制了严重的水土流失,但同时也导致该地区土壤的干化和干土层的加厚,这些是黄河流域生态保护和高质量发展面临的重大问题,也是涉及气候-水-生态-人类社会如何协同发展的基础科学问题。

气候变化背景下雄安新区发展中面临的问题

2017年4月1日,中共中央、国务院印发通知,决定设立河北雄安新区,其目的是集中疏解北京非首都功能,探索人口经济密集地区优化开发新模式,是千年大计、国家大事。京津冀地区属于半干旱半湿润地区,气候变化对水资源和生态系统具有重要的影响。文章从以下4个方面入手,分析在雄安新区建设中应该注意到的资源环境问题,以及实现"生态优先、绿色发展"建设理念所面临的科学问题:(1)京津冀地区的气候将怎样变化;(2)气候变化影响下海河流域的水资源变化;(3)海河流域水资源状况及其人类用水的影响;(4)雄安新区建设和发展过程中所面临的环境问题。

The interdecadal trend and shift of dry/wet over the central part of North China and their relationship to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)

Based on monthly precipitation and monthly mean surface air temperature (SAT),the dry/wet trends and shift of the central part of North China and their relationship to the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) from 1951 to 2005 have been analyzed through calculating surface wetness index (SWI). The results indicate that there was a prominent drying trend and an abrupt change in the analysis period. A per-sistent warming period with less precipitation from the mid and late 1970s to present was found,and a shift process exists from the wet to the dry in the central part of North China during 1951-2005. The transition is located in the mid to late 1970s,which should be related to the shift variation of large-scale climate background. The correlation analysis has brought about a finding of significant correlativity between PDO index (PDOI) and SAT,precipitation and SWI in this region. The correlation exhibits that the positive phase of PDOI (warm PDO phase) matches warming,less precipitation and the drought period,and the negative PDOI phase corresponds to low SAT,more precipitation and the wet period. The duration of various phases is more than 25 years. The decadal variation of sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Pacific Ocean is one of the possible causes in forming the decadal dry/wet trend and shift of the central part of North China.

Modeling spatial and temporal variations in soil moisture in China

On the basis of station observations,an atmospheric field (ObsFC) was constructed for the Community Land Model version 3.5 (CLM3.5).The model (CLM3.5 driven with ObsFC,hereafter referred as to CLM3.5/ObsFC) was used to simulate soil moisture (SM) from 1951 to 2008 in China.The resulting SM was compared with in situ observations,remote-sensing data and estimations made by various land models,indicating that CLM3.5/ObsFC is capable of reproducing the temporospatial characteristics and long-term variation trends of SM over China.Using an in situ observation-based forcing field improves the simulation of SM.Analysis of SM simulated using CLM3.5/ObsFC shows that the overall spatial pattern of SM was characterized by a gradually decreasing and alternating distribution of arid-humid zones from the southeast to northwest.Regionally averaged SM was the driest over southern Xinjiang Province and western Inner Mongolia,while the most humid regions were located over the Northeast Plain,Jianghuai region and the Yangtze River basin.The long-term variation trends of SM were generally characterized by increases in arid and humid regions and decreases in semiarid regions.Moreover,the variation was relatively intense from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s in the arid region.The time series was more stable in the humid region except for a period near 1970 and after the year 2003.A downward trend was most prominent in the semiarid region from the 1990s to the end of the time series.For 1951-2008,in the arid,semiarid and humid regions,the SM volume percentage changed by 2.35,-1.26 and 0.08,respectively.The variation trends and intensity remarkably differed among the different regions,with the most notable changes being over the arid and semiarid regions north of 35°N.

Soil moisture drought detection and multi-temporal variability across China

Soil moisture droughts can trigger abnormal changes of material and energy cycles in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system,leading to important effects on local ecosystem,weather,and climate.Drought detection and understanding benefit disaster alleviation,as well as weather and climate predictions based on the understanding the land-atmosphere interactions.We thus simulated soil moisture using land surface model CLM3.5 driven with observed climate in China,and corrected wet bias in soil moisture simulations via introducing soil porosity parameter into soil water parameterization scheme.Then we defined soil moisture drought to quantify spatiotemporal variability of droughts.Over the period from 1951 to 2008,40%of months(to the sum of 12×58)underwent droughts,with the average area of 54.6%of total land area of China's Mainland.The annual monthly drought numbers presented a significant decrease in arid regions,but a significant increase in semi-arid and semi-humid regions,a decrease in humid regions but not significant.The Mainland as a whole experienced an increasing drought trend,with77.3%of areal ratio of decrease to increase.The monthly droughts in winter were the strongest but the weakest in summer,impacting 54.3%and 8.4%total area of the Mainland,respectively.The drought lasting three months or more occurred mainly in the semi-arid and semi-humid regions,with probability>51.7%,even>77.6%,whereas those lasting 6 and 12 months or more impacted mainly across arid and semi-arid regions.

Regional applicability of seven meteorological drought indices in China

The definition of a drought index is the foundation of drought research.However,because of the complexity of drought,there is no a unified drought index appropriate for different drought types and objects at the same time.Therefore,it is crucial to determine the regional applicability of various drought indices.Using terrestrial water storage obtained from the Gravity Recovery And Climate Experiment,and the observed soil moisture and streamflow in China,we evaluated the regional applicability of seven meteorological drought indices:the Palmer Drought Severity Index(PDSI),modified PDSI(PDSI_CN) based on observations in China,self-calibrating PDSI(scPDSI),Surface Wetness Index(SWI),Standardized Precipitation Index(SPI),Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index(SPEI),and soil moisture simulations conducted using the community land model driven by observed atmospheric forcing(CLM3.5/ObsFC).The results showed that the scPDSI is most appropriate for China.However,it should be noted that the scPDSI reduces the value range slightly compared with the PDSI and PDSI_CN;thus,the classification of dry and wet conditions should be adjusted accordingly.Some problems might exist when using the PDSI and PDSI_CN in humid and arid areas because of the unsuitability of empiricalparameters.The SPI and SPEI are more appropriate for humid areas than arid and semiarid areas.This is because contributions of temperature variation to drought are neglected in the SPI,but overestimated in the SPEI,when potential evapotranspiration is estimated by the Thornthwaite method in these areas.Consequently,the SPI and SPEI tend to induce wetter and drier results,respectively.The CLM3.5/ObsFC is suitable for China before 2000,but not for arid and semiarid areas after 2000.Consistent with other drought indices,the SWI shows similar interannual and decadal change characteristics in detecting annual dry/wet variations.Although the long-term trends of drought areas in China detected by these seven drought indices during 1961-2013 are consistent,obvious differences exist among the values of drought areas,which might be attributable to the definitions of the drought indices in addition to climatic change.