Analysis of the Characteristics of the Low-level Jets in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River during the Mei-yu Season

Here,we analyze the characteristics and the formation mechanisms of low-level jets(LLJs)in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River during the 2010 mei-yu season using Wuhan station radiosonde data and the fifth generation of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ERA5)reanalysis dataset.Our results show that the vertical structure of LLJs is characterized by a predominance of boundary layer jets(BLJs)concentrated at heights of 900-1200 m.The BLJs occur most frequently at 2300 LST(LST=UTC+8 hours)but are strongest at 0200 LST,with composite wind velocities>14 m s^(-1).Synoptic-system-related LLJs(SLLJs)occur most frequently at 0800 LST but are strongest at 1100LST,with composite wind velocities>12 m s^(-1).Both BLJs and SLLJs are characterized by a southwesterly wind direction,although the wind direction of SLLJs is more westerly,and northeasterly SLLJs occur more frequently than northeasterly BLJs.When Wuhan is south of the mei-yu front,the westward extension of the northwest Pacific subtropical high intensifies,and the low-pressure system in the eastern Tibetan Plateau strengthens,favoring the formation of LLJs,which are closely related to precipitation.The wind speeds on rainstorm days are greater than those on LLJ days.Our analysis of four typical heavy precipitation events shows the presence of LLJs at the center of the precipitation and on its southern side before the onset of heavy precipitation.BLJs were shown to develop earlier than SLLJs.

Precipitation cycles in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River （1736-2000）

Based on the long-term precipitation series with annual time resolution in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and its four sub-regions during 1736-2000 reconstructed from the rainfall and snowfall archives of the Qing Dynasty, the precipitation cycles are analyzed by wavelet analysis and the possible climate forcings, which drive the precipitation changes, are explored. The results show that： the precipitation in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River has inter-annual and inter-decadal oscillations like 2-4a, quasi-22a and 70-80a. The 2-4a cycle is linked with El Nino events, and the precipitation is lower than normal year in the occurrence of the El Nino year or the next year; for the quasi-22a and the 70-80a cycles, Wolf Sun Spot Numbers and Pacific Decadal Oscillation （PDO） coincide with the two cycle signals. However, on a 70-80a time scale, the coincidence between solar activity and precipitation is identified before 1830, and strong （weak） solar activity is generally correlated to the dry （wet） periods; after 1830, the solar activity changes to 80-100a quasi-century long oscillation, and the adjusting action to the precipitation is becoming weaker and weaker; the coincidence between PDO and precipitation is shown in the whole time series. Moreover, in recent 100 years, PDO is becoming a pace-maker of the precipitation on the 70-80a time scale.

Impact of vegetation restoration on hydrological processes in the middle reaches of the Yellow River,China

Sediment discharge from the Yellow River originates mainly from the drainage area between Hekouzhen and Longmen, i.e., the Helong area. Spatial-temporal variations of the vegetation cover in this area during the 1981-2007 period have been investigated using GIMMS and SPOT VGT NDVI data. We have also analyzed the interannual variations in vegetation cover and changes in annual runoff and sediment discharge, the consequences from precipitation change and the Grain for Green Project （GGP）. The results show that vegetation cover of the Helong area has increased during the 1981-2007 period. The northwestern part the Helong area, where the flat sandy lands are covered by grass, has experienced the largest increase. The region where the vegetation cover has declined is largely found in the southern and southeastern Helong area, which is a gullied hilly area or forested. Although precipitation was relatively low during the 1999-2007 period, the vegetation cover showed a significant increase in the Helong area, due to the implementation of the GGP. During this period, the most significant improvement in the vegetation cover occurred mainly in the gullied hilly areas of the Loess Plateau, such as the drainage basins of the Kuyehe and Tuweihe rivers and the middle and lower reaches of the Wudinghe and Yanhe rivers. A comparison of the average annual maximum NDVI between the earlier （1998-2002） stage and the next five years （2003-2007） of the GGP indicates that the areas with increases of 10% and 20% in NDVI account for 72.5% and 36.4% of the total area, respectively. Interannual variation of annual runoff and sediment discharge shows a declining trend, especially since the 1980s, when the decrease became very obvious. Compared with the 1950-1969 period, the average runoff during the 1980-2007 period was reduced by 34.8 × 10^8 m3 and the sediment discharge by 6.4 ×10^8 t, accounting for 49.4% and 64.9% of that in the 1950-1969 period, respectively. There is a positive correlation between the annual maximum NDVI and annual runoff and sediment discharge. This correlation was reversed since the implementation of the GGP in 1999 and vegetation cover in the He- long area has increased, associated with the decrease in runoff and sediment discharge. Less precipitation has been an important fac- tor driving the decrease in runoff and sediment discharge during 1999 2007. However, restoration and improvement of the vegetation cover may also have played a significant role in accelerating the decrease in annual runoff and sediment discharge by enhancing evapotranspiration and alleviating soil erosion.

Slope-gully erosion relationship in small catchments of the middle reaches of the Yellow River

The slope-gully erosion relationship in small catchments of the middle reaches of the Yellow River has long been a topic concerned by relevant departments in China Slope-gully relationship in typical small catchment is determined determined on the concept of net increase of sediment yield by using analytical method of sediment formation at different positions in the catchment The result shows that sediments in a small catchment in the middle reaches of the Yellow River mainly come from slopes. ms paper indicated that the sediment sources from slopes are roughly 55, 60, 78 and 85 % of the total sediment yield of a small catchment in Yangdaogou. Wangjiagou. Jiuyuangou and Nanxiaohegou, respectively, due to impacts of varying degress from slope runoff.

CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL SITUATION IN THE MIDDLE REACHES OF THE YELLOW RIVER IN CHINA

This paper researches and analyses the critical envirormental situation in the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River and compiles the map of critical environmental situation of this area (1:2,000,000). Five types of environmental situation (ES) are divided, namely, conflict ES, critical ES, crisis ES, disastrous ES and accidental ES and 7 groups of main factors are used to identify and classify the critical environmental situation after considering the speciality of this region and the law of guiding factors. They are pollution, endemic disease, soil erosion, drought and water-shortage, forest degeration, wind-erosion and desertification, and soil salinization. Based on mapping and analysis, the paper also concludes the regional distribution law of critical environmental situation of this region and divides it into 8 small districts through combining the critical envirormental situation, regional distribution law and guiding factors. This can provide scientific basis and reference for preserving and renovating the environments with different fragile types and fragile levels.

Exploring Regional Ecological Cultures in the Upper Reaches of the Yellow River in the Ming and Qing Dynasties from the Perspective of "Top Eight Views"

By studying typical "Top Eight Views" in cities like Xining,Lanzhou and Yinchuan in the upper reaches of the Yellow River,mountain and water landscapes in the study area were analyzed in terms of natural ecology;bridges,canals,ferries,pavilions,mansions,towers,temples,historical sites,production and living landscapes were analyzed in terms of humanistic ecology.On this basis,"Top Eight Views" in the upper reaches of the Yellow River were compared and the following conclusions obtained:mountain landscapes were distributed in the whole region,waterscapes unevenly valued in different cities,bridges,canals and ferries mostly located in Ningxia,temples commonly found in all cities,garden arts introduced into cities,traditional cultures carried forward by historical relics.Then the relationship between "Top Eight Views" and regional eco-cultures was analyzed,and it was proposed that humanistic and cultural connotations of these "Top Eight Views" contributed a lot to beautifying urban environment,satisfying needs of the locals' spiritual life,carrying forward local history and culture,enriching urban cultural connotations,expanding living spaces of local residents and improving integrated functions of cities."Top Eight Views" culture complied with the construction gist of urban ecological cultures,and was of great referential value for the construction of urban ecological cultures in the upper reaches of the Yellow River,and also the healthy,scientific and sustainable development of local cities.

RS-based research on the relationship between vegetation development and groundwater in upper-middle reaches region of the Yellow River basin

The relationship between the groundwater and the surface eco-environment in arid area is very close. In this paper, the authors extracted normalized difference vegetation index （NDVI） and vegetation conditional ratio （VCR） from MODIS images, and analyzed the relationships among NDVI, VCR and the measured data of groundwater of the same location in the research region. Based on this, the depth of groundwater suitable for vegetation growth in the upper-middle reaches of the Yellow River basin has been calculated. The results show that the depth of groundwater suitable for vegetation growth in the research region ranges from 0.8 to 4.5m, and the optimal groundwater depth is 1.2m. The method developed in this study is applicable to research the relationship between the groundwater and land surface vegetation environment on large-scale in arid area.

Sediment Variation Characteristics of Major Rivers in the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River

The sediment sequence analysis of Mann-Kendall method based on major rivers of 10 hydrological station in the middle reaches of the Yellow River*[1]*t,.The results show that:The main rivers in the middle reaches of the Yellow River hydrologic station sediment overall showed a trend of decreased significantly.Sediment discharge of all stations except Gao Jiachuan station have reached the maximum in 1956-1969s[2_3].Among various hydrologic station sediment discharge of inter-generational are generally shows the tendency of reducing year by year.Calculate the sediment transport of major river basin of Yellow River,which average is 0.63.

Landslide Developmental Characteristics and Response to Climate Change since the Last Glacial in the Upper Reaches of the Yellow River, NE Tibetan Plateau

The upper reaches of the Yellow River in northeastern Tibetan Plateau are geohazards areas.The evolution of the Yellow River,chronology of some landslides,and spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of super large scale and giant landslides within the region are summarized using paleoclimate evidence,and the relationship between the intensive landslide period and climatic changes since the Last Glacial period is analyzed.It is concluded that （1） Super large scale and giant landslides are distributed widely within the region,particularly in the Qunke-Jianzha basin.（2） The chronological sequence of landslides is established by dating the slip zones of landslides and analyzing the relations between landslides and their overlying or underlying loess formations.Five landslide development periods are determined：53-49 ka BP,33-24 ka BP,10-8 ka BP,5-3.5 ka BP,and the present.（3） These correspond closely to warm and wet periods during the last 100,000 years,i.e.,two weak paleosol development stages of Malan loess deposited during the last Glacial period in the Chinese loess Plateau,L1-4 and L1-2 that belong to the marine oxygen isotope stage 3,the last deglaeial period,the Holocene Optimum,and the modern global warming period.（4） Landslide triggers may be closely linked to warm and wet periods related to rapid climatic transitions.

Research on Methods of Ecological Security Assessment of the Middle and Lower Reaches of Liaohe River Based on GIS

Ecological security assessment and early warning research possess the attributes of spatiality, non-linearity and randomicity, so we must process much spatial information. Spatial analysis and data management are the advantages of GIS, which can define distribution trend and spatial relations of environmental factors, and show ecological security pattern graphically. Spatial differences of ecological security assessment based on GIS are discussed in this paper, of which the middle and lower reaches of the Liaohe River is taken as a study case. First, to work out pressure-state-response (P-S-R) assessment indicators system, and investigate in person and gather information; second, to digitize the watershed; third, to quantize and calculate by the fuzzy method; last, to construct GIS grid database, and expound spatial differences of ecological security by GIS interpolation and assembly analysis.

Organic Phosphorus in Shallow Lake Sediments in Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River Area in China

Thirteen sediment core samples(0-10 cm) were taken from the seven lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River to determine the contents and distributions of organic phosphorus(P) fractions in the sediments of the shallow lakes in the area.The organic P fractions in the sediments were in the order of moderately labile organic P(MLOP) > moderately resistant organic P(MROP) > highly resistant organic P(HROP) > labile organic P(LOP),with average proportional ratios of 13.2:2.8:1.3:1.0.LOP,MLOP,and MROP were significantly related to the contents of total organic carbon(TOC),water-soluble P(WSP),algal-available P(AAP),NaHCO3-extractable P(Olsen-P),total P(TP),organic P(OP),and inorganic P(IP).However,HROP was significantly related to OP and weakly correlated with TOC,WSP,AAP,Olsen-P,TP or IP.This suggested that organic P,especially LOP and MLOP in sediments,deserved even greater attention than IP in regards to lake eutrophication.In terms of organic P,sediments were more hazardous than soils in lake eutrophication.Although OP concentrations were higher in moderately polluted sediment than those in heavily polluted sediment,LOP and MLOP were higher in the heavily polluted sediment,which indicated that heavily polluted sediment was more hazardous than moderately polluted sediment in lake eutrophication.

Analysis of Water Resources Supply and Demand and Security of Water Resources Development in Irrigation Regions of the Middle Reaches of the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

Based on the data for meteorology, hydrology, soil, planting, vegetation, and socio-economic development of the irrigation region in the middle reaches of the Heihe River basin, Northwest China, the model of balance of water supply and demand in the region was established, and the security of water resource was assessed, from which the results that the effects of unified management of water resources in the Heihe River basin between Gansu Province and Inner Mongolia on regional hydrology are significant with a decrease in water supply diverted from Heihe River and an increase in groundwater extracted. In addition, it was found that the groundwater level has been steadily decreasing due to over pumping and decrease in recharges. In present year （2003）, the volume of potential groundwater in the irrigation districts is far small because of the groundwater overdraft; even in the particular regions, there is no availability of groundwater resources for use. By 2003, water supply is not sufficient to meet the water demand in the different irrigation districts, the sustainable development and utilization of water resources are not secured, and the water supply crisis occurs in Pingchuan irrigation district. Achieving water security for the sustainable development of society, agriculture, economy, industry, and livelihoods while maintaining or improving the abilities of the management and planning of water resources, determining of the reasonable percentage between water supply and groundwater utilization and water saving in agricultural irrigation are taken into account. If this does not occur, it is feared that the present performance of water development and planning may further aggravate the problem of scarcities of water resources and further damage the fragile ecological system.

Summertime temperature variations in the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River and their related circulation anomalies in the past five decades

Using the daily data of temperature from China Meteorological Administration and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis from 1960 to 2005, we have analyzed the relationships between the summertime high/low temperature events in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River （MLRYR） and the related circulation anomalies in the Eastern Hemisphere. Our results have demonstrated that a significantly increasing trend is observed in daily minimum temperature in the past 50 years. And in some regions in the Northern Hemisphere, the opposite scenarios are observed in circulation anomalies in lower and upper parts of the troposphere in the years when the temperatures are higher than normal, as compared to those in the years when the temperatures are lower than normal in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River （MLRYR）. Additionally, the anomalous circulation structure in vertical direction in both the high and lower temperature years are barotropic. It is found that the emergence and maintenance of the aforementioned anomalous circulations are related to three kinds of wave train teleconnection patterns. Further more, influences of the long wave surface radiation on the air temperature are stronger in the nighttime than that in the daytime. While both the maximum and minimum temperatures have negative relationships with the sensible heat flux but positive relationships with the latent heat flux. To some extent, the anomalous dynamic heating （cooling） caused by the vertical thermal advection as well as the diabatic heating （cooling） caused by diabatic processes can explain the formation of the high （low） temperature events in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River （MLRYR） in boreal summer.

Formation Mechanisms and Geomorphic Evolution of the Erlian Mudflow Fans, Eastern Guide Basin of the Upper Reaches of Yellow River

Several argillaceous platforms lie along the Yellow River（YR） of the eastern Guide Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau, and their compositions, formation processes, and geomorphic evolution remain debated. Using field survey data, sample testing, and high-resolution remote sensing images, the evolution of the Erlian mudflow fans are analyzed. The data show significant differences between fans on either side of the YR. On the right bank, fans are dilute debris flows consisting of sand and gravel. On the left bank, fans are viscosity mudflows consisting of red clay. The composition and formation processes of the left bank platforms indicate a rainfall-induced pluvial landscape. Fan evolution can be divided into two stages： early-stage fans pre-date 16 ka B.P., and formed during the last deglaciation; late-stage fans post-date 8 ka B.P.. Both stages were induced by climate change. The data indicate that during the Last Glacial Maximum, the northeastern Tibetan Plateau experienced a cold and humid climate characterized by high rainfall. From 16–8 ka, the YR cut through the Erlian early mudflow fan, resulting in extensive erosion. Since 8 ka, the river channel has migrated south by at least 1.25 km, and late stage mudflow fan formation has occurred.

Basement Characteristics and Crustal Evolution of the Copper-Gold Metallogenic Belt in the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River:Some Isotope Constraints

Studies of the Pb, Sr and Nd isotopic composition of Mesozoic intrusive rocks indicate that the basement of the copper-gold metallogenic belt of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River has “two-layer structure” and partly has “multi-layered structure”, and is inhomogeneous and shows the distinct feature of E-W provincialism. The calculated model lead ages (t1) are mostly greater than 2600 Ma, and the model neodymium ages (TDM) vary from 953 to 2276 Ma and concentrate in two time intervals: 1800–2000 Ma and 1200–1600 Ma. It is concluded that the basement of the MBYR is composed of the Late Archaeozoic to Middle Proterozoic metamorphic series and that the crust was initiated in the Archaean and continued to grow in the Early and Middle Proterozoic, and the proportion of new crust formed by mantle differentiation during the Late Proterozoic is low.

The Background Features and Formation of Chemical Elements of Groundwater in the Region of the Middle and Lower Reaches of the Yangtze River

The paper deals with the background features, formation and distribution of the chemical el-ements K, Na, Ca, Mg, Si, Fe, Mn, Cr, Ni,V, Co, Ti, Mo, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, Hg, Cd, Be, Li, Sr, B,F, Cl, Br and I in the groundwater in the region of the middle and lower reaches of the YangtzeRiver and their relations to the composition of the water-bearing media, properties of the overly-ing rocks and soils, redox environment, and groundwater flow condition, mineralization and pHof groundwater.

Farm Production Growth in the Upper and Middle Parts of the Yellow River Basin,China,During 1980-1999

The impact of inputs on farm production growth was evaluated by analyzing the economic data of the upper and middle parts of the Yellow River basin, China for the period of 1980-1999. Descriptive statistics were employed to characterize the temporal trends and spatial patterns in farm production and five pertinent inputs of cultivated cropland, irrigation ratio, agricultural labor, machinery power and chemical fertilizer. Stochastic frontier production function was applied to quantify the dependence of the farm production on these inputs. The growth of farm production was decomposed to reflect the contributions by input growths and change in total factor productivity.. The change in total factor productivity was further decomposed into the changes in technology and in technical efficiency. The gross value of farm production in the region of study increased by 1.6 fold during 1980-1999. Among the five selected farm inputs, machinery power and chemical fertilizer increased by 1.8 and 2.8 fold, respectively. The increases in cultivated cropland, irrigated cropland, and agricultural labor were all less than 0.16 fold. The growth in the farm production was primarily contributed by the increase in the total factor productivity during 1980-1985, and by input growths after 1985. More than 80% of the contributions by input growths were attributed to the increased application of fertilizer and machinery. In the change of total factor productivity, the technology change dominated over the technical efficiency change in the study period except in the period of 1985-1990, implying that institution and investment played important roles in farm production growth. There was a decreasing trend in the technical efficiency in the region of study, indicating a potential to increase farm production by improving the technical efficiency in farm activities. Given the limited natural resources in the basin, the results of this study suggested that, for a sustainable growth of farm production in the area, efforts should be directed to technology progress and improvement in technical efficiency in the use of available resources.

The SIA method for spatial analysis of precipitation in the upper-middle reaches of the Yangtze River

Using geographic information system (GIS) techniques and the newest seasonal and annual average precipitation data of 679 meteorological stations from 1971 to 2000, the multiple regressions equations of the precipitation and topographical variables are established to extract the effect of topography on the annual and seasonal precipitation in the upper-middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Then, this paper uses a successive interpolation approach (SIA), which combines GIS techniques with the multiple regressions, to improve the accuracy of the spatial interpolation of annual and seasonal rainfall. The results are very satisfactory in the case of seasonal rainfall, with the relative error of 6.86%, the absolute error of 13.07 mm, the average coefficient of variation of 0.070, and the correlation coefficient of 0.9675; in the case of annual precipitation, with the relative error of 7.34%, the absolute error of 72.1 mm, the average coefficient of variation of 0.092, and the correlation coefficient of 0.9605. The analyses of annual mean precipitation show that the SIA calculation of 3-5 steps considerably improves the interpolation accuracy, decreasing the absolute error from 211.0 mm to 62.4 mm, the relative error from 20.74% to 5.97%, the coefficient of variation from 0.2312 to 0.0761, and increasing the correlation coefficient from 0.5467 to 0.9619. The SIA iterative results after 50 steps identically converge to the observed precipitation.

Assessment and exploitation of the waterfront resources in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River

Waterfront resources are important and special kind of natural resources in the marginal area between land and wat er. The Yangtze River, the longest river in China, is not only rich in waterfront resources, but also has favorable development conditions with gr eat potentiality. Aided by large-scale underwater topographic map, the maj or factors of the waterfront resources in the middle and lower reache s of the Yangtze River, such as the stability, the water depth and the natural conditions for port construction, are assessed in this pap er respectively on the basis of the overall investigations. The result s show that: (1) the waterfront resources are abundant in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, but lack of perfectly combined high grade waterfront; (2) there exists an obvious regional difference in the natural quality of the waterfront along the Yangtze; (3) the fore-bank water depth and waterfront stability are the main natural fa ctors related to the waterfront quality in the middle and lower reach es of the Yangtze River; (4) the waterfronts along the Yangtze are mainl y used for port, warehouse and industrial purposes; and (5) the waterfronts near important cities are highly used, especially the high-quality waterfronts. In addition, some suggestions for the development and utilization of the waterfron t resources are presented in this paper.

Community Structure of the Phytoplankton and Its Relationship with Environmental Factor in Lower Reaches of the Yellow River

[ Objective] The research aimed to study community structure of the phytoplankton and its relationship with environmental factor in lower reaches of the Yellow River. [ Method] From April to June in 2011, phytoplankton was conducted qualitative and quantitative researches in Lijin in lower reaches of the Yellow River. By combining population characteristics of the phytoplankton, its＇relationship with environmental factor was dis- cussed. [ Result] 114 species and 5 phylum of phytoplankton were observed in the whole river section. The abundance of phytoplankton was 0.90 ×104 -303.35×104 ind/m3, and mean was 27.20 ×104 ind/m3. The biomass of phytoplankton was 0.008-5.890 mg/m3, and mean was 0.641 mg/m3. Shannon-Weaver diversity index, Pielou evenness index and Simpson＇s diversity index were respectively 1.59, 0.36 and 0.55. SPSS data analysis indicated that transparency was the uppermost environmental factor affected phytoplankton abundance. Phytoplankton abundance had posi- tive correlation with transparency, and the regression equation was y= -393.8 ＋115.5×-11 .lx2 ＋0.35x3（n=18, R2 =0.952, F=92.665, P〈0.01 ）. [ Conclusion] The community structure of phytoplankton was unstable, and transparency was the uppermost environmental factor affected phyto- plankton abundance in lower reaches of the Yellow River.