Water Quality Evaluation in Tidal River Reaches of Liaohe River Estuary, China Using a Revised QUAL2K Model

Rivers in the Liaohe River Estuary area have been seriously polluted by discharges of wastewater containing petroleum pol- lutants and nutrients. In this paper, The Enhanced Stream Water Quality Model （QUAL2K） and its revised model as well as One-dimensional Tide Mean Model （1D model） were applied to predict and assess the water quality of the tidal fiver reach of the Liaohe River Estuary. Dissolved oxygen （DO）, biochemical oxygen demand （BODs）, ammonia nitrogen （NH3-N） and total phosphorus （TP） were chosen as water quality indices in the two model simulations. The modelled results show that the major reasons for degraded rivers remain petroleum and non-point source pollution. Tidal water also has a critical effect on the variation of water quality. The sensitivity analysis identifies that flow rate, point load and diffuse load are the most sensitive parameters for the four water quality indices in the revised QUAL2K simulation. Uncertainty analysis based on a Monte Carlo simulation gives the probability distribution of the four wa- ter quality indices at two locations （6.50 km and 44.84 km from the river mouth）. The statistical outcomes indicate that the observed data fall within the 90% confidence intervals at all sites measured, and show that the revised QUAL2K gives better results in simulating the water quality of a tidal fiver.

Spatial-temporal Variation Characteristics of Water Quality in the Lower Reaches of the Nenjiang River

As an important river in the western part of Jilin Province,the lower reach of the Nenjiang River is an important wetland water source conservation area in Jilin Province.Within the watershed,it governs the Momoge Wetland,the Xianghai Wetland,and the Danjiang Wetland in Jilin Province.The main problem in the lower reaches of the Nenjiang River is the uneven distribution of water resources in time and space,and the intensification of land salinization.Zhenlai County and Da an City in the Nenjiang River Basin have sufficient surface water resources,with surface water as the drinking water source.Baicheng City and Tongyu County have scarce surface water resources,and both use groundwater as their domestic water source.The main polluted section in the basin is the Xianghai Reservoir,and the annual water quality evaluation is Class V.However,the water quality of the Tao er River,the main stream of the Nenjiang River,is significantly better than that of the Xianghai Reservoir.In order to better study the water environmental pollution situation in the Nenjiang River basin,monitoring data from five sections of non seasonal rivers in the basin from 2012 to 2021 were selected for studying water quality.This in-depth exploration of the water pollution status and river water quality change trends in the Nenjiang River basin is of great significance for future rural development,agricultural pattern transformation,and the promotion of water ecological civilization construction.

Living environment shaped residents’willingness to pay for ecosystem services in Yangtze River Middle Reaches Megalopolis,China

Profound understanding on the diversity of local residents’willingness to pay(WTP)for ecosystem services(ESs)may aid evaluation of policy impacts by uncovering trade-offs and synergies for achieving sustainable environmental resource management.However,the reasons for the spatial preference heterogeneity of WTP are still unclear.In this study,an extensive survey with 4,580 residents in the Yangtze River Middle Reaches Megalopolis(YRMRM),central China,was carried out to investigate the public’s WTP to maintain and improve ESs.We identified key influencing factors and explored how they shaped the preference heterogeneity in WTP by random forest model and surface fitting method.Our results showed that 81.4% of residents reported WTP for ESs greater than zero.Water supply,waste treatment,food supply and raw material supply were the preferred ESs for residents.Living environment factors(i.e.,extent of farmland,water and forest near the residence)were found as the key drivers of WTP.Proximity to farmland,water and forests resulted in high WTP values for a series of specific ESs.The reasons for the heterogeneity of WTP are(1)the difference in proximity to farmland,water and forest(i.e.,the contributor to ESs),(2)the divergence of local residents’preferences for ESs.This study disclosed the heterogeneity and causes of public preferences in YRMRM,which could help policy and decision makers to develop eco-compensation initiatives towards conservative and sustainable use of the environmental resources.

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.

Research on Spatial Distribution of Settlements in the Upper Reaches of the Minjiang River

Under the background of the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the settlements in the upper reaches of the Min River are significantly affected by the mountain environment, and their spatial distribution is typical and representative. In this study, the relationship between settlements and topography, rivers and transportation, and the spatial distribution patterns of settlements, such as the aggregation and orientation characteristics of settlements, have been studied. The main conclusions include: 1) The settlement density decreases with the increase of elevation, slope, and distance from rivers and roads;76.25% and 63.17% of the settlements are distributed in the range of elevation 1500 - 3000 m and slope 6° - 25°, the upper reaches of the Min River are mostly alpine valley terrain, the bottom of the river has a low altitude, the landscape is undulating. The warm and humid climate is suitable for farming, conducive to agricultural production, and an ideal living environment for mountain residents. 2) The nuclear density of the settlement is distributed in strips along the axis of the river, and the closer to the river, the greater the nuclear density value. 3) Mathematical statistical methods were applied for the first time to realize the quantitative expression of the coupling of settlement and river direction. The influence of topographic conditions in different watersheds on the coupling degree of settlement extension and river flow direction was revealed. The slope of the fitted straight line between the settlement and river direction was 0.897, and the two directions were consistent. Except for the mainstream of the Min River, the larger values of the standard deviation ellipse flattening of settlements in each basin appeared in the upper reaches of the bay, and the overall trend showed a gradual decrease from the upstream to the downstream, which was consistent with the topographic change characteristics of the basin.

Assessment of land use change and potential eco-service value in the upper reaches of Minjiang River,China

The remote sensing （RS） and geographical information system （GIS） technologies were adopted and a mathematic method was developed to evaluate the changes of ecosystem services in the upper reaches of Minjiang River-valley for providing advices to manage the ecosystem. The results showed that the land use change mainly occurred on forest, farmland and grassland. From 1986 to 1994, the area of farmland increased by 477% （60801 hm^2）, while the area of forest decreased by 4.97% （89012.17 hm^2）. From 1986 to 2000, the eco-service value of forest was degressive but that of farmland increased greatly as the increasing of planting area, while the total eco-service value decreased by 771.11×10^8 yuan RMB due to the rapid increase of population in this region. The driving force of eco-service change was also discussed in the paper. The nation policy of Natural Forest Protection Project has taken effect in preventing the decline of eco-services.

Phytoplankton Community Structure and Its Spatial Distribution along Anhui-Jiangsu Reaches of the Yangtze River in Autumn 2009

[Objective] Surveys of phytoplankton were taken during the autumn of 2009 along Anhui-Jiangsu reaches of the Yangtze River to understand the species com- position and their spatial distributions. [Method] Phytoplankton species, their quanti- ties, biomass and the Mcnaughton＇s dominance indices were all measured and their spatial distribution characteristics were determined using cluster analysis. [Result] There were 27 species, belonging to 5 phyla, namely Chlorophyta, Bacillariophyta, Cyanophyta, Euglenophyta and Cryptophyta, of phytoplankton collected and identified from the surveys. Results showed that Bacillariophyta was the predominant phyto- plankton with 16 species collected which accounted for 59.3% of the total species identified. The number of species collected belonging to Chlorophyta, Cyanophyta, Cryptophyta and Euglenophyta were 6, 2, 2, and 1, accounting for 22.2%, 7.4%, 7.4% and 3.7% of the total number identified, respectively. At the species level, the predominant species were Fragilaria crotonensis, Melosira italica, Navicula crypto- cephala, Cyclotella striata and Chroomonas acuta. Phytoplankton abundance was ranging from 5.68×10^4 to 7.08×10^4 cells/L with its average of 6.01×10^4 cells/L. Phyto- plankton biomass was ranging from 30.43 to 34.73 μg/L with its average of 32.46 μg/L. Compared with the previous reports, the number of phytoplankton species was decreased but its abundance and biomass was increased along the Jiangsu reach of the Yangtze River. However, Bacillariophyta species were still the predominant species and the phytoplankton community structure had not significantly changed from the previous studies. [Conclusion] These results might be explained as that the water quality in the Yangtze River was deteriorated but had not come to the worst. The results of similarity analysis gave two clusters of phytoplankton community as Nanjing, Wuhu and Jiangyin sampling sites were clustered into one group and Tongling and Anqing were clustered into another group.

The mechanism of barrier river reaches in the middle and lower Yangtze River

Alluvial channel has always adjusted itself to the equilibrium state of sediment transport after it was artificially or naturally disturbed. How to maintain the equilibrium state of sediment transport and keep the river regime stable has always been the concerns of fluvial geomorphologists. The channel in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River is characterized by the staggered distribution of the bifurcated river and the single-thread river. The change of river regime is more violently in the bifurcated river than in the single-thread river. Whether the adjustment of the river regime in the bifurcated river can pass through the single-thread river and propagate to the downstream reaches affects the stabilities of the overall river regime. Studies show that the barrier river reach can block the upstream channel adjustment from propagating to the downstream reaches; therefore, it plays a key role in stabilizing the river regime. This study investigates 34 single-thread river reaches in the mid- dle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. On the basis of the systematic summarization of the fluvial process of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the control factors of barrier river reach are summarized and extracted： the planar morphology of single-thread and meandering; with no flow deflecting node distributed in the upper or middle part of the river reach; the hydraulic geometric coefficient is less than 4; the longitudinal gradient is greater than 12‰, the clay content of the concave bank is greater than 9.5%, and the median diameter of the bed sediment is greater than 0.158 mm. From the Navier-Stokes equation ,the calculation formula of the bending radius of flow dynamic axis is deduced and then the roles of these control factors on restricting the migration of the flow dynamic axis and the formation of the barrier river reach are analyzed. The barrier river reach is considered Such. When the ratio of the migration force of the flow dynamic boundary is less than 1 under different flow levels axis to the constraint force of the channel boundary is less than 1 under different flow levels.The mechanism of the barrier river reach is such that even when the upstream river regime adjusts, the channel boundary of this reach can always constrain the migration amplitude of the flow dynamic axis and centralize the planar position of the main stream line under different upstream river regime conditions, pro- viding a relatively stable incoming flow conditions for the downstream reaches, thereby blocking the upstream river regime adjustment from propagating to the downstream reaches.

Changes in groundwater levels and the response of natural vegetation to transfer of water to the lower reaches of the Tarim River

Restoration and reconstruction of the degraded Tarim River ecosystem is an important challenge. A goal of an ecological water conveyance project is to protect and restore the natural vegetation in the lower reaches of Tadm River by transferring water from Bosten Lake, through the river channel, to the lower reaches. This study describes the changes in groundwater depth during the water transfer and the respondence of riparian vegetation to alterations in groundwater levels. The results indicate that groundwater depth along the Tarim River channel has a significant spatial-temporal component. Groundwater levels closest to the river channel show the most immediate and pronounced changes as a response to water transfer while those further away respond more slowly, although the observed change appears to be longer in duration. With a rise in the groundwater level, natural vegetation responded with higher growth rates, biomass and biodiversity. These favorable changes show that it is feasible to protect and restore the degraded natural vegetation by raising the groundwater depth. Plant communities are likely to reflect the hysteresis phenomenon, requiting higher water levels to initiate and stimulate desired growth than what may be needed to maintain the plant community. Because different species have different ecologies, including different root depths and densities and water needs, their response to increasing water availability will be spatially and temporally heterogenous. The response of vegetation is also influenced by microtopography and watering style. This paper discusses strategies for the protection and restoration of the degraded vegetation in the lower reaches of the Tarim River and provides information to complement ongoing theoretical research into ecological restoration in add or semi-arid ecosystems.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Tree-ring-based reconstruction of temperature variability(1445–2011) for the upper reaches of the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China

Long-term temperature variability has significant effects on runoff into the upper reaches of inland rivers. This paper developed a tree-ring chronology of Qilian juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.) from the upper tree-line of the middle Qilian Mountains within the upper reaches of Heihe River Basin, Northwest China for a long-term reconstruction of temperature at the study site. In this paper, tree-ring chronology was used to examine climate-growth associations considering local climate data obtained from Qilian Meteorological Station. The results showed that temperatures correlated extremely well with standardized growth indices of trees (r=0.564, P<0.001). Tree-ring chronology was highest correlated with annual mean temperature (r=0.641, P<0.0001). Annual mean temperature which spans the period of 1445–2011 was reconstructed and explained 57.8% of the inter-annual to decadal temperature variance at the regional scale for the period 1961–2011. Spatial correlation patterns revealed that reconstructed temperature data and gridded temperature data had a significant correlation on a regional scale, indicating that the reconstruction represents climatic variations for an extended area surrounding the sampling sites. Analysis of the temperature reconstruction indicated that major cold periods occurred during the periods of 1450s–1480s, 1590s–1770s, 1810s–1890s, 1920s–1940s, and 1960s–1970s. Warm intervals occurred during 1490s–1580s, 1780s–1800s, 1900s–1910s, 1950s, and 1980s to present. The coldest 100-year and decadal periods occurred from 1490s–1580s and 1780s–1800s, respectively, while the warmest 100 years within the studied time period was the 20th century. Colder events and intervals coincided with wet or moist conditions in and near the study region. The reconstructed temperature agreed well with other temperature series reconstructed across the surrounding areas, demonstrating that this reconstructed temperature could be used to evaluate regional climate change. Compared to the tree-ring reconstructed temperature from nearby regions and records of glacier fluctuations from the surrounding high mountains, this reconstruction was reliable, and could aid in the evaluation of regional climate variability. Spectral analyses suggested that the reconstructed annual mean temperature variation may be related to large-scale atmospheric–oceanic variability such as the solar activity, Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

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.

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.

A New Precipitation Index for the Spatiotemporal Distribution of Drought and Flooding in the Reaches of the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and Related Characteristics of Atmospheric Circulation

Characteristics of the spatiotemporal distributions of precipitation anomalies in the reaches of the Yangtze River and Huaihe River （YHR） were studied using EOF method. Four main precipitation pat-terns for the YHR in summer identified by the first two modes： a region-wide flood over the entire YHR （RWF）; a region-wide drought over the entire YHR （RWD）; a flood in the south with a drought in the northern region of the Yangtze River （FS-DN）; and a drought in the south with a flood in the northern region of the Yangtze River （DS-FN）. Based on the first two modes and the actual precipitation departure percentage, a new precipitation index is defined in this paper. The typical flood/drought years associated with the various rainfall patterns defined by this precipitation index are more representative and closer to reality compared to some existing precipitation indexes which just use the area-mean precipitation or the EOF time components individually. The characteristics of atmospheric circulation in summer corresponding to the four main precipitation patterns over the YHR in summer show the features of atmospheric circulation differ in different precipitation pattern years. Although the different patterns share a common main influential circulation system, such as the blocking high over northeastern Asia, the low trough of westerly flows in the mid latitudes, the West Pacific Subtropical High （WPSH）, and the high ridge over the Tibet Plateau, the difference in location and intensity of these systems can lead to different distributions of precipitation anomalies.

Evaluation of oasis stability in the lower reaches of the Tarim River

Oasis stability in the lower reaches of the Tarim River was assessed at the landscape scale（including changes in landscape pattern and land use in the oasis） and at the regional scale（including the cold-island effect and NDVI of the oasis） based on the methods of landscape ecology,GIS and Remote Sensing（RS）.Thematic Mapping（TM） remote sensing images from 1990,2000 and 2009 were employed along with the related meteorological and hydrological data pertaining to the reclamation area of the oasis in the lower reaches of the Tarim River.The results indicated that landscape heterogeneity and oasis complexity increased between 1990 and 2000.The comprehensive index of the degree of land use,the average index of the cold-island effect,NDVI value and oasis stability all decreased.However,the change trends in the indices referred to above were opposite between 2000 and 2009,and oasis stability was enhanced to some extent.

Diagnosing anomalous characteristics of atmospheric water cycle structure during seasonal-scale drought events:A case study in middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River

Anomalous characteristics of the atmospheric water cycle structure are highly significant to the mechanisms of seasonal-scale meteorological droughts.They also play an important role in the identification of indicative predictors of droughts.To better understand the causes of seasonal meteorological droughts in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River(MLRYR),characteristics of the atmospheric water cycle structure at different drought stages were determined using standardized anomalies.The results showed that the total column water vapor(TCWV)was anomalously low during drought occurrence periods.In contrast,there were no anomalous signals at the drought persistence and recovery stages in the MLRYR.Moreover,there was no significant temporal correlation between the TCWV anomaly and seasonal-scale drought index(the 3-month standardized precipitation index(SPI_(3))).During drought events,water vapor that mainly originated from the Bay of Bengal was transported southwest of the MLRYR.Meanwhile,the anomalous signal of water vapor transport was negative at the drought appearance stage.At the drought persistence stage,the negative anomalous signal was the most significant.Water vapor flux divergence in the MLRYR showed significant positive anomalous signals during drought events,and the signal intensity shifted from an increasing to a decreasing trend at different drought stages.In addition,a significant positive correlation existed between the anomaly of water vapor flux divergence and regional SPI_(3).Overall,water vapor flux divergence is more predictive of droughts in the MLRYR.