Aeolian dust transportation and deposition by near-surface winds in arid and semiarid China

Dustfall collections were carried out in April and May 2001 and in March 2002 at six sites in northern China.Our results showed that the total deposition of dust fractions 【250 μm in diameter and the deposition of Fe both decreased exponentially with increasing distances from the source areas,and that the half-attenuation distance (HAD) for dust deposition was about 229 km in this re-gion.The HAD was closely related to the grain-size distribution of the dust,and the 15 to 20 μm fractions had the longest HAD.However,the fractions 【15 μm in diameter can be easily adsorbed to coarse particles and deposited after only short distances,and the HAD for the fractions 15 to 100 μm in diameter showed a power relationship with the grain-size distribution.The HAD for Fe deposition was 233 km,which was a little longer than that of total dust deposition,which suggests that the Fe content is higher in fine particles than in coarse particles,as previous studies have suggested.In addition,our analysis showed that under the control of current climatic conditions,the coarse fractions in dust derived from northwestern China cannot be transported over long distances,instead,it is transported primarily by near-surface winds (【3 km above the ground).The Fe in aeolian dust generated from arid and semiarid regions of China and deposited in the North Pacific region is usually transported by the upper westerlies.

Spatio-temporal Variations of Temperature and Precipitation During 1951–2019 in Arid and Semiarid Region, China

Understanding the spatio-temporal variations of temperature and precipitation in the arid and semiarid region of China(ASRC)is of great significance for promoting regional eco-environmental protection and policy-making.In this study,the annual and seasonal spatio-temporal patterns of change in average temperature and precipitation and their influencing factors in the ASRC were analyzed using the Mann-Kendall test,linear tendency estimation,accumulative anomaly and the Pearson’s correlation coefficient.The results showed that both annual average temperature and average annual precipitation increased in the ASRC during 1951–2019.The temperature rose by about 1.93℃and precipitation increased by about 24 mm.The seasonal average temperature presented a significant increase trend,and the seasonal precipitation was conspicuous ascension in spring and winter.The spatio-temporal patterns of change in temperature and precipitation differed,with the southwest area showing the most obvious variation in each season.Abrupt changes in annual and seasonal average temperature and precipitation occurred mainly around the 1990 s and after 2000,respectively.Atmospheric circulation had an important effect on the trends and abrupt changes in temperature and precipitation.The East Asian summer monsoon had the largest impact on the trend of average annual temperature,as well as on the abrupt changes of annual average temperature and precipitation.Temperature and precipitation changes in the ASRC were influenced by long-term and short-term as well as direct and indirect anthropogenic and natural factors.This study identifies the characteristics of spatio-temporal variations in temperature and precipitation in the ASRC and provides a scientific reference for the formulation of climate change responses.

Urban expansion and intra-urban land evolution as well as their natural environmental constraints in arid/semiarid regions of China from 2000–2018

Rapid urbanization has occurred in arid/semiarid China,threatening the sustainability of fragile dryland ecosystems;however,our knowledge of natural environmental constraints on multiscale urban lands in this region is still lacking.To solve this issue,this study retrieved 15-m multiscale urban lands.Results indicated that urban area increased by 68%during 2000–2018,and one-third of the increase was contributed by only three large cities.The coverage of impervious surface area(ISA) and vegetated area(VA) increased by 16.6%and 1.38%,respectively.Such land-cover change may be helpful in suppressing wind erosion and sand storms.We also found that the newly urban lands had relatively lower ISA and higher VA than the old urban lands,indicating an improved human settlement environment.Strong environmental constraints on urban expansion were identified,with cities in oasis urban environments(OUEs) that had water supply expanding 150% faster than cities in desert urban environments(DUEs).Urban development was also constrained by terrain,with 73% of the ISA expansion occurring in relatively flat areas.Overall,the aggregated pattern of urbanization and the increase in ISA and VA in the newly urbanized lands have improved water-use efficiency and ecological services and benefited desert ecosystem protection in arid/semiarid China.

Preliminary validation of GLASS-DSSR products using surface measurements collected in arid and semi-arid regions of China

Global Land Surface Satellite-downward surface shortwave radiation(GLASSDSSR)products have been routinely produced from 20082010 based on an improved look-up table algorithm,which explicitly accounts for the variations of cloud optical depth,water vapor content,and elevation.In this study,we validated and assessed the accuracy of these products in arid and semiarid regions of China.Toward this goal,observation data-sets provided by the Arid and Semiarid Region Collaborative Observation Project as well as four other metrological sites were collected,chosen,and preprocessed for the final validation.Due to the possible effect of spatial collocation and the strong adjacency pixel effect in instantaneous products,we used a more sophisticated validating scheme in order to reduce the impacts from these effects as much as possible.Evidences indicate that the GLASS-DSSR products are considerably accurate over most parts of arid and semiarid regions in China,but in complex terrain areas the products might need further refinements.The R2 at all sites(except Naqu)was larger than 0.8 with a root mean square error(RMSE)range of about in 90130 W/m2.Linear regression analyses suggest that GLASS-DSSR products tend to overestimate DSSR in the interval of low surface-measured values and symmetrically underestimate DSSR in the interval of high values.This systematic error may result from inappropriate assumptions about clouds and aerosol loadings over the regions in the operational algorithm.

Application of GIS-based SCS-CN method in West Bank catchments,Palestine

Among the most basic challenges of hydrology are the prediction and quantification of catchment surface runoff. The runoff curve number （CN） is a key factor in determining runoff in the SCS （Soil Conservation Service） based hydrologic modeling method. The traditional SCS-CN method for calculating the composite curve number is very tedious and consumes a major portion of the hydrologic modeling time. Therefore, geographic information systems （G/S） are now being used in combination with the SCS-CN method. This paper assesses the modeling of flow in West Bank catchments using the GIS-based SCS-CN method. The West Bank, Palestine, is characterized as an arid to semi-arid region with annual rainfall depths ranging between 100 mm in the vicinity of the Jordan River to 700 mm in the mountains extending across the central parts of the region. The estimated composite curve number for the entire West Bank is about 50 assuming dry conditions. This paper clearly demonstrates that the integration of GIS with the SCS-CN method provides a powerful tool for estimating runoff volumes in West Bank catchments, representing arid to semi-arid catchments of Palestine.