Explaining the evaporation paradox in Jiangxi Province of China:Spatial distribution and temporal trends in potential evapotranspiration of Jiangxi Province from 1961 to 2013

Evaporation acts as an important component and a key control factor in land hydrological processes.In order to analyze the trend of change on potential evapotranspiration from 1961 to 2013 and to discuss the existence of the evaporation paradox in Jiangxi province,China,monthly meteorological data spanning the years 1961–2013 were analyzed in this study,where the data were collected from 15 national meteorological stations in Jiangxi Province.The Penman–Monteith equation was employed to compute the potential evapotranspiration(ET0).Spatial interpolation and data mining technology were used to analyze the spatial and temporal changes of ET0 and air temperature,with the effort to explain the evaporation paradox.By solving the total differential and the partial derivatives coefficients of the independent variables in Penman–Monteith equation,the cause of the paradox was quantitatively evaluated.The results showed that the annual ET0 had been decreasing significantly in Jiangxi Province since 1979,whereas the air temperature had been rising significantly,presenting the evaporation paradox.The decreases in sunshine duration and wind speed reduced ET0 by 0.207 mm and 0.060 mm,respectively,accounting for 92.3%and 26.7%of the total ET0,respectively.It is concluded that sunshine duration and wind speed are the main causes to the decrease in potential evapotranspiration in Jiangxi Province.

Variations in evaporation from water surfaces along the margins of the Badain Jaran Desert over nearly 60 years and influencing factors

Based on meteorological data collected over nearly 60 years(1960-2017)from four national meteorological stations along the margins of the Badain Jaran Desert,this study analyzed the spatiotemporal variations in evaporation from water surfaces and identified the dominant controlling factors.Methods used included linear trend analysis,linear tendency estimation,the departure method,the rank correlation coefficient-based method,and Multiple Linear Regression(MLR).Results indicate notable spatiotemporal differences in evaporation distribution and evolution.Spatially,average annual evaporation exhibited a pronounced altitude effect,decreasing at a rate of about 8.23 mm/m from east to west with increasing altitude.Temporally,annual evaporation showed significant upward trends after 1996 at the northeastern(Guaizi Lake)and western(Dingxin)margins,with rates of 132 mm/10a and 105 mm/10a,respectively.Conversely,along the northwestern(Ejina Banner)and southern(Alxa Right Banner)margins of the desert,an evaporation paradox was observed,with annual evaporation trending downward at rates of 162 mm/10a and 187 mm/10a,respectively,especially after 1987.The dominant factors controlling evaporation varied spatially:Average annual temperature and relative humidity influended the western margin(Dingxin),average annual temperature was the key factor for the northeastern margin(Guaizi Lake),and average wind speed was crucial for the northern(Ejina Banner)and southern(Alxa Right Banner)margins.

Temporal variations of reference evapotranspiration and its sensitivity to meteorological factors in Heihe River Basin, China

On the basis of daily meteorological data from 15 meteorological stations in the Heihe River Basin （HRB） during the period from 1959 to 2012, long-term trends of reference evapotranspiration （ET0） and key meteorological factors that affect ET0 were analyzed using the Mann- Kendall test. The evaporation paradox was also investigated at 15 meteorological stations. In order to explore the contribution of key meteo- rological factors to the temporal variation of ET0, a sensitivity coefficient method was employed in this study. The results show that： （1） mean annual air temperature significantly increased at all 15 meteorological stations, while the mean annual ET0 decreased at most of sites; （2） the evaporation paradox did exist in the HRB, while the evaporation paradox was not continuous in space and time; and （3） relative humidity was the most sensitive meteorological factor with regard to the temporal variation of ET0 in the HRB, followed by wind speed, air temperature, and solar radiation. Air temperature and solar radiation contributed most to the temporal variation of ETo in the upper reaches; solar radiation and wind speed were the determining factors for the temporal variation of ET0 in the middle-lower reaches.