Water resource formation and conversion and water security in arid region of Northwest China

Climate change and water resource issues are global problems of common concern to the international community, and they are major bottlenecks affecting the eco-environment and sustainable socio-economic development in the arid region of Northwest China. On the basis of results from previous studies, this paper points out that the unique landscape of Northwest China increases the complexity and uncertainty of the climate system. This paper analyzes the key constraints on socio-economic development and ecological security in the region, discusses the impact of climate change on water resources in Northwest China, identifies common themes and the main problems present in research on climate change and water resources in the arid northwest region, and finally, based on the importance and urgency of conducting research on the region’s water resources, proposes scientific problems that need to be addressed: first, the impact of climate change on the formation, conversion and future trends of water resources in the region; second, bidirectional coupling of high-resolution regional climate models and water cycle models of arid region land surface patterns; third, the impact of climate change and human activities on water resources of the arid northwest region. Through consideration and discussion of the above, this paper seeks to further clarify specific areas of research on pressing issues related to climate change and water resources in Northwest China, so as to establish a solid scientific basis for significantly enhancing our ability to respond to climate change and water shortages.

[1]  Anthony Patt,et al.  Taking the uncertainty in climate-change vulnerability assessment seriously , 2005 .

[2]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Water and ecological security: dealing with hydroclimatic challenges at the heart of China’s Silk Road , 2016, Environmental Earth Sciences.

[3]  Ren Guo,et al.  Changes of Surface Air Temperature in China During 1951—2004 , 2005 .

[4]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Variation of baseflows in the headstreams of the Tarim River Basin during 1960–2007 , 2013 .

[5]  Chao Wang,et al.  Characterization of spatio-temporal patterns for various GRACE- and GLDAS-born estimates for changes of global terrestrial water storage , 2013 .

[6]  Fubao Sun,et al.  Partitioning the variance between space and time , 2010 .

[7]  Zhi Li,et al.  Progress and prospects of climate change impacts on hydrology in the arid region of northwest China. , 2015, Environmental Research.

[8]  Huilin Li,et al.  Spatial variability of glacial changes and their effects on water resources in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains during the last five decades , 2015, Journal of Arid Land.

[9]  Xing-zhong Yuan,et al.  Distributed under Creative Commons Cc-by 4.0 the Nonlinear Variation of Drought and Its Relation to Atmospheric Circulation in Shandong Province, East China , 2022 .

[10]  C. Zammit,et al.  Comparing bias correction methods in downscaling meteorological variables for a hydrologic impact study in an arid area in China , 2014 .

[11]  E. Baltas,et al.  Regional impacts of climate change on water resources quantity and quality indicators , 2000 .

[12]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Climate change with elevation and its potential impact on water resources in the Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia , 2015 .

[13]  F. Joos,et al.  Regional Impacts of Climate Change and Atmospheric CO2on Future Ocean Carbon Uptake: A Multimodel Linear Feedback Analysis , 2011 .

[14]  R. Knutti,et al.  Regional climate change patterns identified by cluster analysis , 2010 .

[15]  C. Conde,et al.  Climate Change and Vulnerability , 2008 .

[16]  Quantitatively evaluating the effects of climate factors on runoff change for Aksu River in northwestern China , 2014, Theoretical and Applied Climatology.

[17]  Xinlong Feng,et al.  Reconstructing meteorological time series to quantify the uncertainties of runoff simulation in the ungauged Qira River Basin using data from multiple stations , 2016, Theoretical and Applied Climatology.

[18]  Weihong Li,et al.  Analysis on the streamflow components of the typical inland river, Northwest China , 2016 .

[19]  R. Koster,et al.  The Rhône-Aggregation Land Surface Scheme Intercomparison Project: An Overview , 2002 .

[20]  Huilin Li,et al.  Glacier area variation and climate change in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains since 1960 , 2011 .

[21]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Temperature and precipitation changes in different environments in the arid region of northwest China , 2013, Theoretical and Applied Climatology.

[22]  L. Yong.  Projection of Wind Speed Changes in China in the 21st Century by Climate Models , 2010 .

[23]  S. Stammerjohn,et al.  Recent Changes in Phytoplankton Communities Associated with Rapid Regional Climate Change Along the Western Antarctic Peninsula , 2009, Science.

[24]  Guili Sun,et al.  Intra-annual distribution and decadal change in extreme hydrological events in Xinjiang, Northwestern China , 2012, Natural Hazards.

[25]  Vincent R. Gray.  Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis Summary for Policymakers , 2007 .

[26]  Huijun Wang,et al.  A Regional Climate Model Nested in a Global Gridpoint General Circulation Model , 2006 .

[27]  Yanjun Shen,et al.  Analysis of changing pan evaporation in the arid region of Northwest China , 2013 .

[28]  Xun Shi,et al.  Why does the temperature rise faster in the arid region of northwest China , 2012 .

[29]  Ju Li,et al.  Modern climate over East Asia simulated by a regional climate model nested in a global gridpoint general circulation model , 2006 .

[30]  Sajjad Ahmad,et al.  Simulating low and high streamflow driven by snowmelt in an insufficiently gauged alpine basin , 2015, Stochastic Environmental Research and Risk Assessment.

[31]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Potential impacts of climate change on vegetation dynamics in Central Asia , 2015 .

[32]  Crowley,et al.  Atmospheric science: Methane rises from wetlands , 2011, Nature.

[33]  Heigang Xiong,et al.  Why does precipitation in northwest China show a significant increasing trend from 1960 to 2010 , 2016 .

[34]  Wenjiao Shi,et al.  Progress on quantitative assessment of the impacts of climate change and human activities on cropland change , 2016, Journal of Geographical Sciences.

[35]  Brent Yarnal,et al.  Building comparable global change vulnerability assessments: The vulnerability scoping diagram , 2007 .

[36]  Nigel W. Arnell,et al.  Vulnerability to abrupt climate change in Europe , 2005 .

[37]  Yanjun Shen,et al.  Modeling demand/supply of water resources in the arid region of northwestern China during the late 1980s to 2010 , 2015, Journal of Geographical Sciences.

[38]  Xin Li,et al.  Impact of land use change on water resource allocation in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin in northwestern China , 2014, Journal of Arid Land.

[39]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Water Resources Research in Northwest China , 2014 .

[40]  Tang Guoping,et al.  ASSESSMENT METHOD OF VULNERABILITY OF WATER RESOURCES UNDER GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE , 2000 .

[41]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Potential evapotranspiration and its attribution over the past 50 years in the arid region of Northwest China , 2014 .

[42]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Glacier change in the Karatal river basin, Zhetysu (Dzhungar) Alatau, Kazakhstan , 2016, Annals of Glaciology.

[43]  Fahu Chen,et al.  Physical Mechanisms of Summer Precipitation Variations in the Tarim Basin in Northwestern China , 2015 .

[44]  Jonathan A. Patz,et al.  Public Health Risk Assessment Linked to Climatic and Ecological Change , 2001 .

[45]  Jianhua Xu,et al.  Integrating Wavelet Analysis and BPANN to Simulate the Annual Runoff With Regional Climate Change: A Case Study of Yarkand River, Northwest China , 2014, Water Resources Management.

[46]  Fabio Castelli,et al.  Multiobjective sensitivity analysis and optimization of distributed hydrologic model MOBIDIC , 2014 .

[47]  Yaning Chen,et al.  Abrupt change of temperature and precipitation extremes in the arid region of Northwest China , 2014 .

[48]  M. Castro,et al.  Regional modeling of dry spells over the Iberian Peninsula for present climate and climate change conditions , 2011 .