Variations of temperature and precipitation of snowmelt period and its effect on runoff in the mountainous areas of Northwest China

Auteur(s) et Affiliation(s)

LI, B.

State Key Lab. of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Inst. of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Urumqi, Chine

Univ. of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, Chine

CHEN, Y.

State Key Lab. of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Inst. of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Urumqi, Chine

CHEN, Z.

State Key Lab. of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Inst. of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Urumqi, Chine

LI, W.

State Key Lab. of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Inst. of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Urumqi, Chine

ZHANG, B.

State Key Lab. of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Inst. of Ecology and Geography, CAS, Urumqi, Chine

Description :
Using daily mean temperature and precipitation from 8 mountainous weather stations over the period 1960–2010 in the arid land of Northwest China, this paper analyzes climate change of snowmelt period and its spatial variations and explores the sensitivity of runoff to length, temperature and precipitation of snowmelt period. The results show that mean onset of snowmelt period has shifted 15.33 days earlier while mean ending date has moved 9.19 days later. The precipitation of snowmelt period increased the fastest, which is observed in southern Tianshan Mountains, and the precipitation and temperature in northern Kunlun Mountains increased the slowest, while the temperature in northern Qilian Mountains increased the fastest. The annual runoff is also sensitive to the variations of precipitation and temperature of snowmelt period.

Type de document :
Article de périodique

Source :
Journal of geographical sciences. Acta geographica sinica, issn : 1009-637X, 2013, vol. 23, n°. 1, p. 17-30, nombre de pages : 14, Références bibliographiques : 31 ref.

Date :
2013

Editeur :
Pays édition : Chine

Langue :
Anglais