1. Spatial patterns and temporal variability of dryness/wetness in the Yangtze River Basin, China.
- Author
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Zhao, Guangju, Mu, Xingmin, Hörmann, Georg, Fohrer, Nicola, Xiong, Ming, Su, Buda, and Li, Xiucang
- Subjects
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METEOROLOGICAL precipitation , *WAVELET transforms , *CLIMATE change , *PRINCIPAL components analysis , *WATERSHEDS - Abstract
The present paper focuses on the analysis of dryness/wetness in the Yangtze River Basin from 1960 to 2005 using monthly precipitation data observed at 135 gauges uniformly distributed over the area. The spatial and temporal variation of dryness/wetness has been assessed by means of the Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI). The principal component analysis (PCA) and wavelet transform analysis were applied to the SPI series computed on both 6-month and 12-month time scales. The results demonstrated noticeable spatial patterns with three sub-regions characterized by different climatic variability: the southeastern downstream part of the basin, the midstream and the western upstream part of the study area. In the upstream and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin, an obvious trend towards wetter conditions has been detected from 1990 onward. In addition, inter-decadal changes are obvious, indicating 7–8 years fluctuation in most parts of the region sporadically distributed in the studied period in 95% confidence level. The results of this paper will be helpful for an efficient water resources management under different conditions. Furthermore, three sub-regions should be separately considered in the watershed planning process for mitigating the adverse impacts of future extreme drought or flood occurrences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2012
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