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Summary: In this study, we analyze the long streamflow series of three hydrological stations of the lower Pearl River basin and the streamflow ratio between Makou and Sanshui stations by using statistical techniques. Furthermore, we also attempt to address influences of precipitation and human activities (human-induced deepening of river channels) on streamflow ratio. The results indicate that: (1) the streamflow variations show remarkable relations with precipitation changes in West and East River basins, implying tremendous influences of climate changes on hydrological processes. Decreasing precipitation was observed in North River basin. However, the streamflow amount of the Sanshui station largely increased due to enlarged streamflow allocation from the West River to the North River; (2) increasing streamflow ratio of Sanshui/(Makou+Sanshui) is the result of morphological changes (downcut) of river channels in the upper Pearl River Delta. The fast downcut of river channels is mainly due to intensive sand mining. Larger magnitude of increase in streamflow ratio corresponds well to the higher intensity of in-channel sand dredging; (3) after late-1990s, decreasing precipitation of the Pearl River basin abates the streamflow amount and also the streamflow ratio. The influences of human activities and climate changes are varying in different time intervals and in different river basins. Due to tremendous impacts of increased streamflow ratio between Sanshui and Makou station, relations between streamflow and precipitation relations in the North River basin are not statistically good. This study helps to improve understandings of the causes underlying altered streamflow variations in the lower Pearl River basin and the hydrological alterations within the Pearl River Delta region. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Scaling behaviors of the long daily streamflow series of four hydrological stations (Longchuan (1952–2002), Heyuan (1951–2002), Lingxia (1953–2002) and Boluo (1953–2002)) in the mainstream East River, one of the tributaries of the Pearl River (Zhujiang River) basin, were analyzed using multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). The research results indicated that streamflow series of the East River basin are characterized by anti-persistence. MF-DFA technique showed similar scaling properties in the streamflow series of the East River basin on shorter time scales, indicating universal scaling properties over the East River basin. Different intercept values of the fitted lines of log–log curve of versus implied hydrological regulation of water reservoirs. Based on the numerical results, we suggested that regulation activities by water reservoirs could not impact the scaling properties of the streamflow series. The regulation activities by water reservoir only influenced the fluctuation magnitude. Therefore, we concluded that the streamflow variations were mainly the results of climate changes, and precipitation variations in particular. Strong dependence of generalized Hurst exponent on demonstrated multifractal behavior of streamflow series of the East River basin, showing ‘universal’ multifractal behavior of river runoffs. The results of this study may provide valuable information for prediction and assessment of water resources under impacts of climatic changes and human activities in the East River basin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Summary The assumption of stationarity of annual peak flood (APF) records at 28 hydrological stations across the Pearl River basin, China, is tested. Abrupt changes in mean and variance are tested using the Pettitt technique and the Loess method. Trends of APFs are analyzed using the Mann–Kendall method and the Spearman technique. And then the stationarity of the APF series is further investigated by GAMLSS models and long-term persistence. Results indicate that: (1) abrupt changes in mean and variance have similar influences on the changing properties of APFs, such as stationarity. Abrupt changes in mean and variance are only field significant in the East River basin; (2) the change points have a considerable impact on the detection of trends, and these may be attributed to the fact that a abrupt increase or decrease in mean values will affect the trend variations. Besides, for the APF series being free of change points and trend, the GAMLSS models also corroborate stationarity of the APF series; (3) the nonstationarity in the Pearl River basin is mainly due to the existence of the change point. However, the APF series with change points in mean and/or variance are also characterized by long-term persistence, and thus it is infeasible to assert that the abrupt behaviors and/or trends of the APF series are the result of human activities or long-term persistence, especially in the East River basin. Results of this study will provide information for management of water resources and design of hydraulic facilities in the Pearl River basin in a changing environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: This paper presents a method for regional frequency analysis and spatio-temporal pattern characterization of rainfall-extreme regimes (i.e. extremes, durations and timings) in the Pearl River Basin (PRB) using the well-known L-moments approach together with advanced statistical tests including stationarity test and serial correlation check, which are crucial to the valid use of L-moments for frequency analysis. Results indicate that: (1) the entire Pearl River Basin (40 sites) can be categorized into six regions by cluster analysis together with consideration of the topography and spatial patterns of mean precipitation in the basin. The results of goodness-of-fit measures indicate that the GNO, GLO, GEV, and PE3 distributions fit well for most of the basin for different HOM regions, but their performances are slightly different in term of curve fitting; (2) the estimated quantiles and their biases approximated by Monte Carlo simulation demonstrate that the results are reliable enough for the return periods of less than 100years; (3) excessive precipitation magnitude records are observed at Guilin region of Guangxi Province and Fogang region of Guangdong Province, which have sufficient climate conditions (e.g. precipitation and humidity) responsible for the frequently occurred flood disasters in the regions. In addition, the spatial variations of precipitation in different return periods (Return period=1, 10, 50years to 100years) increase from the upstream to downstream at the regional scale; (4) the seasonal patterns of precipitation extremes for different topographical regions are different. The major precipitation events of AM1R, AM3R, AM5R and AM7R in regions of low-elevation in lower (south-eastern) part of the basin occur mainly in May, June, July and August, while the main precipitation periods for the mountainous region upstream are June, July and August. Further analysis of the NCAR/NCEP reanalysis data indicates that the eastern Asian summer monsoon and typhoons (or hurricanes) are major metrological driving forces on the precipitation regimes. Additionally, topographical features (i.e. elevation, distance to the sea, and mountain’s influences) also exert different impacts on the spatial patterns of such regimes. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first attempt to conduct a systematic regional frequency analysis on various annual precipitation extremes (based on consecutive 1-, 3-, 5-, 7-day averages) and to establish the possible links to climate pattern and topographical features in the Pearl River Basin and even in China. These findings are expected to contribute to exploring the complex spatio-temporal patterns of extreme rainfall in this basin in order to reveal the underlying linkages between precipitation and floods from a broad geographical perspective. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]