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The intricate interplay between water resources, land resources, energy systems, and carbon emissions has emerged as a prominent discourse in academic research. Nonetheless, there remains a dearth of comprehensive research dedicated to fostering environmentally friendly and low-carbon development through systematic integration and coordination efforts. This study aimed to fill this gap by integrating the coupling mechanism of the Water-Land-Energy-Carbon (WLEC) system, thereby constructing an evaluation index framework that assesses coordinated developments in Northwest China's WLEC system. It scrutinizes the security levels within the Water-Land-Energy (WLE) subsystem while conducting quantitative analyses on the degrees of coupling coordination within the WLEC systems, alongside their associated hindering factors. The preliminary findings were as follows: Firstly, the safety development within the WLE system demonstrates a positive trend across Northwest China, with notable advancements primarily observed in the Qinghai and Gansu provinces. In 2021, all five Northwestern provinces exhibited moderate levels of safe development, except for the Qinghai province, which transitioned from moderate to robust. Secondly, the coupling coordination degree of the WLEC system across the five provinces has consistently illustrated an upward trajectory over the years. However, as of 2021, the system remains in a state characterized by marginal disorder. Notably, the Qinghai and Gansu provinces have shown particularly encouraging upward trends, with the Shaanxi province also making notable progress. Conversely, Xinjiang has declined since 2017 due to negative interactions between the subsystems of water, soil, energy, and carbon emissions. Thirdly, spatial variations exist in the distribution patterns between the provinces regarding the influence of obstructing factors on indicators related to coupled coordinated development, such as per capita arable land area, per capita energy consumption, per capita carbon emissions, per capita construction land area, and the proportion of groundwater water in the total amount of water supply, which demonstrated an increasing trend. These findings carry significant practical implications for actively and steadily promoting carbon peaking and carbon neutrality in Northwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floian, Early Ordovician trilobites are systematically described and revised based on new material from the middle part of the Duoquanshan Formation of the Shihuigou area, northern Qinghai Province, northwest China. The fauna that lived on the shallow-water carbonate platform comprises three species belonging to two families, i.e., Tsaidamaspis diarmatus, Zhiyia tsinghaiensis, and Liexiaspis sp. indeterminate. It exhibits a strong endemicity to the Olongbluk terrane. The new isoteline genus Zhiyia is established on the basis of the material from the Olongbluk terrane and South China palaeoplate, and is characterized by its: (i) almost obsolete cephalic and pygidial axial furrows; (ii) flattened anterior border and narrow (sag., exsag.) occipital ring; (iii) bilobed hypostome with a shallow median notch and a small triangular median projection; (iv) subsemicircular pygidium with wide pygidial axis and border. Faunal evidence indicates that the palaeogeographic position of the Olongbluk terrane may have been situated closer to the South China palaeoplate rather than the North China palaeoplate during the Floian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation makes an outstanding contribution to the stability of ecosystems and to a certain extent reflects the state of the terrestrial ecosystem. Drought conditions greatly affect the growth and development process of vegetation due to its remarkable stochasticity and complexity. Due to the complex coupling mechanism between vegetation and drought, the research on vegetation drought risk is still limited. In this work, we focus on Northwest China and use the improved vegetation health index (VHI) and other multi-source data. We selected indicator factors based on both hazard and vulnerability, and adopt three weight determination methods, namely entropy method, critic method, and coefficient of variation method, to construct the corresponding index model, and also to establish a vegetation drought risk assessment model to quantitatively evaluate the drought risk of vegetation in northwest China. Results show that the percentage of each drought category remarkably changed during the period encompassing 1981–2020, and the vegetation drought shows deterioration in more areas of northwest China. The vegetation drought risks derived from the three weight determination methods were generally consistent, but differed for a particular vegetation type. The overall spatial distribution pattern of vegetation drought risk in Northwest China is higher in the west and lower in the east, and the vegetation in southern Qinghai and northwestern Xinjiang presents higher drought risk. This study may be used as a tool to provide quantitative basis for vegetation protection and vegetation drought management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) can effectively alleviate the renewable curtailment and resource waste caused by expansion of wind and solar-based renewable energy (RE) sources. However, the influences of regional hydrological characteristics, operational characteristics of PHES units, and power supply-demand balance on the regulating effect of PHES have been neglected. In this paper, an improved hybrid power system dispatch model (Dispa-set) that considers regional hydrological characteristics, unit operational characteristics, and RE curtailment penalty is proposed. The potential and limitations of PHES on reducing renewable curtailment and carbon emissions in four Northwest provinces (FNP) during the 14th Five-Year Plan (FYP) are evaluated through 6 sub-scenarios. Studies have shown that increasing PHES can effectively reduce renewable curtailment and carbon emissions, but uncoordinated development of PHES and RE results in resource waste and slows down carbon reduction. For example, a 10% increase in PHES during the 14th FYP could increase renewable curtailment in Qinghai by 1.1% and CO2 emissions in Gansu by 0.05%, due to uncoordinated development, demand for electricity supply, and regulated power sources. Therefore, combining PHES development with regional hydrological and operational characteristics is essential to achieve coordinated development with RE and unlock technology, economic, and environmental benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Arid Zone Research / Ganhanqu Yanjiu is the property of Arid Zone Research Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Arid Zone Research / Ganhanqu Yanjiu is the property of Arid Zone Research Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of China Rural Water & Hydropower is the property of China Rural Water & Hydropower Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The Chinese government has announced ambitious carbon reduction goals to address climate change, however, there has been limited scientific attention to the achievement of deep decarbonization in regions with insufficient economic development. Moreover, the complex impacts of climate change mitigation on energy system, environment and economic development remain unclear in Northwest China. Here we construct a comprehensive evaluation model system to evaluate the effects of different climate mitigation pathways in Qinghai, Ningxia, Gansu and Xinjiang provinces. Results show that the four provinces need to vigorously increase the share of electricity that consumed in final energy to 53.1–60.0% and 52.9–62.0% for 2 °C and 1.5 °C target, respectively, and reduce total energy demand to 11.6–44.4 Mtoe and 8.2–34.1 Mtoe in 2050. Meanwhile, the CO 2 emissions for their energy systems will reach peak by 2025 at lower values. Moreover, the synergies of CO 2 reduction are most conducive to abating SO 2 pollution and also contributing to decreasing PM 2.5 concentrations. Additionally, the GDP losses in 2050 fluctuate from 5.0 to 21.7 billion USD in the 2 °C scenario to 11.5–52.7 billion USD in the 1.5 °C scenario. Our study provides practical guidance on achieving carbon reductions in less developed regions of China and lays foundations to promote decarbonization of energy systems in other provinces. • Realizing climate goals requires low-carbon energy systems led by electricity. • Energy-related carbon emissions in Northwest China will peak by 2025. • More ambitious climate and clean air policies are needed for air quality improvement. • Economic loss shows an upward trend in the future under climate targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid economic and population growth exacerbates water resource shortages and various associative ecological factors. Additionally, climate change makes it difficult to predict potential eco-environmental risks. The Government of China enacted a large-scale forestation campaign in the northwest to cope with the region's increasingly severe eco-environmental problems. This study applied GIS software to analyze areas where water resource changes have occurred and the reasons behind water shortages. Notwithstanding fluctuations, there was a general increase in water resource trends between 1980 and 2015. On a regional scale, we observed an increasing trend for provinces with large water resources, including Xinjiang, Qinghai, and Xizang, which accounted for 84.58% of the total increases observed between 1980 and 2015. The water resource trend for the region as a whole increased exponentially with increasing rainfall and decreasing evapotranspiration. Furthermore, water consumed by artificial forests in Northwest China reached 14 billion cubic meters, which is equivalent to 5.22% of its total annual water resources. In contrast, this study determined that under natural vegetation conservation practices, water consumed would have decreased to 10.13 billion cubic meters in 2015. Accordingly, this study concluded that the Government of China should change its policy from planting more trees to protecting natural vegetation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Objectives] The quality of Lycium ruthenicum Murr. from different producing areas was studied. [Methods] The content of proanthocyanidins ( UV spectrophotometry), waler-soluhle vitamins ( VB2,, VB6, VB12,:, Ve, niacinamide, and folic acid) ), fat-soluble vitamins (VD, and VK1) ( high performance liquid chromatography), and trace elements Cu, Zn, and Ke ( flame atomic absorption method) in L ruthenicum from Ejin Banner of Inner Mongolia, Nuomuhong of Qinghai and Korla of Xinjiang were measured. [Results] The content of proanthocyanidins, VB,, nicotinamide and VB,, in L. ruthenicum from Ejin Banner was higher, and the content of Vc, VB6, Cu, Zn, VD and VK1, in L. ruthenicum from Nuomuhong was higher, while the content of folic acid and Ke in L. ruthenicum from Korla was higher. The proanlhocyanidin content of L. ruthenicum from Ejin Banner was the highest, so it is an ideal plant for extracting proanlhocvanidins. Conclusions] Tliis study provides a theoretical basis for the research, development and utilization of L ruthenicum from Nuomuhong, Ejin Banner and Korla. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northwest China forms the main part of the arid and semiarid areas in China, and even includes some extremely arid areas. This zone of interaction is affected by the westerlies and monsoons making it sensitive to global climate change. Drought is the main type of natural disaster affecting northwest China. Global warming has caused a gradual strengthening of the frequency and intensity of hot extremes, when dry conditions and heatwaves occur simultaneously or successively; as a result, that socioeconomic risks can increase considerably. The present study examined changes in concurrent droughts and hot extremes in northwest China during 1961–2017 based on data from 119 meteorological stations. The result shows that the frequency of concurrent droughts and hot extremes exhibited an increasing trend over most parts of northwest China, while a negative trend occurred in western Xinjiang and at some sites in Qinghai. Concurrent droughts and hot extremes appeared more often in May in western Xinjiang, and in summer in other parts of northwest China. Overall, the trends of such concurrent events, regardless of different definitions, increased from 1961–2017 over northwest China. In particular, from 1981–2017, the trend rose more significantly than in other decades, and reached an abrupt point of change in 1996. Although the trend changed from a positive significant signal to a negative one from 2001–2017, the trend grew 2–3 times from 1997–2017. Changes in large‐scale atmospheric circulation show that an anticyclonic circulation strengthened, increasing in geopotential height over the midhigh latitudes of Eurasia and was centred on Mongolia and Lake Baikal. This enhanced relative humidity in western Xinjiang and eastern Qinghai, and weakened it elsewhere from 1997–2017. These changes have contributed to the changes in the spatial distribution and trends in concurrent droughts and hot extremes in northwest China. Variations in the number of concurrent droughts and hot extremes for the period of 1961–2017 in northwest China. Red line for DH85, blue line for DH90. DH85 and DH90 indicate simultaneous a month 3‐month SPEI < −1.0 and hot extremes during which the daily maximum temperature exceeded the 85th and 90th percentiles for at least three consecutive days, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely acknowledged that in the Qijia Culture Period (cca 2200-1500 BC), the Chinese Northwest participated in a broader network of contacts spanning from the Middle Yellow River Valley to Central Asia. However, opinions differ considerably as one regards the character of those contacts and their role in the genesis of the culture. On one hand, many Chinese scholars view the emergence of the Qijia Culture as a result of large migrations from the East; on the other, some western scholars suggest that a number of western human groups participated in its formation. In the present article we use the model of non-uniform institutional the complexity to explain the emergence of the Qijia Culture. We first point out its continuity with earlier Late Neolithic local cultures, and then focus on the spread of new artefacts and, as evidence suggests, of institutions from the East which led to the transformation of various aspects of the material culture within the broader region of the Chinese Northwest, while other elements - burial rites, for instance - preserved their regional diversity. We suggest that eastern innovations spread partly through channels established earlier within an exchange network of locally produced painted pottery and also in association with local area's social development. These suggestions are supported by the case study which considers the process of development at the well-known site of Liuwan in the middle reaches of the Huang River Valley, Qinghai Province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zn-Cd-S series minerals not only comprise industrial resources for Zn and Cd, but are also significant mineralogical indicators for hydrothermal ore-forming processes. Due to its unique formation conditions and rare occurrence, our understanding of the formation of zincian greenockite in natural systems is limited. Zincian greenockite was discovered during mineralogical studies in the Saishitang Cu skarn deposit, Qinghai Province, Northwest China. This provided an ideal opportunity to assess the occurrence and formation of zincian greenockite in skarn-type deposits. Ore minerals were observed using reflected-light microscopy and the zincian greenockite was further analyzed using electron-probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). The zincian greenockite occurs in the bornite-chalcopyrite ores and is composed of subhedral to anhedral grains approximately 50x150μm2 to 200x300μm2 in size, replaces the bornite and is replaced by native silver. Two phases (I and II) were identified based on back-scattered electron images, X-ray element-distributions maps and EPMA data. The textural relationship indicated that Phase I was replaced by Phase II. Phase I contained high Zn (14.6 to 21.7 mol % ZnS) and low Cd (72.4 to 82.2 mol % CdS), while Phase II contained low Zn (5.6 to 9.1 mol % ZnS) and high Cd (85.4 to 89.9 mol % CdS). The zincian greenockite was formed at temperature of 300∼270 °C during the transformation from a reducing environment to an oxidizing one in the late stage of the mineralization process in the Saishitang deposit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of stone knives have been recovered from Neolithic archaeological sites in East Asia. However, direct evidence regarding the functions of the stone knives has been scarce, and hence, their functions have remained controversial. In this study, we recovered and analysed ancient starch grains and phytoliths from residues adhering to stone knives excavated from the Lajia site, Qinghai Province, northwest China, thus providing direct evidence for the functions of the knives. Our analyses were based on the following: (1) an assemblage of 278 identifiable starch grains, representing grains from the stems of foxtail millet ( Setaria italica) and broomcorn millet ( Panicum miliaceum) (65.1 % of the total) and the stems of Hordeum and Triticum species (3.6 % of the total), and (2) an assemblage of 361 identifiable phytoliths, the majority of which were from the stems and leaves of plants such as Panicoideae and related taxa (96 % of the total). Our study demonstrates that one of the functions of the stone knives was the harvesting crops. In addition, a few starch grains from food legumes and roots (3.4 % of the total) indicate that the stone knives were also likely used to process, peel and cut some foods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Plant residues recovered from prehistoric stone artifacts can be used to help explain tool function and plant use. At the Changning site in Qinghai Province, Northwest China, dating from 4000 yr BP, we examined starch granules extracted from three slate stone knives. A total of 153 starch grains were retrieved from three stone knives, from which we identified starches from legumes, the Triticeae tribe, foxtail millet (Setaria italica), broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum), roots and tubers. These results indicate that the stone knives may have been used for a variety of activities that included reaping grasses and food processing. The species of starch grains retrieved from the study sample reveal that diverse crops were cultivated at the Changning site 4000 years ago. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

One of the major components of the hydrological cycle, reference evapotranspiration (ET 0) represents the maximum amount of water transferred from the land surface to the atmosphere. Vital to quantifying crop water needs, accurate predictions of ET 0 are particularly critical in arid regions, where they allow for informed water resources management adjustments through changes to agricultural irrigation rates and scheduling. Drawing upon 84 meteorological stations in northwest China, spatiotemporal variations in present-day ET 0 were investigated. Support vector regression (SVR), Extreme learning machine (ELM), and Multivariate adaptive regression spline (MARS) — three machine learning (ML) techniques — served to establish relationships between historical ET 0 and the Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment – East Asia (CORDEX-EA), drawn from the output data sets of each of three regional climate models (RCM): Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF), Regional Climate Model version 4.0 (RegCM4) and the Mesoscale Model version 5 (MM5). The ML-RCM combinations were calibrated and validated with separate batches (66:34, respectively) of historical ET 0 data, and their respective performance and level of uncertainty were assessed statistically. In the historical period (1960–2017) ET 0 declined by −0.15, −0.75, and − 0.42 mm y−1 in north Xinjiang, south Xinjiang, and Qinghai region, respectively, and increased in the Hexi Corridor by 0.5 mm y−1. For all four regions, the MARS-WRF and MARS-MM5 combinations performed well and showed greater predictive accuracy than either ELM-WRF or ELM-MM5 combinations. Performances in predicting future (2035–2050) ET 0 from CORDEX-EA outputs based on regional climate predictions RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios, depended to a greater extent on the RCM outputs that were selected, rather than the modeling methods. Future ET 0 predicted from RCMs generally exhibit increasing trends, and more significantly under the RCP 8.5 scenario. The representation and characterization ability of RCMs to future climate change is crucial for future ET 0 projection. Uncertainty analysis, achieved by employing multiple RCMs to predict future ET 0 , is highly recommended. Knowledge of trends in future ET 0 can help guide the management of agricultural irrigation in oases and support decision-makers engaged in water resources management in the future. • Historical ET 0 declined in Xinjiang, and Qinghai, and increased in Hexi Corridor, China. • The combination of MARS-WRF had the best predictive accuracy. • Prediction of ET 0 depends more on the RCM chosen rather than modeling methods. • Future ET 0 had an increasing trend, especially under RCP 8.5. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring variations in terrestrial water storage (TWS) is of great significance for the management of water resources. However, it remains a challenge to continuously monitor TWS variations using in situ observations and hydrological models because of a limited number of gauge stations and the complicated spatial distribution characteristics of TWS. In contrast, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) could overcome the aforementioned restrictions, providing a new reliable means of observing TWS variation. Thus, GRACE was employed to investigate TWS variations in Northwest China (NWC) between April 2002 and March 2016. Unlike previous studies, we focused on the interactions of multiple climatic and vegetational factors, and their combined effects on TWS variation. In addition, we also analyzed the relationship between TWS variations and socioeconomic water consumption. The results indicated that (i) TWS had obvious seasonal variations in NWC, and showed significant decreasing trends in most parts of NWC at the 95% confidence level; (ii) decreasing sunshine duration and wind speed resulted in an increase in TWS in Qinghai province, whereas the increasing air temperature, ameliorative vegetational coverage, and excessive groundwater withdrawal jointly led to a decrease in TWS in the other provinces of NWC; (iii) TWS variations in NWC had a good correlation with water storage variations in cascade reservoirs of the upper Yellow River; and (iv) the overall interactions between multiple climatic and vegetational factors were obvious, and the strong effects of some climatic and vegetational factors could mask the weak influences of other factors in TWS variations in NWC. Hence, it is necessary to focus on the interactions of multiple factors and their combined effects on TWS variations when exploring the causes of TWS variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]