Precipitation Trends and Alteration in Wei River Basin: Implication for Water Resources Management in the Transitional Zone between Plain and Loess Plateau, China
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Study Area and Data
2.1. Study Area
2.2. Data
3. Methodology
3.1. Mann–Kendall Trend Test
3.2. Concentration Index
3.2.1. Monthly Precipitation Concentration Index
3.2.2. Daily Precipitation Concentration Index
- Step 1.
- Classify the daily rainfall by class limits (1 mm class interval used in this paper);
- Step 2.
- Count the number of wet days in each class (i = 1,2 … N) and calculate the amount of precipitation falling in each class;
- Step 3.
- Compute the cumulative sum of the output items in Step 2;
- Step 4.
- Based on the results of Step 3, calculating the accumulated percentage of wet days (X) and the corresponding accumulated percentage of precipitation (Y);
- Step 5.
- Derive the exponential curve of X versus Y. The curve to match the empirical pairs of value (Xi, Yi) is defined as:
4. IPA Index System
4.1. Primary Selection of Precipitation Index
4.2. Establishment of IPA Index
5. Analysis and Discussion
5.1. Trend of IPA Indicators Using M-K Trend Test
5.2. Implication of Functional Indicators
5.3. Other Indicators
5.4. Comparison with Other Similar Studies
6. Conclusions
- (1)
- The precipitation indictors were chosen from the existing precipitation indexes using the MIC method, and the index system of precipitation alteration (IPA) is established. The index system is suitable for the Wei River Basin and can represent precipitation changes in different landscape areas. The system includes 17 indicators and can cover most features of precipitation, such as pattern, extreme values, duration, distribution, and so on.
- (2)
- It was found that from the analysis of precipitation indexes in the basin that indicators were obviously different at the three stations (Huajialing, Wugong, and Huashan Stations) in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Wei River, respectively, and the significantly changed indicators also varied between stations. Overall, from the upstream to downstream of the Wei River, the rainfall showed drought trends in the past 60 years, and the key changed area was the lower Wei River Basin. From the precipitation changes on the vertical belt, the common feature was that precipitation has shown a significant increasing trend in winter, and the key altered areas were middle reaches of the Wei River and the Loess Plateau.
- (3)
- Spatial analysis indicated that the problem of spring precipitation reduction in the basin has been a regional issue. Although the reduced indicators were different, they all had a great impact on spring drought and could trigger disasters. Establishment of an early warning system was suggested, focusing on spring precipitation, soil moisture, and reservoir storage to avoid or alleviate drought events in spring.
- (4)
- Comprehensive analysis showed a decreasing trend the aridification indexes from north to south in the transition zone of the Loess Plateau–Guanzhong Plain, presenting the most significantly in the Loess Plateau, with a slight reduction in the tableland. In contrast to the northern region, the aridification of Guanzhong Plain was enhanced and could tend towards greater aridification in the future.
- (5)
- The R100 analysis indicated that Huashan Station has had the most frequent occurrence of R100 events, occurring every 10 years on average, and more attention should be paid to guarding against downpour-caused disasters. In addition, downpour at Wugong, Changwu, and Wuqi stations has happened frequently in recent years, representing a change from previous time periods that should be taken into consideration.
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Indicator | Type |
---|---|
PRCPTOT | PSI |
Total Rainfall in Spring (TRSpring) | PSI |
Total Rainfall in Autumn (TRAutumn) | PSI |
Total Rainfall in Winter (TRWinter) | PSI |
Rainfall in March (RMar) | PSI, PFI (CPI) |
Rainfall in May (RMay) | PSI, PFI (CPI) |
Rainfall in June (RJun) | PSI, PFI (CPI) |
Rainfall in August (RAug) | PSI |
Rainfall in Flood Season (Flood Season) | PSI |
R25 | PSI |
R50 | PSI |
R95pTOT | PSI |
Consecutive Wet Days (CWD) | PFI |
Consecutive Dry Days (CDD) | PFI |
Number of Dry Days (NDD) | PSI, PFI (CPI) |
PCI | PSI, PFI (CPI) |
CI | PSI, PFI (CPI) |
Station | River Direction | Vertical Belt | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Huajialing | Wugong | Huashan | Wuqi | Changwu | Wugong | |
PRCPTOT | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
RMar | ↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↑↑ | ↓ | ↓ |
RMay | ↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↑ | ↓ | ↓ |
RJun | ↓ | ↑ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↑ | ↑ |
RAug | ↓↓ | ↑ | ↑ | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↑ |
R25 | ↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↑ | ↓ |
R50 | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
R95pTOT | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
CWD | ↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
CDD | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↑ | ↑ | ↓ | ↓↓ |
NDD | ↑↑ | ↓ | ↑↑ | ↑ | ↑ | ↓ |
PCI | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↑ | ↑ | ↓ |
CI | ↓ | ↑ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↑ |
TRWinter | ↑ | ↑↑ | ↓↓ | ↑↑ | ↑↑ | ↑↑ |
TRSpring | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓↓ | ↑↑ | ↓↓ | ↓↓ |
TRAutumn | ↓ | ↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓ | ↓ |
Flood Season | ↓ | ↓ | ↓↓ | ↓↓ | ↑ | ↓ |
Number of significantly changed indexes | 5 | 3 | 11 | 8 | 2 | 3 |
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Li, C.; Zhang, H.; Gong, X.; Wei, X.; Yang, J. Precipitation Trends and Alteration in Wei River Basin: Implication for Water Resources Management in the Transitional Zone between Plain and Loess Plateau, China. Water 2019, 11, 2407. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112407
Li C, Zhang H, Gong X, Wei X, Yang J. Precipitation Trends and Alteration in Wei River Basin: Implication for Water Resources Management in the Transitional Zone between Plain and Loess Plateau, China. Water. 2019; 11(11):2407. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112407
Chicago/Turabian StyleLi, Ci, Hongbo Zhang, Xinghui Gong, Xiaowei Wei, and Jiantao Yang. 2019. "Precipitation Trends and Alteration in Wei River Basin: Implication for Water Resources Management in the Transitional Zone between Plain and Loess Plateau, China" Water 11, no. 11: 2407. https://doi.org/10.3390/w11112407