The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity
Study region: 15 catchments in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) Study focus: The concept of the water year has been widely used in analyzing the coupled water-energy balance at the annual scale. However, a comprehensive quantitative investigation about its determination and usability in catchment wat...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581824005081 |
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| author | Changwu Cheng Wenzhao Liu Qiang Li Tingting Ning Haixiang Zhou Zhaotao Mu Kang Du Kai Wang Xiaoyang Han |
| author_facet | Changwu Cheng Wenzhao Liu Qiang Li Tingting Ning Haixiang Zhou Zhaotao Mu Kang Du Kai Wang Xiaoyang Han |
| author_sort | Changwu Cheng |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Study region: 15 catchments in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) Study focus: The concept of the water year has been widely used in analyzing the coupled water-energy balance at the annual scale. However, a comprehensive quantitative investigation about its determination and usability in catchment water balance analysis remains absent. Leveraging long-term hydrometeorological observations and terrestrial water storage (TWS) data, we ascertained the commencement month of the water year for 15 catchments in the CLP and explored the feasibility of the Budyko framework at the water year scale concerning evapotranspiration (ET) estimation and its change attribution. New hydrological insights for the region: (1) TWS recharge commenced predominately in July, with the minimal TWS variation (∆S) consistently observed for years starting from July. Consequently, July marked the start of the water year for CLP catchments. (2) Disregarding ∆S at the calendar year scale caused significant errors in estimating ET (MAE = 51.16 mm yr−1), while the MAE decreased by 35.40% at the water year scale. (3) The relative contributions of precipitation (P), potential evapotranspiration (ET0), and w to ET change deviated significantly from the actual values when ignoring ∆S at the calendar year scale. Conversely, these contributions aligned closely with actual values at the water year scale. Overall, the improved accuracy in ET estimation and enhanced consistency in ET change attribution results collectively justify the water year temporal framework. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3a7d36acce6147f097e2db180ee73e14 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2214-5818 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-3a7d36acce6147f097e2db180ee73e142025-01-22T05:42:15ZengElsevierJournal of Hydrology: Regional Studies2214-58182025-02-0157102159The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validityChangwu Cheng0Wenzhao Liu1Qiang Li2Tingting Ning3Haixiang Zhou4Zhaotao Mu5Kang Du6Kai Wang7Xiaoyang Han8State Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaUniversity of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China; College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Corresponding author at: College of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China.College of Forestry, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, ChinaKey Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, ChinaCollege of Geography and Environmental Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, Gansu 730070, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Soil Erosion and Dryland Farming on the Loess Plateau, the Research Center of Soil and Water Conservation and Ecological Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Education, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; Institute of Soil and Water Conservation, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, ChinaCollege of Soil and Water Conservation Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, Yangling, Shaanxi 712100, ChinaStudy region: 15 catchments in the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) Study focus: The concept of the water year has been widely used in analyzing the coupled water-energy balance at the annual scale. However, a comprehensive quantitative investigation about its determination and usability in catchment water balance analysis remains absent. Leveraging long-term hydrometeorological observations and terrestrial water storage (TWS) data, we ascertained the commencement month of the water year for 15 catchments in the CLP and explored the feasibility of the Budyko framework at the water year scale concerning evapotranspiration (ET) estimation and its change attribution. New hydrological insights for the region: (1) TWS recharge commenced predominately in July, with the minimal TWS variation (∆S) consistently observed for years starting from July. Consequently, July marked the start of the water year for CLP catchments. (2) Disregarding ∆S at the calendar year scale caused significant errors in estimating ET (MAE = 51.16 mm yr−1), while the MAE decreased by 35.40% at the water year scale. (3) The relative contributions of precipitation (P), potential evapotranspiration (ET0), and w to ET change deviated significantly from the actual values when ignoring ∆S at the calendar year scale. Conversely, these contributions aligned closely with actual values at the water year scale. Overall, the improved accuracy in ET estimation and enhanced consistency in ET change attribution results collectively justify the water year temporal framework.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581824005081Water yearTerrestrial water storage variationCatchment water balanceBudyko frameworkAttribution analysisChinese Loess Plateau |
| spellingShingle | Changwu Cheng Wenzhao Liu Qiang Li Tingting Ning Haixiang Zhou Zhaotao Mu Kang Du Kai Wang Xiaoyang Han The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies Water year Terrestrial water storage variation Catchment water balance Budyko framework Attribution analysis Chinese Loess Plateau |
| title | The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity |
| title_full | The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity |
| title_fullStr | The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity |
| title_full_unstemmed | The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity |
| title_short | The water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity |
| title_sort | water year based on minimizing the terrestrial water storage variation and its validity |
| topic | Water year Terrestrial water storage variation Catchment water balance Budyko framework Attribution analysis Chinese Loess Plateau |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214581824005081 |
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