Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow River

Using data of temperature, wind, precipitation, water discharge, and sediment load, the changes in runoff and sediment load of the Xiliugou basin in the upper Yellow River were investigated and the contributions of climate change and human activities to these changes were quantitatively estimated. R...

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Main Authors: Haifang Yao, Changxing Shi, Wenwei Shao, Jianbin Bai, Hui Yang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2015-01-01
Series:Advances in Meteorology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/481713
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author Haifang Yao
Changxing Shi
Wenwei Shao
Jianbin Bai
Hui Yang
author_facet Haifang Yao
Changxing Shi
Wenwei Shao
Jianbin Bai
Hui Yang
author_sort Haifang Yao
collection DOAJ
description Using data of temperature, wind, precipitation, water discharge, and sediment load, the changes in runoff and sediment load of the Xiliugou basin in the upper Yellow River were investigated and the contributions of climate change and human activities to these changes were quantitatively estimated. Results show that the runoff and sediment load of the stream declined gradually in 1960–2012. According to the abrupt change point detected, the runoff and sediment series were divided into two periods: 1960–1998 and 1999–2012. The reductions of runoff and sediment load in 1999–2012 were found to be related to climate change and human activities, and the latter played a dominant role with a contribution of about 68% and 75%, respectively. The effects of rainfall intensity should be considered to avoid overestimating or underestimating the contributions of rainfall changes to the variations of runoff and sediment load in the semiarid region. An inspection of changes in water discharge and sediment regime indicated that the frequency of discharge between 0 and 5 m3/s increased while that between 5 and 1000 m3/s decreased in 2006–2012. This phenomenon can be attributed principally to the soil and water conservation practices.
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spelling doaj-art-d85b66535f5747ce9fa63c11f893c29e2025-02-03T05:48:14ZengWileyAdvances in Meteorology1687-93091687-93172015-01-01201510.1155/2015/481713481713Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow RiverHaifang Yao0Changxing Shi1Wenwei Shao2Jianbin Bai3Hui Yang4Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, ChinaInstitute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100101, ChinaUsing data of temperature, wind, precipitation, water discharge, and sediment load, the changes in runoff and sediment load of the Xiliugou basin in the upper Yellow River were investigated and the contributions of climate change and human activities to these changes were quantitatively estimated. Results show that the runoff and sediment load of the stream declined gradually in 1960–2012. According to the abrupt change point detected, the runoff and sediment series were divided into two periods: 1960–1998 and 1999–2012. The reductions of runoff and sediment load in 1999–2012 were found to be related to climate change and human activities, and the latter played a dominant role with a contribution of about 68% and 75%, respectively. The effects of rainfall intensity should be considered to avoid overestimating or underestimating the contributions of rainfall changes to the variations of runoff and sediment load in the semiarid region. An inspection of changes in water discharge and sediment regime indicated that the frequency of discharge between 0 and 5 m3/s increased while that between 5 and 1000 m3/s decreased in 2006–2012. This phenomenon can be attributed principally to the soil and water conservation practices.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/481713
spellingShingle Haifang Yao
Changxing Shi
Wenwei Shao
Jianbin Bai
Hui Yang
Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow River
Advances in Meteorology
title Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow River
title_full Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow River
title_fullStr Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow River
title_full_unstemmed Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow River
title_short Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff and Sediment Load of the Xiliugou Basin in the Upper Yellow River
title_sort impacts of climate change and human activities on runoff and sediment load of the xiliugou basin in the upper yellow river
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2015/481713
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