Author(s): Yuanjian Wang; Xudong Fu; Tiejian Li
Linked Author(s):
Keywords: Precipitation variation; Mann-Kendall method; Spectrum analysis; Yellow River
Abstract: The Yellow River is the second longest river in China which supports 12% of the Chinese population. As a result, describing and understanding the precipitation variations under global climate change are of importance. The present study investigates the daily series of precipitation in the upper and middle Yellow River Basin (YRB) from 67 meteorological stations since 1950s. By using the rotated empirical orthogonal function method, the upper and middle YRB is divided into 7 regions. The Mann-Kendall method was adopted to detect gradual change of precipitation. Results indicate in the source area of YRB, the annual precipitation has increased significantly (p<0.05). However in the middle reach, the annual precipitation and rainstorm of some areas have decreased significantly, which would be one reason of the decrease of water and sediment load in recent years in the YRB. Moreover, the spectrum analysis method was applied to analyze the spatial heterogeneity of precipitation. The frequency information gives the evidence identifying different areas which impact the runoff in the Lower Yellow River.
Year: 2011