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	Responses to climate warming of hydrological processes in the upper Kelan River in the Altay Mountains, Xinjiang, China
	Shen, YongPing; Wang, Guoya; Wu, QingBai; Wang, NingLian; Mao, Weiyi; Su, HongChao
发表日期	2010
ISSN	1674-3822
起始页码	315
结束页码	327
卷号	2 期号:4
英文摘要	Kelan River is a branch of the Ertix River, originating in the Altay Mountains in Xinjiang, northwestern China. The upper streams of the Kelan River are located on the southern slope of the Altay Mountains; they arise from small glacial lakes at an elevation of more than 2,500 m. The total water-collection area of the studied basin, from 988 to 3,480 m, is about 1,655 km(2). Almost 95 percent of the basin area is covered with snow in winter. The westerly air masses deplete nearly all the moisture that comes in the form of snow during the winter months in the upper and middle reaches of the basin. That annual flow from the basin is about 382 mm, about 45 percent of which is contributed by snowmelt. The mean annual precipitation in the basin is about 620 mm, which is primarily concentrated in the upper and middle basin. The Kelan River system could be vulnerable to climate change because of substantial contribution from snowmelt runoff. The hydrological system could be altered significantly because of a warming of the climate. The impact of climate change on the hydrological cycle and events would pose an additional threat to the Altay region. The Kelan River, a typical snow-dominated watershed, has more area at higher elevations and accumulates snow during the winter. The peak flow occurs as a result of snow-melting during the late spring or early summer. Stream flow varies strongly throughout the year because of seasonal cycles of precipitation, snowpack, temperature, and groundwater. Changes in the temperature and precipitation affect the timing and volume of stream-flow. The stream-flow consists of contributions from meltwater of snow and ice and from runoff of rainfall. Therefore, it has low flow in winter, high flow during the spring and early summer as the snowpack melts, and less flows during the late summer. Because of the warming of the current climate change, hydrology processes of the Kelan River have undergone marked changes, as evidenced by the shift of the maximum flood peak discharge from May to June; the largest monthly runoffs also have an increment of about 15 percent related to before 1980; April-June runoff increased from the 60 percent of the annual runoff before 1980 to nearly 70 percent after 1990. The long-term trend shows temperature and precipitation increased mainly in the winter, but the rainfall declined in summer; hydrological process is manifested by the rising runoff in May and decreasing in June. Warming and the increase of winter and spring snowcover would lead to increased snowmelt, increasing the spring-flood hazards and the maximum flood discharge with disastrous consequences. The changed hydrological patterns caused by climate change have already impacted the urban water supply and agricultural and livestock production along the river.
英文关键词	climate warming; snowmelt runoff; response; upper Kelan River; the Altay Mountains
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Physical Geography
WOS类目	Geography, Physical
WOS记录号	WOS:000422277600005
来源期刊	SCIENCES IN COLD AND ARID REGIONS
来源机构	中国科学院西北生态环境资源研究院
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/240260
作者单位	[Shen, YongPing] Chinese Acad Sci, Cold & Arid Reg Environm & Engn Res Inst, 320 West Donggang Rd, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, Peoples R China; [Wang, Guoya; Wu, QingBai] Chinese Acad Sci, Cold & Arid Reg Environm & Engn Res Inst, State Key Lab Frozen Soil Engn, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, Peoples R China; [Wang, Guoya; Wang, NingLian] Chinese Acad Sci, Cold & Arid Reg Environm & Engn Res Inst, State Key Lab Cryospher Sci, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, Peoples R China; [Mao, Weiyi] Climate Ctr Xinjiang Meteorol Bur, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, Peoples R China; [Su, HongChao] Xinjiang Hydrol & Water Resource Bur, Urumqi 830002, Xinjiang, Peoples R China
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Shen, YongPing,Wang, Guoya,Wu, QingBai,et al. Responses to climate warming of hydrological processes in the upper Kelan River in the Altay Mountains, Xinjiang, China[J]. 中国科学院西北生态环境资源研究院,2010,2(4).
APA	Shen, YongPing,Wang, Guoya,Wu, QingBai,Wang, NingLian,Mao, Weiyi,&Su, HongChao.(2010).Responses to climate warming of hydrological processes in the upper Kelan River in the Altay Mountains, Xinjiang, China.SCIENCES IN COLD AND ARID REGIONS,2(4).
MLA	Shen, YongPing,et al."Responses to climate warming of hydrological processes in the upper Kelan River in the Altay Mountains, Xinjiang, China".SCIENCES IN COLD AND ARID REGIONS 2.4(2010).