• Utilizing a new soil effective temperature scheme and archived satellite microwave brightness temperature data to estimate surface soil moisture in the Nagqu region, Tibetan Plateau of China

    分类: 农、林、牧、渔 >> 土壤学 提交时间: 2018-01-10 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: Since the early 2000s, many satellite passive microwave brightness temperature (BT) archives, such as the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for the Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) BTs, have become the useful resources for assessing the changes in the surface and deep soil moistures over both arid and semi-arid regions. In this study, we used a new soil effective temperature (Teff) scheme and the archived AMSR-E BTs to estimate surface soil moisture (SM) over the Nagqu region in the central Tibetan Plateau, China. The surface and deep soil temperatures required for the calculation of regional-scale Teff were obtained from outputs of the Community Land Model version 4.5 (CLM4.5). In situ SM measurements at the CEOP-CAMP/Tibet (Coordinated Enhanced Observing Period Asia-Australia Monsoon Project on the Tibetan Plateau) experimental sites were used to validate the AMSR-E-based SM estimations at regional and single-site scales. Furthermore, the spatial distribution of monthly mean surface SM over the Nagqu region was obtained from 16 daytime AMSR-E BT observations in July 2004 over the Nagqu region. Results revealed that the AMSR-E-based surface SM estimations agreed well with the in situ-based surface SM measurements, with the root mean square error (RMSE) ranging from 0.042 to 0.066 m3/m3 and the coefficient of determination (R2) ranging from 0.71 to 0.92 during the nighttime and daytime. The regional surface soil water state map showed a clear spatial pattern related to the terrain. It indicated that the lower surface SM values occurred in the mountainous areas of the northern, mid-western and southeastern parts of Nagqu region, while the higher surface SM values appeared in the low elevation areas such as the Tongtian River Basin, Namco Lake and bog meadows in the central part of Nagqu region. Our analysis also showed that the new Teff scheme does not require special fitting parameters or additional assumptions, which simplifies the data requirements for regional-scale applications. This scheme combined with the archived satellite passive microwave BT observations can be used to estimate the historical surface SM for hydrological process studies over the Tibetan Plateau regions.

  • Variations of precipitation characteristics during the period 1960–2014 in the Source Region of the Yellow River, China

    分类: 物理学 >> 普通物理:统计和量子力学,量子信息等 提交时间: 2018-04-24 合作期刊: 《干旱区科学》

    摘要: Precipitation, a natural feature of weather systems in the Earth, is vitally important for the environment of any region. Under global climate change condition, the characteristics of precipitation have changed as a consequence of enhanced global hydrological cycle. The source region of the Yellow River (SRYR), locating within the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is sensitive to the global climate change due to its complex orography and fragile ecosystem. To understand the precipitation characteristics and its impacts on the environment in the region, we studied the characteristics of rainy days and precipitation amount of different precipitation classes, such as light (0–5 and 5–10 mm), moderate (10–15, 15–20 and 20–25 mm) and heavy (≥25 mm) rains by analyzing the precipitation data of typical meteorological stations in the SRYR during the period 1961–2014, as well as the trends of persistent rainfall events and drought events. Results showed that annual average precipitation in this area had a non-significant (P>0.05) increasing trend, and 82.5% of the precipitation occurred from May to September. Rainy days of the 0–5 mm precipitation class significantly decreased, whereas the rainy days of 5–10, 10–15, and 20–25 mm precipitation classes increased and that of ≥25 mm precipitation class decreased insignificantly. The persistent rainfall events of 1- or 2-day and more than 2-day showed an increasing trend, with the 1- or 2-day events being more frequent. Meanwhile, the number of short drought periods (≤10 days) increased while long drought periods (>10 days) decreased. Since the 0–5 mm precipitation class had a huge impact on the grasslands productivity; the 5–10, 10–15, and 20–25 mm precipitation classes had positive effects on vegetation which rely on the deep soil water through moving nutrients and water into the root zone of these vegetation or through the plant-microbe interactions; the ≥25 mm precipitation class contributed to the floods; and more persistent rainfall events and fewer long drought events inferred positive effects on agriculture. Thus, these results indicate grassland degradation, less risk of floods, and the upgrading impact of climate change on agriculture. This study may provide scientific knowledge for policymakers to sustain the eco-environmental resources in the SYSR.