Hydroclimatic Change in Turpan Basin under Climate Change

Abstract

The Turpan basin is one of the most arid and water-insecure regions in China. Turpan Basin has a continental desert climate as it is located in central Eurasia and surrounded by mountains on all sides, with the lowest elevation of 154.5 m below sea level. Its rivers and water availability are mainly supplied by mountain snowmelt through surface streams and the Karez system. To assess the impact of climate change on streamflow in the Turpan basin, this study examined the long-term trends and change points of hydro-meteorological variables and explored the plausible correlation between them at annual and seasonal scales. A set of non-parametric statistical tests was applied to analyze the trend, its magnitude, and the change point of the hydro-meteorological variables from 1959 to 2012 in the Turpan basin. Results showed that the annual mean temperature had a significant increasing trend with an average warming rate of 0.26 °C/decade. Annual precipitation did not show a consistent upward or downward trend across the basin; however, there was a significant increase in winter precipitation. The increasing rates of streamflow at Alagou and Meiyaogou hydrological stations were the highest in the summer (0.42 and 0.18 m3/s per decade, respectively), which might increase the risk of flooding. The change points of various meteorological variables and streamflow can be generally found in the 1980s, in which temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and streamflow had abrupt changes concurrently in 1986 and had respectively increased by 7.2, 41.3, 5.7, and 18.3% after 1986. In general, the strength of the relationship between annual streamflow and precipitation (0.34) was greater than that between streamflow and temperature (0.16). The significant increase in temperature and agriculture in the basin in recent decades indicates the importance of reducing unnecessary soil evaporation in agriculture to preserve water resources under climate change and using innovative technology to preserve soil quality under increasing evapotranspiration and irrigation. This study provided valuable information for understanding the changing properties of the streamflow in the basin and insights for better-integrated water resources management planning that focuses on mitigating flood disasters and soil degradation and improving irrigation efficiency.