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Detection of precipitation variability based on entropy over nearly 50 years in Xinjiang, northwestern China

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Abstract

Based on precipitation data of 53 meteorological stations from 1960 to 2008, the entropy method was used to analyze spatial variability of precipitation in Xinjiang, China, over monthly, seasonal, and annual timescales. The spatial distribution of precipitation variability was significantly affected by topography and was zonal on all timescales. The nonparametric Mann-Kendall test was used to analyze changes in the distributions. A precipitation concentration index was developed to categorize the variability of annual precipitation. Summer variability contributed less to annual variability than that of other seasons. Various months contributed to annual mean variability differently across the years. Overall, the variability of precipitation was shown to increase north of Xinjiang, especially in mountainous regions, where the increase was statistically significant (P = 0.05). South of Xinjiang, the variability increased only slightly, consistent with the distribution of precipitation.

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Acknowledgments

The study was also supported by the Major National Science Research Program (973 Program) (No. 2013CBA01806), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 41361013 and 31300388), State Key Laboratory of Cryosphere Open Fund (SKLCS 2012–10), and Lanzhou City University Ph.D. Research Fund (LZCU-BS2013-09 and LZCU-BS2013-12). The authors are grateful to the two anonymous reviewers for their very useful suggestions and comments.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lanzhou City University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Chuancheng Zhao & Shuxia Yao

  2. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Chuancheng Zhao, Yongjian Ding & Jian Wang

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  1. Chuancheng Zhao
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  2. Shuxia Yao
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  3. Yongjian Ding
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  4. Jian Wang
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Correspondence to Chuancheng Zhao.

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Zhao, C., Yao, S., Ding, Y. et al. Detection of precipitation variability based on entropy over nearly 50 years in Xinjiang, northwestern China. Theor Appl Climatol 122, 609–618 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1318-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-014-1318-5

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