Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Observed near-surface atmospheric moisture content changes affected by irrigation development in Xinjiang, Northwest China

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Theoretical and Applied Climatology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The effects of irrigation development on observed near-surface atmospheric moisture changes remain unclear in arid Xinjiang. In this study, cultivated land fractions (CFs) within a 4-km radius of 90 meteorological stations over Xinjiang, which are inferred from the 2000 land use map, are used as a quantitative indicator of irrigation intensity. Trends of observed water vapor pressure and relative humidity during the growing season (May to September) from 1959 to 2006 are significantly positively correlated with CFs of the meteorological stations. Stations with larger CFs experience a more rapid increase in near-surface atmospheric moisture than stations with small CFs. Results indicate that growing season near-surface atmospheric moisture wetting is enhanced by irrigation development for stations with high levels of cultivated land uses. The land use around stations should be considered when analyzing the observed near-surface atmospheric moisture changes in Xinjiang.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Avissar R, Liu Y (1996) Three-dimensional numerical study of shallow convective clouds and precipitation induced by land surface forcing. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (1984–2012) 101:7499–7518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Biggs TW, Scott CA, Gaur A, Venot J-P, Chase T, Lee E (2008) Impacts of irrigation and anthropogenic aerosols on the water balance, heat fluxes, and surface temperature in a river basin. Water Resour Res 44:W12415. doi:10.1029/2008WR006847 

  • Bolton D (1980) The computation of equivalent potential temperature. Mon Weather Rev 108:1046–1053

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bonfils C, Lobell D (2007) Empirical evidence for a recent slowdown in irrigation-induced cooling. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 104:13582–13587

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boucher O, Myhre G, Myhre A (2004) Direct human influence of irrigation on atmospheric water vapour and climate. Clim Dynam 22:597–603

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chu PC, Lu S, Chen Y (2005) A numerical modeling study on desert oasis self-supporting mechanisms. J Hydrol 312:256–276

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dai S, Zhang B, Wang H, Wang Y, Guo L, Wang X, Li D (2011) Vegetation cover change and the driving factors over Northwest China. Journal of Arid Land 3:25–33

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Döll P, Schmied HM, Schuh C, Portmann FT, Eicker A (2014) Global-scale assessment of groundwater depletion and related groundwater abstractions: combining hydrological modeling with information from well observations and GRACE satellites. Water Resour Res 50:5698–5720

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fan Z, Wu S, Wu Y, Zhang P, Zhao X, Zhang J (2013) The land reclamation in Xinjiang since the founding of new China. Journal of Natural Resources 28:713–720

    Google Scholar 

  • Fang J, Piao S, He J, Ma W (2004) Increasing terrestrial vegetation activity in China, 1982–1999 Science in China Series C. Life Sci 47:229–240

    Google Scholar 

  • Han S, Yang Z (2013) Cooling effect of agricultural irrigation over Xinjiang, Northwest China from 1959 to 2006. Environ Res Lett 8:024039

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Han S, Hu H, Yang D, Liu Q (2011) Irrigation impact on annual water balance of the oases in Tarim Basin, Northwest China. Hydrol Process 25:167–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kawase HTYM (2008) Impact of extensive irrigation on the formation of cumulus clouds. Geophys Res Lett 35:L01806. doi:10.1029/2007GL032435

  • Kueppers LM, Snyder MA, Sloan LC (2007) Irrigation cooling effect: regional climate forcing by land-use change. Geophys Res Lett 34:L03703 doi:03710.01029/02006GL028679

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lei H, Yang D, Yang H, Yuan Z, Huafang LV (2014) Simulated impacts of irrigation on evapotranspiration in a strongly exploited region: a case study of the Haihe River basin, China. Hydrol Process. doi:10.1002/hyp.10402

    Google Scholar 

  • Leng G, Huang M, Tang Q, Sacks WJ, Lei H, Leung LR (2013) Modeling the effects of irrigation on land surface fluxes and states over the conterminous United States: sensitivity to input data and model parameters. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 118:9789–9803

    Google Scholar 

  • Li Q, Chen Y, Shen Y, Li X, Xu J (2011) Spatial and temporal trends of climate change in Xinjiang, China. J Geogr Sci 21:1007–1018. doi:10.1007/s11442-011-0896-8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu X, Mao J, Zhang F, Cui C, Liu D, Li J, Zhao L (2012b) The analysis of water vapor distribution over Taklimakan Desert. Sci China Earth Sci 55:446–455

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu D, Tian F, Hu H, Lin M, Cong Z (2012a) Ecohydrological evolution model on riparian vegetation in hyperarid regions and its validation in the lower reach of Tarim River. Hydrol Process 26:2049–2060

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu J, Liu M, Zhuang D, Zhang Z, Deng X (2003) Study on spatial pattern of land-use change in China during 1995–2000. Sci China Ser D Earth Sci 46:373–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu B, Ma Z, Xu J, Xiao Z (2009) Comparison of pan evaporation and actual evaporation estimated by land surface model in Xinjiang from 1960 to 2005. J Geogr Sci 19:502–512

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu Y, Tian F, Hu H, Sivapalan M (2014) Socio-hydrologic perspectives of the co-evolution of humans and water in the Tarim River basin, western China: the Taiji–Tire model. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 18:1289–1303. doi:10.5194/hess-18-1289-2014

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lobell DB, Bala G, Mirin A, Phillips T, Maxwell R, Rotman D (2009) Regional differences in the influence of irrigation on climate. J Clim 22:2248–2255

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood R, Hubbard KG, Leeper RD, Foster SA (2008) Increase in near-surface atmospheric moisture content due to land use changes: evidence from the observed dewpoint temperature data. Mon Weather Rev 136:1554–1561. doi:10.1175/2007mwr2040.1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mahmood R et al. (2014) Land cover changes and their biogeophysical effects on climate. Int J Climatol 34:929–953

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ozdogan M, Salvucci GD (2004) Irrigation-induced changes in potential evapotranspiration in southeastern Turkey: test and application of Bouchet’s complementary hypothesis. Water Resour Res 40:W04301

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perkins EE (2012) Irrigation controls on atmospheric water vapor, southern India. San Diego State University

  • Pinzon J, Tucker C (2014) A non-stationary 1981–2012 AVHRR NDVI3g time series. Remote Sens 6:6929–6960. doi:10.3390/rs6086929

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Qian Y, Huang M, Yang B, Berg LK (2013) A modeling study of irrigation effects on surface fluxes and land–air–cloud interactions in the southern Great Plains. J Hydrometeorol 14:700–721

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Segal M, Avissar R, McCumber M, Pielke R (1988) Evaluation of vegetation effects on the generation and modification of mesoscale circulations. J Atmos Sci 45:2268–2293

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shi Y, Shen Y, Kang E, Li D, Ding Y, Zhang G, Hu R (2007) Recent and future climate change in Northwest China. Clim Chang 80:379–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siebert S, Burke J, Faures J, Frenken K, Hoogeveen J, Döll P, Portmann F (2010) Groundwater use for irrigation–a global inventory. Hydrological & Earth System Science 14:1863–1880

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sorooshian S, Li J, Kl H, Gao X (2011) How significant is the impact of irrigation on the local hydroclimate in California’s Central Valley? Comparison of model results with ground and remote-sensing data. Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres 1984–2012:116

    Google Scholar 

  • Su C, Hu Y (1987) Microclimatological characteristics of Hexi corridor oases and the cold island effect chin. J Atmos Sci 11:390–396

    Google Scholar 

  • Tang Q, Oki T, Kanae S, Hu H (2008) Hydrological cycles change in the Yellow River basin during the last half of the twentieth century. J Clim 21:1790–1806

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tsukamoto O, Sahashi K, Jiemin W (1995) Heat budget and evapotranspiration at an oasis surface surrounded by desert: special edition on HEIFE. I. J Meteorol Soc Jpn 73:925–935

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Leeuwen WJD, Orr BJ, Marsh SE, Herrmann SM (2006) Multi-sensor NDVI data continuity: uncertainties and implications for vegetation monitoring applications. Remote Sens Environ 100:67–81. doi:10.1016/j.rse.2005.10.002

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang Y, Feng Q, Li Z (2014) Analysis of low cloud amount variations in the Northwest China during 1960-2005 (in Chinese with English abstract. Sci Geogr Sin 34:635–640

    Google Scholar 

  • Wei J, Dirmeyer PA, Wisser D, Bosilovich MG, Mocko DM (2013) Where does the irrigation water go? An estimate of the contribution of irrigation to precipitation using MERRA. J Hydrometeorol 14:275–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wen L, Jin J (2012) Modelling and analysis of the impact of irrigation on local arid climate over Northwest China. Hydrol Process 26:445–453

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wu Z, Zhang H, Krause CM, Cobb NS (2010) Climate change and human activities: a case study in Xinjiang, China. Clim Chang 99:457–472. doi:10.1007/s10584-009-9760-6

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Xiao X et al. (2003) Uncertainties in estimates of cropland area in China: a comparison between an AVHRR-derived dataset and a Landsat TM-derived dataset. Glob Planet Chang 37:297–306

    Google Scholar 

  • Xu Z, Liu Z, Fu G, Chen Y (2010) Trends of major hydroclimatic variables in the Tarim River basin during the past 50 years. J Arid Environ 74:256–267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang L, Smith JA, Wright DB, Baeck ML, Villarini G, Tian F, Hu H (2013) Urbanization and climate change: an examination of nonstationarities in urban flooding. J Hydrometeorol 14:1791–1809

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang Q, Wei W, Li J (2008) Temporal and spatial variation of atmospheric water vapor in the Taklimakan Desert and its surrounding areas. Chinese Sci Bull 53:71–78

    Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Hu H, Tian F, Yao X, Sivapalan M (2014a) Groundwater dynamics under water-saving irrigation and implications for sustainable water management in an oasis: Tarim River basin of western China. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 18:3951–3967

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang Z, Tian F, Hu H, Yang P (2014b) A comparison of methods for determining field evapotranspiration: photosynthesis system, sap flow, and eddy covariance. Hydrol Earth Syst Sci 18:1053–1072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhang J, Yang Z, Wang D, Zhang X (2002) Climate change and causes in the Yuanmou dry-hot valley of Yunnan, China. J Arid Environ 51:153–162

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao Y, Fang Y, Cui C, Huang A (2012) Effects of irrigation on precipitation in the arid regions of Xinjiang, China. Journal of Arid Land 4:132–139. doi:10.3724/sp.j.1227.2012.00132

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhong R, Dong X, Ma Y (2009) Sustainable water saving: new concept of modern agricultural water saving, starting from development of Xinjiang’s agricultural irrigation over the last 50 years. Irrig Drain 58:383–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou H, Wang Y, Sun Z, Chen J (2013) Irrigation quota and its changes of different irrigation modes in Arid Xinjiang Region. Water Saving Irrigation: 5–11

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research was partially sponsored by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 51579249 and 41425002), the National Basic Research Program of China (no. 2012CB955403), the Research Fund (no. 2016ZY06) of State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, the Basic Research Fund (No. ID0145B292016) of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, and the National Youth Top-notch Talent Support Program in China.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing, 100038, China

    Songjun Han, Di Xu, Shaoli Wang & Zhiyong Yang

  2. Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100101, China

    Qiuhong Tang

  3. National Center of Efficient Irrigation Engineering and Technology Research, Beijing, 100048, China

    Songjun Han, Di Xu & Shaoli Wang

Authors
  1. Songjun Han
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Qiuhong Tang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Di Xu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Shaoli Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Zhiyong Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Songjun Han.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Han, S., Tang, Q., Xu, D. et al. Observed near-surface atmospheric moisture content changes affected by irrigation development in Xinjiang, Northwest China. Theor Appl Climatol 130, 511–521 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1899-2

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1899-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation