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Changing characteristics of precipitation during 1960–2012 in Inner Mongolia, northern China

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Abstract

Based on daily precipitation records at 46 meteorological stations in Inner Mongolia, northern China, the space and time changes in precipitation characteristics are analyzed by defining 15 precipitation indices. The Mann–Kendall trend test is used to detect trends in the precipitation indices series. Results indicate that: (1) Inner Mongolia is dominated by decreasing precipitation, and precipitation deficit may further deteriorate the shortage of water resources; (2) precipitation extremes are not dominant in this province, and most extreme precipitation indices are generally decreasing; (3) wet spells with short duration are prevalent in this province and the occurrence and fractional contribution of short-duration wet spells are increasing; (4) daily precipitation events with light and moderate intensity are dominant in this province and the occurrence and fractional contribution of moderate precipitation are increasing; (5) a higher risk of droughts can be expected in summer and precipitation in winter and spring is increasing, which imply evident seasonality and seasonal shifts of precipitation changes within this province.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was financially supported by the Forestry Industry Research special funds for Public Welfare Projects ‘‘Study of water resource control function of typical forest vegetation in the region of Yangtze river delta’’ (No: 201104005-04) and fully supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No: 51109109, 41375006), National Basic Research Program of China (No: 31200534) and National Key Technology Research and Development Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (No: 2012BAC23B01, 2012BAD16B0305). We would like to thank the National Climate Centre (NCC) in Beijing for providing valuable climate datasets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Agricultural Meteorology, College of Applied Meteorology, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Jin Huang

  2. Applied Hydrometeorological Research Institute, Key Laboratory of Meteorological Disaster of Ministry of Education, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Ning six Road 219, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Shanlei Sun

  3. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Atmospheric Environment Monitoring and Pollution Control, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Jin Huang & Yan Xue

  4. Jiangsu Key Laboratory of Forestry Ecological Engineering, College of Forest Source and Environment, Nanjing Forestry University, Nanjing, 210037, China

    Jinchi Zhang

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  1. Jin Huang
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  2. Shanlei Sun
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  3. Yan Xue
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  4. Jinchi Zhang
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Correspondence to Shanlei Sun.

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Responsible Editor: J.-T. Fasullo.

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Huang, J., Sun, S., Xue, Y. et al. Changing characteristics of precipitation during 1960–2012 in Inner Mongolia, northern China. Meteorol Atmos Phys 127, 257–271 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-014-0363-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00703-014-0363-z

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