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The influence of large-scale climate phenomena on precipitation in the Ordos Basin, China

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Abstract

Large-scale atmospheric circulations significantly affect regional precipitation patterns. However, it is not well known whether and how these phenomena affect regional precipitation distribution in northern China. This paper reported the individual and coupled effects of El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Indian summer monsoon (ISM), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) on annual precipitation for the Ordos Basin, an arid and semi-arid basin, currently with major industries of coal, fossil oil, natural gas, and halite in north central China. Our results showed that ENSO and ISM exerted substantial impact on annual precipitation while the impact of PDO and AMO was relatively limited. There were 24 and 15 out of 33 stations showing significant differences (p < 0.1) in annual precipitation (from 1950 to 2013) for ENSO and ISM, respectively. The median precipitation across the basin during El Niño years was 21.49 % higher than that during La Niña years and 17.28 % higher during the positive phase of ISM years compared to the negative phase of the ISM years. The impacts of ENSO and ISM on precipitation were enhanced during a PDO cold phase but weakened in a PDO warm phase. The impact of ENSO was still enhanced by an AMO warm phase. The effects of climatic phenomena on precipitation showed a strong spatial difference in the Ordos Basin. The impact of ENSO was mostly evident around the edges of the basin while the impact of ISM decreases from south to north. The deserts (i.e., Hobq Desert and Mu Us Sandy Land) in the center of the basin were less affected by these large-scale climatic phenomena. An improved understanding of such relationships would be helpful in water resource planning and disaster management for the Ordos Basin.

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Acknowledgments

This work is partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China 41402210, 41272245, 40972165, and 40572150 and China Scholarship Council 201508120014. Our gratitude is also extended to Dr. Lihe Yin for his assistance in data collection. We also thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments to improve the quality of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Environment, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China

    Yu Zhong, Liyuan Lei, Youcun Liu, Yonghong Hao & Chris Zou

  2. College of Urban and Environmental Science, Tianjin Normal University, Tianjin, China

    Yu Zhong & Liyuan Lei

  3. Department of Natural Resource Ecology and Management, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, USA

    Chris Zou

  4. Department of Geology & Geophysics, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Hongbin Zhan

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  1. Yu Zhong
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  2. Liyuan Lei
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  3. Youcun Liu
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  4. Yonghong Hao
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  5. Chris Zou
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  6. Hongbin Zhan
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Correspondence to Yonghong Hao or Chris Zou.

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Zhong, Y., Lei, L., Liu, Y. et al. The influence of large-scale climate phenomena on precipitation in the Ordos Basin, China. Theor Appl Climatol 130, 791–805 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1904-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-016-1904-9

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