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Variation in transboundary flow of Nujiang River and its correlation with summer monsoon under the effect of the Longitudinal Range-Gorge

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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

The relationship between the variations of the Nujiang River transboundary flow and the summer monsoon activity under the topographical effect of the Longitudinal Range-Gorge (LRG) is examined. The study is based on statistical analysis of the observed river flow data, and their correlation with the reanalyzed U/V wind fields of the National Centers for Environment Prediction (NCEP) and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), and the data of the Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is concluded that the transboundary river flow is predominantly concentrated in the wet or rainy season (from May to October), particularly in the summer or flood season (from June to August). There is a clear tendency for the transboundary river flow to increase with time since 1970s, particularly apparent since 1980s. Due to the topographical “east-west barrier and north-south corridor” effects of the LRG, the summer river flow variations are largely correlated with winds of the southerly and northerly at both high and low altitudes. In contrast, the river flow variations are apparently correlated with winds of the easterly and westerly only at the high altitudes, not at the low altitudes. Negative correlation between the OLR and the river flow variations is also apparent. These relationships are quantitatively described using two summer monsoon indices proposed in this paper. The index MI 2 includes both dynamical and thermodynamical effects and gives a generally good representation of the transboundary river flow variations in the LRG region of the Nujiang River basin. Larger MI 2 represents stronger summer monsoon activity and higher transboundary river flow, while smaller MI 2 suggests weaker monsoon circulation and lower water flow.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, School of Resource Environment and Earth Science, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China

    You WeiHong & Guo ZhiRong

  2. Department of Atmospheric Sciences, Nanjing Information Engineering University, Nanjing, 210044, China

    Guo ZhiRong

  3. Asia International Rivers Center, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China

    He DaMing

Authors
  1. You WeiHong
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  2. Guo ZhiRong
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  3. He DaMing
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to You WeiHong.

Additional information

Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2003CB415100), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 40575046), and Natural Science Foundation of Yunnan Provence (Grant No. 2004D0005M)

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You, W., Guo, Z. & He, D. Variation in transboundary flow of Nujiang River and its correlation with summer monsoon under the effect of the Longitudinal Range-Gorge. Chin. Sci. Bull. 52 (Suppl 2), 148–155 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-007-7009-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-007-7009-1

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