Spatiotemporal Variations of Terrestrial Water Storage and Driving Factors in the Water Towers of Northwest China Based on GRACE and Multi-Source Data Sets

IF 5 1区地球科学 Q2 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Water Resources Research Pub Date : 2025-09-27 DOI:10.1029/2024wr039490

Jiayuan Feng, Bingjie Li, Jinxi Song, Bin Tang, Myint Myint Nyein, Bawa Precious Tani

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Abstract

Mountains represent important water towers and thus are the primary water suppliers for downstream areas. However, divergent trends in terrestrial water storage (TWS) in water towers and their driving factors have not been clarified. This study investigated water tower units (WTUs) in Northwest China (NWC) and used GRACE/GRACE-FO and multi-source remote sensing data to analyze the spatiotemporal changes in TWS over the past 20 years. Based on correlation analysis and structural equation modeling, the effects of precipitation (PRE), evapotranspiration (ET), temperature (TEM) and NDVI on TWS were revealed. The results showed that TWS decreased in the WTUs of the Junggar and Ili River basins while increasing in the Qaidam and Yellow River basins. Glacier retreat and snowmelt were the components that contributed the most to TWS changes in the WTUs of the Tarim, Junggar, Ili River, and Irtysh River basins, while lake expansion, groundwater, and soil moisture contributed the most in the remaining WTUs. Additionally, the dominant roles of climate and vegetation factors on TWS changes varied significantly among the WTUs. For example, glacial retreat and increased ET caused by climate warming and vegetation greening exacerbated the TWS reductions in WTUs of the Junggar and Ili River basins, whereas vegetation greening dominated TWS changes within the Yellow River basin by affecting groundwater storage and soil moisture. These findings are crucial for understanding changes in the hydrological cycle of water towers and optimizing future watershed water resource management strategies.

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基于GRACE和多源数据的西北水塔陆地储水量时空变化及其驱动因素

山脉代表着重要的水塔，因此是下游地区的主要水源。然而，水塔陆地储水量的分化趋势及其驱动因素尚未明确。以西北地区水塔单元（wtu）为研究对象，利用GRACE/GRACE- fo和多源遥感数据分析了近20年来水塔单元的时空变化特征。基于相关分析和结构方程模型，揭示了降水（PRE）、蒸散发（ET）、温度（TEM）和NDVI对TWS的影响。结果表明：准噶尔和伊犁河流域的水热通量减小，柴达木和黄河流域的水热通量增大；在塔里木、准噶尔、伊犁河和额尔齐斯河流域，冰川退缩和融雪是对水热通量变化贡献最大的组分，其余的水热通量贡献最大的组分为湖泊扩张、地下水和土壤水分。此外，气候因子和植被因子对不同wtu间TWS变化的主导作用差异显著。例如，气候变暖和植被绿化导致的冰川退缩和ET增加加剧了准噶尔河和伊犁河流域水热通量的减少，而植被绿化通过影响地下水蓄水量和土壤湿度主导了黄河流域水热通量的变化。这些发现对于理解水塔水循环的变化和优化未来流域水资源管理策略至关重要。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Water Resources Research 环境科学-湖沼学

CiteScore

8.80

自引率

13.00%

发文量

599

审稿时长

3.5 months

期刊介绍： Water Resources Research (WRR) is an interdisciplinary journal that focuses on hydrology and water resources. It publishes original research in the natural and social sciences of water. It emphasizes the role of water in the Earth system, including physical, chemical, biological, and ecological processes in water resources research and management, including social, policy, and public health implications. It encompasses observational, experimental, theoretical, analytical, numerical, and data-driven approaches that advance the science of water and its management. Submissions are evaluated for their novelty, accuracy, significance, and broader implications of the findings.