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The main causes of changes in actual evapotranspiration and terrestrial water storage over the Eurasia inland basin
  • zhaofei liu
zhaofei liu
Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

The climate of the Eurasia inland basin (EIB) is characterized by limited precipitation and high potential evapotranspiration; as such, water storage in the EIB is vulnerable to global warming and human activities. There is increasing evidence pointing to varying trends in water storage across different regions; however, a consistent conclusion on the main attributes of these trends is lacking. Based on the hydrological budget in a closed inland basin, the main attributes of changes in actual evapotranspiration (AET) and terrestrial water storage (TWS) were identified for the EIB and each closed basin. In the EIB and most of its closed basins, the TWS and AET showed significantly decreasing and non-significantly increasing trends, respectively. The primary cause underpinning the significantly decreasing TWS in the EIB was increasing AET. Approximately 70% of the increase in AET has been supplied by increased irrigation diversions and glacial melt runoff. At the basin scale, similar to the EIB, changes in AET were the predominant factor driving changes in TWS in most basins; the exception to this was the Balkhash Lake basin (BLB), Iran inland river basin (IIRB), Qaidam basin (QB), and Turgay River basin (TuRB). In these basins, changes in precipitation largely contributed to the TWS changes. The AET consumption of other water resources was the main factor contributing to AET changes in seven of 16 basins, including the Aral Sea, Caspian Sea, Junggar, Monglia Plateau, Qiangtang Plateau, and Tarim River basins. The increase in precipitation contributed more than 60% of increasing AET in four of 16 basins, particularly in the Helmand River basin and QB (>90%). Changes in precipitation and consumption by other water supply sources contributed to approximately half of the AET changes in the other five basins, including the Inner Mongolia Plateau, Issyk-Kul Sarysu, BLB, IIRB, and TuRB basins.
05 Oct 2021Submitted to Hydrological Processes
07 Oct 2021Submission Checks Completed
07 Oct 2021Assigned to Editor
12 Oct 2021Reviewer(s) Assigned
29 Nov 2021Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
14 Dec 2021Editorial Decision: Revise Major
28 Dec 20211st Revision Received
28 Dec 2021Submission Checks Completed
28 Dec 2021Assigned to Editor
06 Jan 2022Reviewer(s) Assigned
13 Jan 2022Review(s) Completed, Editorial Evaluation Pending
13 Jan 2022Editorial Decision: Accept