Change of Precipitation Distribution in Yellow River Basin for Recent 40-year Period

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Abstract

Dry-up of the Yellow River started in 1972 and occurred every year until 1999. We initially thought that the phenomenon came from a reduction of precipitation and/or increase of water consumption in the basin. In this study, we discussed precipitation trends for the 40 years from 1961 to 2000. <br> The average precipitation for the 40 years was 344mm, 536mm, and 647mm in the upper basin, the middle basin and the lower basin, respectively. We could find no statistical significance for a declining trend of precipitation for the three basins. Therefore we concluded that there was no trend of reduction in precipitation for the Yellow River basin in this recent 40-year period. <br> Rain pattern changes in the basin were investigated using the power spectrum of daily precipitation. Although remarkable changes were not found in the southern part of Yellow River basin, precipitation for period of less then 10 days and precipitation for single rain events both decreased in the northern part of the basin after the 1980’. Since water erosion tends to occur in the Loess Plateau, soil and water conservation policy will become more important for this region.

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