Dry/wet climate zoning and delimitation of arid areas of Northwest China based on a data-driven fashion

作     者：QingLing GENG PuTe WU QingFeng ZHANG XiNing ZHAO YuBao WANG 

作者机构：Institute of Soil and Water Conservation Chinese Academy of Sciences and Ministry of Water Resources Institute of Water Saving Agriculture in Arid Regions of China Northwest A&F University National Engineering Research Center for Water Saving Irrigation at Yangling Northwest A&F University 

出 版 物：《Journal of Arid Land》 (干旱区科学（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2014年第6卷第3期

页      面：287-299页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 070601[理学-气象学] 0706[理学-大气科学] 

基　　金：supported by the Special Foundation of National Science & Technology Supporting Plan (2011BAD29B09) the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31172039) the ‘111’ Project from the Ministry of Edu- cation and the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (B12007) the Supporting Project of Young Technology Nova of Shaanxi Province (2010KJXX-04) the Supporting Plan of Young Elites and basic operational cost of research from Northwest A&F University 

主　　题：arid areas classifications climate zoning factor-cluster analysis 

摘      要：The division of arid areas is important in water and land resources management, planning and for a long-term agricultural, economic and social planning. Northwest China （NW） dominates the main arid areas in China. There is thus a need to adopt adequate concepts relative to the scope of arid areas of NW China and identify its climate types and characteristics. In this study, we analyzed climatic data over the last 30 years （1981-2010） from 191 stations in three provinces and three autonomous regions of NW China. The factor-cluster analysis technique （FC）, an objective and automated method was employed to classify the dry/wet climate zones. The traditional methods with predefined thresholds were adopted for providing a comparison with FC. The results showed that the wet/dry climate zones by FC were mainly distributed along mountains, rivers and desert borders. Climate-division boundaries relied heavily on the major terrain features surrounding the grouped stations. It also showed that the climate was dry in the plain sandy areas but relatively wet in the high mountain areas. FC method can reflect the climate characteristics more fully in NW China with varied and complicated topography, and outperform the tradi- tional climate classifications. Arid areas of NW China were defined as four climate types, including five resultant classes in FC classifications. The Qinling and Da Hinggan Mountains were two important boundaries, besides main administrative boundaries. The results also indicated that there are some differences between two traditional clas- sifications. The precipitation moved and fluctuated to an extent, which confirmed that climate change played an important role in the dry/wet climate zoning, and the boundaries of dry/wet climate zones might change and migrate with time. This paper is expected to provide a more in-depth understanding on the climate characteristics in arid areas of NW China, and then contribute to formulate reasonable water and land manageme