Assessing the Influence of Compounding Factors to the Water Level Variation of Erhai Lake

Climate change and human activities cause lake water level (WL) fluctuations to exceed natural thresholds, with implications for the available water resources. Studies that explore WL change trends and the main driving forces that affect water level changes are essential for future lake water resource planning. This study uses the Mann–Kendall trend test method to explore the WL fluctuations trend and WL mutation in Erhai Lake (EL) during 1990–2019 and explore the main driving factors affecting water level changes, such as characteristic WL adjustments. We also use the principal component analysis to quantify the contribution of compound influencing factors to the water level change in different periods. The results showed that the WL rose at a rate of 47 mm/a during 1990–2019 but was influenced by the characteristic WL adjustment of EL in 2004 and the WL mutation in 2005. In 1990–2004, the WL showed a downtrend caused by the increase in water resource development and utilization intensity, and in 2005–2019, the WL showed an uptrend caused by the combined decrease in evaporation, outflow, and the increase in water supply for water conservancy projects. Additionally, the largest contributions of outflow to WL change were 19.34% and 21.61% in 1990–2019 and 1990–2004, respectively, while the largest contribution of cultivated area to WL change was 20.48% in 2005–2019, and it is worth noting that the largest contribution of climate change to WL change was 40.35% in 2013–2019. In the future, under the increase in outflow and evaporation and the interception of inflow, the WL will decline (Hurst exponent = 0.048). Therefore, planning for the protection and management of lakes should consider the impact of human activities, while also paying attention to the influence of climate change.

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Quantifying the Impact of Climate Change and Human Activities on Streamflow in a Semi-Arid Watershed with the Budyko Equation Incorporating Dynamic Vegetation Information

Water ◽

10.3390/w10121781 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 10 (12) ◽

pp. 1781 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Lei Tian ◽

Jiming Jin ◽

Pute Wu ◽

Guo-yue Niu

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Activities ◽

Yellow River ◽

Resource Planning ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

Climate Change Information ◽

Grain For Green Project ◽

Drying Trend ◽

The Impact ◽

The Wuding River

Understanding hydrological responses to climate change and land use and land cover change (LULCC) is important for water resource planning and management, especially for water-limited areas. The annual streamflow of the Wuding River Watershed (WRW), the largest sediment source of the Yellow River in China, has decreased significantly over the past 50 years at a rate of 5.2 mm/decade. Using the Budyko equation, this study investigated this decrease with the contributions from climate change and LULCC caused by human activities, which have intensified since 1999 due to China’s Grain for Green Project (GFGP). The Budyko parameter that represents watershed characteristics was more reasonably configured and derived to improve the performance of the Budyko equation. Vegetation changes were included in the Budyko equation to further improve its simulations, and these changes showed a significant upward trend due to the GFGP based on satellite data. An improved decomposition method based on the Budyko equation was used to quantitatively separate the impact of climate change from that of LULCC on the streamflow in the WRW. Our results show that climate change generated a dominant effect on the streamflow and decreased it by 72.4% in the WRW. This climatic effect can be further explained with the drying trend of the Palmer Severity Drought Index, which was calculated based only on climate change information for the WRW. In the meantime, although human activities in this watershed have been very intense, especially since 1999, vegetation cover increase contributed a 27.6% decline to the streamflow, which played a secondary role in affecting hydrological processes in the WRW.

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The Impact of Human Activities on the Water-Level Changes of Bosten Lake

2011 International Conference on Computer Distributed Control and Intelligent Environmental Monitoring ◽

10.1109/cdciem.2011.70 ◽

2011 ◽

Author(s):

Gao Huazhong

Keyword(s):

Water Level ◽

Human Activities ◽

Bosten Lake ◽

Water Level Changes ◽

The Impact

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Attribution of Runoff Variation in the Headwaters of the Yangtze River Based on the Budyko Hypothesis

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph16142506 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 16 (14) ◽

pp. 2506 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Junlong Liu ◽

Jin Chen ◽

Jijun Xu ◽

Yuru Lin ◽

Zhe Yuan ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Resource ◽

Change Point ◽

Human Activities ◽

Yangtze River ◽

Potential Evapotranspiration ◽

Test Method ◽

The Yangtze River ◽

Runoff Changes ◽

Runoff Depth

Quantifying the contributions of climate change and human activities on runoff changes is of great importance for water resource management, sustainable water resource utilization, and sustainable development of society. In this study, hydrological and climatic data from hydrological and meteorological stations in the headwaters of the Yangtze River (YRHA) from 1966 to 2013 were used to quantitatively attribute the runoff change to the impacts of climate change and human activities separately. Firstly, the change trends in precipitation, runoff depth and potential evapotranspiration were analyzed by the Mann-Kendall test method. Three methods, secondly, including ordered clustering, Mann-Kendall and cumulative anomaly curve were adopted to detect the change points of runoff at Zhimenda hydrological station and partition the whole study period into two sub-periods at the change point (base and impacted periods). Then, the elasticity coefficient method based on the Budyko hypothesis was applied to calculate elasticity coefficients of runoff to precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and land use/cover during the two periods, and to evaluate the contributions of climate change and human activities. Results indicated that during 1966–2013, runoff depth, precipitation and potential evapotranspiration all showed a significant increasing trend, with increasing rates of 7.26 mm decade−1, 18.725 mm decade−1 and 7.228 mm decade−1, respectively. One change point (2004) was detected for the annual runoff, and 1966–2003 and 2004–2013 were respectively identified as base and impacted periods. The results of elasticity coefficients showed that the runoff depth was most sensitive to the change of precipitation during the two periods. The relative contributions of precipitation, potential evapotranspiration and parameter n to runoff changes were 99.7%, −6.08% and 3.88%, respectively. Furthermore, the coupled contribution rate of other factors was less than 2.5%. Generally, results indicated that precipitation is the main factor on the historical runoff changes in this basin.

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The effects of ENSO, climate change and human activities on the water level of Lake Toba, Indonesia: a critical literature review

Geoscience Letters ◽

10.1186/s40562-021-00191-x ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hendri Irwandi ◽

Mohammad Syamsu Rosid ◽

Terry Mart

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Level ◽

Human Activities ◽

Southern Oscillation ◽

Climatic Conditions ◽

Water Levels ◽

Dominant Factor ◽

Climate Projections ◽

Continuous Increase ◽

The Future

AbstractThis research quantitatively and qualitatively analyzes the factors responsible for the water level variations in Lake Toba, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. According to several studies carried out from 1993 to 2020, changes in the water level were associated with climate variability, climate change, and human activities. Furthermore, these studies stated that reduced rainfall during the rainy season due to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the continuous increase in the maximum and average temperatures were some of the effects of climate change in the Lake Toba catchment area. Additionally, human interventions such as industrial activities, population growth, and damage to the surrounding environment of the Lake Toba watershed had significant impacts in terms of decreasing the water level. However, these studies were unable to determine the factor that had the most significant effect, although studies on other lakes worldwide have shown these factors are the main causes of fluctuations or decreases in water levels. A simulation study of Lake Toba's water balance showed the possibility of having a water surplus until the mid-twenty-first century. The input discharge was predicted to be greater than the output; therefore, Lake Toba could be optimized without affecting the future water level. However, the climate projections depicted a different situation, with scenarios predicting the possibility of extreme climate anomalies, demonstrating drier climatic conditions in the future. This review concludes that it is necessary to conduct an in-depth, comprehensive, and systematic study to identify the most dominant factor among the three that is causing the decrease in the Lake Toba water level and to describe the future projected water level.

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The impact of climate change and human activities on the Aral Sea Basin over the past 50 years

Atmospheric Research ◽

10.1016/j.atmosres.2020.105125 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 245 ◽

pp. 105125 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Xuanxuan Wang ◽

Yaning Chen ◽

Zhi Li ◽

Gonghuan Fang ◽

Fei Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Human Activities ◽

Aral Sea ◽

Aral Sea Basin ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

The Past ◽

The Impact

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Managing the Water-Energy Nexus within a Climate Change Context—Lessons from the Experience of Cuenca, Ecuador

Sustainability ◽

10.3390/su11215918 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (21) ◽

pp. 5918

Author(s):

Gianoli ◽

Bhatnagar

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Energy Saving ◽

Rainwater Harvesting ◽

Secondary Data ◽

Resource Planning ◽

Primary Data ◽

Mitigation And Adaptation ◽

Water Energy Nexus ◽

The Impact ◽

Metabolic Cycle

The impact of climate change dynamics has a multiplicative effect when the interlinkages between water and energy are considered. This also applies to climate change co-benefits that derive from adaptation and mitigation initiatives implemented at the urban level and that address the water-energy nexus. A better understanding of the water-energy nexus is a precondition for integrated resource planning that optimizes the use of scarce resources. Against this background, the paper assesses the potential impact of water-energy saving technologies (WEST) on the water-energy nexus of Cuenca, Ecuador, focusing on how vulnerability to climate change may affect the water metabolic cycle of the urban area. Water-energy saving technologies such as rainwater harvesting, solar water heaters, and micro water turbines, reduce water-related energy consumption and mitigate greenhouse gases emissions; thereby illustrating the potential to generate climate change mitigation and adaptation co-benefits. The paper relies on primary data collected through interviews and a survey as well as secondary data in order to assess the extent to which water-energy saving technologies influence the water-energy nexus in Cuenca’s urban water metabolic cycle. Within the context of climate change, the paper develops a business-as-usual scenario and assesses how this is modified by the implementation of water-energy saving technologies.

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Lake water level response to drought in a lake-rich region explained by lake and landscape characteristics

Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences ◽

10.1139/cjfas-2019-0270 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 77 (11) ◽

pp. 1836-1845

Author(s):

K. Martin Perales ◽

Catherine L. Hein ◽

Noah R. Lottig ◽

M. Jake Vander Zanden

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Water Level ◽

Lake Water ◽

Water Levels ◽

Water Level Fluctuations ◽

Lake Area ◽

Lake Water Level ◽

Landscape Characteristics ◽

Lake Ecology ◽

Coarse Woody Habitat

Climate change is altering hydrologic regimes, with implications for lake water levels. While lakes within lake districts experience the same climate, lakes may exhibit differential climate vulnerability regarding water level response to drought. We took advantage of a recent drought (∼2005–2010) and estimated changes in lake area, water level, and shoreline position on 47 lakes in northern Wisconsin using high-resolution orthoimagery and hypsographic curves. We developed a model predicting water level response to drought to identify characteristics of the most vulnerable lakes in the region, which indicated that low-conductivity seepage lakes found high in the landscape, with little surrounding wetland and highly permeable soils, showed the greatest water level declines. To explore potential changes in the littoral zone, we estimated coarse woody habitat (CWH) loss during the drought and found that drainage lakes lost 0.8% CWH while seepage lakes were disproportionately impacted, with a mean loss of 40% CWH. Characterizing how lakes and lake districts respond to drought will further our understanding of how climate change may alter lake ecology via water level fluctuations.

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Separating the Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities on Runoff: A Review of Method and Application

Water ◽

10.3390/w12082201 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 12 (8) ◽

pp. 2201 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Feng Zeng ◽

Ming-Guo Ma ◽

Dong-Rui Di ◽

Wei-Yu Shi

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Research Methods ◽

Human Activities ◽

Future Research ◽

Research Needs ◽

Relevant Research ◽

Impact Of Climate Change ◽

The Impact ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

Separating the impact of climate change and human activities on runoff is an important topic in hydrology, and a large number of methods and theories have been widely used. In this paper, we review the current papers on separating the impacts of climate and human activities on runoff, summarize the progress of relevant research methods and applications in recent years, and discuss future research needs and directions.

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Attribution Analysis of Hydrological Drought Risk Under Climate Change and Human Activities: A Case Study on Kuye River Basin in China

Water ◽

10.3390/w11101958 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (10) ◽

pp. 1958 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Zhang ◽

Wang ◽

Zhou

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

River Basin ◽

Human Activities ◽

Large Scale ◽

Research Area ◽

Drought Severity ◽

Drought Risk ◽

Drought Duration ◽

Recurrence Period ◽

The Impact

This study conducted quantitative diagnosis on the impact of climate change and human activities on drought risk. Taking the Kuye river basin (KRB) in China as the research area, we used variation point diagnosis, simulation of precipitation and runoff, drought risk assessment, and attribution quantification. The results show that: (1) the annual runoff sequence of KRB changed significantly after 1979, which was consistent with the introduction of large-scale coal mining; (2) under the same drought recurrence period, the drought duration and severity in the human activity stage were significantly worse than in the natural and simulation stages, indicating that human activities changed the drought risk in this area; and (3) human activities had little impact on drought severity in the short duration and low recurrence period, but had a greater impact in the long duration and high recurrence period. These results provide scientific guidance for the management, prevention, and resistance of drought; and guarantee sustainable economic and social development in the KRB.

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