Spatiotemporal variations of agricultural water footprint and its economic benefits in Xinjiang, northwestern China

Agriculture is the largest water user and is the main driving force behind water stress in Xinjiang, northwestern China. In this study, the water footprint (WF) (blue, green and gray WF) of main crop production and their temporal and spatial characteristics in Xinjiang were estimated in 2006, 2010, 2014 and 2018. The blue water footprint deficit (BWFd) was conducted and food productivity and economic benefits of WF were also analyzed via the water consumption per output value (food productivity and economic benefits). The results reveal that the WF increased from 22.75 to 44.16 billion m3 during 2006–2018 in Xinjiang, of which cotton, corn and wheat are main contributors of WF. In terms of different regions, corn has the largest WF in north Xinjiang and cotton has the largest WF in south and east Xinjiang. The BWFd broadened from − 11.51 to + 13.26 billion m3 in Xinjiang with the largest increased BWFd in Kashgar (from − 3.35 to 1.40 billion m3) and Aksu (from − 2.92 to 2.23 billion m3) of south Xinjiang and in Shihezi (from − 0.11 to 2.90 billion m3) of north Xinjiang. In addition, the water footprint food productivity does not well correspond with the water footprint economic benefits in prefectures of Xinjiang. It means we should consider the food yields priority and economic benefits priority to formulate a scientific and effective supervisor mode to realize the sustainable management of agricultural water in prefectures of Xinjiang.

The Genesis of the Askartor Be-Mo Deposit in the North Xinjiang, Northwest China: Evidence From Geology, Geochemistry, U-Pb, and Re-Os Geochronology

The Askartor Be-Mo deposit is located in the southeastern area of the Chinese Altay orogenic belt in Xinjiang, NW China. Zircon U-Pb data show that there are two periods of magmatic activities in the Askartor Be-Mo ore district, namely, the Devonian granodiorite (386.8 ± 2.6 Ma) and biotite granite (385.4 ± 4.4 Ma), and the Triassic two-mica granite (247.5 ± 2.2 Ma) and muscovite granite (231.4 ± 2.0 Ma). The zircon U-Pb age of pegmatoid orebody is 220.6 ± 1.6 Ma which coincides with the molybdenite Re-Os isochron age of 228.7 ± 7.1 Ma. The two-mica and muscovite granites belong to the high-K Calc-alkaline series with peraluminous features, and are characterized by high SiO2 (71.92–75.41 wt%), and Al2O3 (13.43–15.98 wt%), and low TiO2 (0.01–0.25 wt%), Fe2O3 (0.11–1.14 wt%) and CaO (0.07–0.76 wt%). The highly fractionated element ratios of Y/Ho, Zr/Hf and Nb/Ta, and the rare earth element tetrad effect occur in the muscovite granite, indicating the fluid exsolution occurs at the late stage of magma evolution, and the muscovite granite experienced the strong self-metasomatism. Rayleigh fractional calculations show that the Askartor Be-Mo deposit is the product of multistage fractional crystallization of initial Be-enriched magma.

Moisture evolution in North Xinjiang (northwest China) during the last 8000 years linked to the westerlies’ winter half-year precipitation

Winter half-year precipitation dominates variations in hydroclimatic conditions in North Xinjiang, but few researchers have focused on this very important aspect of the Holocene climate. Here we report multiproxy evidence of Holocene hydroclimate changes from the sediments of Wulungu Lake in North Xinjiang. The site is a closed terminal lake fed mainly by meltwater from snow and ice, and today the area is climatically dominated by the westerlies. Grain-size end-member analysis implies an important mode of variation that indicates a gradually increasing moisture trend, with superimposed centennial-scale variations, since 8000 cal yr BP. From 8000 to 5350 cal yr BP, a permanent lake developed, and the lake level gradually rose. Between 5350 and 500 cal yr BP, the moisture status increased rapidly, with the wettest climate occurring between 3200 and 500 cal yr BP. After 500 cal yr BP, the lake level fell. The trend of increasing Holocene wetness indicates a rising winter precipitation in North Xinjiang during the Holocene. This was due to an increase in upwind vapor concentrations caused by increased evaporation and strength of the westerlies, which were determined by the increasing boreal winter insolation and its latitudinal gradient.

A Model-Based Analysis of Spatio-Temporal Changes of the Urban Expansion in Arid Area of Western China: A Case Study in North Xinjiang Economic Zone

Investigation of urban expansion can provide a better understanding of the urbanization process and its driving forces, which is critical for environmental management and land use planning. Total of 514 sampling points from the aerial photos and field sampling were applied to assess the image accuracy. A Conversion of Land Use and its Effect at Small Region Extent (CLUE-S) model was established to simulate the urbanization process at the township level in the North Xinjiang Economic Zone (NXEZ) of western China. Historical land use and land cover changes with multi-temporal remote sensing data were retrieved, and the underlying driving forces were explored by training the CLUE-S model. Moreover, future changes in urban development were simulated under different scenarios. Results showed that the overall accuracy reaches larger than 80% for the years of 2002, 2005, and 2007, and the corresponding kappa coefficient is bigger than 0.8. The NXEZ is at a premature development stage compared with urban clusters in eastern China. Before 1999, the driving force in this region was primary industry development. In recent years, secondary industries started to show significance in urbanization. These findings indicate that the industrial base and economic development in the NXEZ are still relatively weak and have not taken a strong leading role. When industry and population become the main driving factors, the regional economy will enter a new stage of leap-forward development, which in turn will stimulate a new round of rapid urbanization.