Study on the Variation of Terrestrial Water Storage and the Identification of Its Relationship with Hydrological Cycle Factors in the Tarim River Basin, China

Abstract

The terrestrial water storage anomalies (TWSAs) in the Tarim River Basin (TRB) were investigated and the related factors of water variations in the mountain areas were analyzed based on Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) data, in situ river discharge, and precipitation during the period of 2002-2015. The results showed that three obvious flood events in 2005, 2006, and 2010 resulted in significant water surplus, although TWSA decreased in the TRB during 2002-2015. However, while the significant water deficits in 2004, 2009, and 2011 were associated with obvious negative river discharge anomalies at the hydrological stations, the significant water deficits were not well consistent with the negative anomalies of precipitation. While the river discharge behaved with low correlations with TWSA, linear relationships between TWSA and climate indices were insignificant in the TRB from 2002 to 2015. The closest relationship was found between TWSA and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), with correlations of -0.56 and 0.58 during January 2010-December 2015 and during January 2006-December 2009, respectively. Meanwhile, the correlation coefficient between TWSA and El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index in the period of April 2002-December 2005 was -0.25, which reached the significant level (p<0.05).