Simulations of water resource changes in eastern and central China in the past 130 years by a regional climate model

Anthropogenic influences on regional climate and water resources over East Asia are simulated by using a regional model nested to a global model. The changes of land use/land cover (LULC) and CO 2 concentration are considered. The results show that variations of LULC and CO 2 concentration during the past 130 years caused a warming trend in many regions of East Asia. The most remarkable temperature increase occurred in Inner Mongolia, Northeast and North China, whereas temperature decreased in Gansu Province and north of Sichuan Province. LULC and CO 2 changes over the past 130 years resulted in a decreasing trend of precipitation in the Huaihe River valley, Shandong Byland, and Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, but precipitation increased along the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the middle reaches of the Yellow River, and parts of South China. This pattern of precipitation change with changes in surface evapotranspiration may have caused a more severe drought in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River valley. The drought trend, however, weakened in the mid and upper reaches of the Yellow River valley, and the Yangtze River valley floods were increasing. In addition, changes in LULC and CO 2 concentration during the past 130 years led to adjustments in the East Asian monsoon circulation, which further affected water vapor transport and budget, making North China warm and dry, the Sichuan basin cold and wet, and East China warm and wet.