Yongping Shen

• Bachelor of Engineering；Master of Sciences
• Professor at Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute，Chinese Academy of Sciences

The arid northwestern China is the most vulnerable region to climate change, where the variability of seasonally extreme temperature events has profound implications for both its hydrological, ecological, and human systems. In this study, we applied 15 indicators of extreme temperature to analyze the spatial and temporal variation of its occurrence...

Spinning is widely used in aerospace and automobile industries, and non-axisymmetric spinning is developing with the increasing demand of irregular shape forming. Based on this, an avoidance groove at the middle of the tube (AGMT) which has a potential application value in aircraft structure weight reduction is proposed and formed by using non-axis...

Drifting snow is a significant factor in snow redistribution and cascading snow incidents. However, field observations of drifting snow are relatively difficult due to limitations in observation technology, and drifting snow observation data are scarce. The FlowCapt sensor is a relatively stable sensor that has been widely used in recent years to o...

Optimizing the functions and services provided by the mountain cryosphere will maximize its benefits and minimize the negative impacts experienced by the populations that live and work in the cryosphere-fed regions. The high sensitivity of the mountain cryosphere to climate change highlights the importance of evaluating cryospheric changes and any...

Spinning is widely used in aerospace and automobile industries, and non-axisymmetric spinning is developing with the increasing demand of irregular shape forming. Based on this, an avoidance groove at the middle of the tube (AGMT) which has potential application value in aircraft structure weight reduction is proposed and formed by using non-axisym...

Accurate simulation of snow cover process is of great significance to the study of climate change and the water cycle. In our study, the China Meteorological Forcing Dataset (CMFD) and ERA-Interim were used as driving data to simulate the dynamic changes in snow depth and snow water equivalent (SWE) in the Irtysh River Basin from 2000 to 2018 using...

With the influences of climate change and human activities, the resources and environment of “One Belt and One Road” are facing severe problems and challenges. This study aims to analyze the temporal and spatial dynamics of the drought environment and the response of vegetation cover to the drought by using drought indicators. Gravity Recovery and...

The terrestrial cryosphere functions to provide critical freshwater and serve societies and ecosystems, driving nature’s contributions to people (NCP). This becomes increasingly important for the oasis areas in Northwest China. The cryospheric meltwater is in demand to support the economy and reduce poverty, accompanied by growing requirements to p...

Snow cover and seasonally frozen ground (SFG) are the key cryospheric elements on the southern edge of Altai Mountains (SEAM). Quantifying the thermal effect of snow cover on the frozen ground remains challenging. Utilizing the datasets observed at Altai Kuwei Snow Station (AKSS) and by National Meteorological Stations of China Meteorological Admin...

Snowmelt water is a vital freshwater resource in the Altai Mountains of northwestern China. Yet its seasonal hydrological cycle characteristics could change under a warming climate and more rapid spring snowmelt. Here, we simulated snowmelt runoff dynamics in the Kayiertesi River catchment, from 2000 to 2016, by using an improved hydrological distr...

Snowfall in the Tianshan Mountains in China is frequent during winter; thus, avalanches have become a severe issue in snow-covered areas. Accumulation and metamorphosis, as well as hydrothermal exchanges with the environment, considerably affect the stability of snow on slopes. Therefore, a hydrothermal model of snow cover and its underlying surfac...

With snow cover changing worldwide in several worrisome ways, it is imperative to determine both the variability in snow cover in greater detail and its relationship with ongoing climate change. Here, we used the satellite-based snow cover extent (SCE) dataset of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to detect SCE variability and i...

Almost one-fifth of glacier area in China is already gone. These glaciers are the source of many of Asia’s largest rivers, which flow as far as Afghanistan, Vietnam and southern India. They comprise more than half of “Asia’s Water Tower,” the largest concentration of fresh water outside the polar regions.

Almost one-fifth of glacier area in China is already gone. These glaciers are the source of many of Asia’s largest rivers, which flow as far as Afghanistan, Vietnam and southern India. They comprise more than half of “Asia’s Water Tower,” the largest concentration of fresh water outside the polar regions. High Mountain Asia is one of the most clim...

With changing climatic conditions and snow cover regime, regional hydrological cycle for a snowy basin will change and further available surface water resources will be redistributed. Assessing snow meltwater effect on runoff is the key to water safety, under climate warming and fast social-economic developing status. In this study, stable isotopic...

The precipitation in the Tianshan Mountains and its response to global climate change is a hotspot in recent years. In this paper, precipitation dataset of 40 meteorological stations from 1951 through 2014 in the Tianshan Mountains and general climate indexes were used to analyze the precipitation changing trend in the Tianshan Mountains over the p...

Snowmelt water is an important freshwater resource in the Altay Mountains in north-west China; however, warming climate and rapid spring snowmelt can cause floods that endanger both public and personal property and safety. This study simulates snowmelt in the Kayiertesi River catchment using a temperature index model based on remote sensing coupled...

To analyze the hydrochemical characteristics of river water and snow meltwater during snow-melting period in the Kayiertesi River, the headwaters of the Ertis River, samples of river water and meltwater were collected every day during March and April, 2014. Furthermore, the combination of descriptive statistics, Gibbs Figure and Piper Triangular di...

To explore the effects of the underlying surface on snow properties and the “forest effects” on snow accumulation and ablation processes in the headwater area of the Irtysh River in the Chinese Altai Mountains, the physical properties of snow and certain snowmelt processes were investigated during the snowmelt period in 2014. Our observations showe...

Investigation of the evolution of the groundwater system and its mechanisms is critical to the sustainable management of water in river basins. Temporal and spatial distributions and characteristics of groundwater have undergone a tremendous change with the intensity of human activities in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin (HRB), the seco...

Snowmelt is a principal source for ground-water recharge and stream flows in mountainous regions of northwestern China. Knowledge of the timing, magnitude, and processes of snowmelt under changing climate conditions is required for appropriate water resource management. The Utah energy balance (UEB) model was used to simulate the development and me...

The hydrological processes of mountainous watersheds in inland river basins are complicated. It is absolutely significant to quantify mountainous runoff for social, economic and ecological purposes. This paper takes the mountainous watershed of the Heihe Mainstream River as a study area to simulate the hydrological processes of mountainous watershe...

Atmospheric water vapor transport (WVT) plays an important role in the Earth's climate system, especially in arid and semi-arid regions, but its physical mechanism has escaped wide attention. Here the distribution of WVT over Tarim River Basin and its relationships with local topography and precipitation are analyzed; the variation and trend of WVT...

Using U.S. NCEP/NCAR monthly mean reanalysis data (2.5°×2.5°) and daily precipitation data at 26 weather stations in Tarim River Basin from 1960 to 2009, spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of precipitation over Tarim River Basin (TRB) were analyzed. The results show that: 1) The spatial distribution of precipitation in TRB was in contrast wit...

Mountains have been described as the water towers of the world. Almost all major rivers have their sources in mountains; glaciers are important water resources that contribute meltwater to river discharge. Glaciers participate in the global water cycle and, with their solid water storage, are an important component of the water balance. As solid re...

The mountain watersheds of Kaidu River and Urumqi River, which separately originate from the south and north-side of the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, are selected as the study area. The characteristics and trends on variation of temperature, precipitation and runoff, and the correlativity between temperature, precipitation, and runoff were analy...

Based on the surface runoff, temperature and precipitation data over the last 50 years from eight representative rivers in Xinjiang, using Mann-Kendall trend and jump detection method, the paper investigated the long-term trend and jump point of time series, the surface runoff, mean annual temperature and annual precipitation. Meanwhile, the paper...

Changes in Glacier Mass Balance in Watershed of Sary Jaz-Kumarik Rivers of Tianshan Mountains in 1957-2006 and Their Impact on Water Resources and Trend to End of the 21th Century in Tarim River Basin

Under the influence of human activities, the differences in climate changes emerged obviously in the Aksu Oasis. The summer air temperature in Aksu City increased at a rate of 0.20°C·(10annum)−1, while the air temperature in Aler in summer decreased at a rate of −0.27°C·(10annum)−1. Human intervention has become the dominant factor in the the chang...

According to the division into subareas of water-resource distribution in China, and based on the Glacier Inventory of China (GIC), China's total glacier water storage is 5040.2 × 109 m3, 33.0% of which is distributed in the southwest drainage basins and 64.1% in the northwest inland drainage basins, forming enormous solid reservoirs with plentiful...

The Yangtze River Source Region has an area of 137,704 km 2. Its mean annual runoff of 12.52 billion m 3 , which was recorded by the Chumda Hydrological Station in 1961–2000, accounts for only 0.13 percent of the Yangtze River's total annual streamflow. The extensive rivers, lakes, wetlands, glaciers, snow fields, and permafrost of the Yangtze Rive...

This paper provides an overview of the current status of the cryosphere in China and its changes. Up-to-date statistics of the cryosphere in China are summarized based on the latest available data. There are 46,377 glaciers in China, covering an area of 59,425 km2. The glacier ice reserve is estimated to be about 5600 km3 and the annual glacier run...

Glacier-related floods, jokulhlaups, are frequent in the West China. Hydrological records of Kumarik River in the southern Tianshan show that jokulhlaups have occurred about once a year since 1956 from glacier-dammed Lake Merzbacher. The Lake Merzbacher was first discovered by Dr Gottfried Merzbacher in frontal valley of North Inylchek Glacier in A...

Runoff Changes in Aksu River Basin during1956-2006 and Their Impacts on Water Availability for Tarim River WANG Guo-ya1, SHEN Yong-ping2, SU Hong-chao3, WANG Jin4, MAO Wei-yi5, GAO Qian-zhao2, WANG Shun-de4 (1.State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of S...

Using annual precipitation and discharge data measured in the past five decades, this paper analyzed the regional differences over west China in terms of climate and discharge variations, and investigated the relationship between the regional characteristics and the activities of South and East Asian summer monsoon. Results revealed that the precip...

As a consequence of global warming and an enhanced water cycle, the climate changed in northwest China, most notably in the Xinjiang area in the year 1987. Precipitation, glacial melt water and river runoff and air temperature increased continuously during the last decades, as did also the water level of inland lakes and the frequency of flood disa...

Based on monthly and annual precipitation of the southern and northern slopes of the Tianger Range in the Tien Shan Mountains of China, the spatial-temporal variations of precipitation and their trends were analysed. The analysed precipitation series from the 1950s to 2002 was collected from nine meteorological and hydrological stations (i.e. hydro...

Based on the experiments conducted in an irrigated intercropping field in Zhangye Oasis in the middle reaches of Heihe River basin in 2004, the characteristics of radiation budget are analyzed. Furthermore, energy balance is calculated by using Bowen-Ratio Energy Balance (BREB) method. The results show that the ratio of the absorbed radiation to th...

Many have made efforts to clarify the climatic significance of stable isotopic variations in ice cores around central Asia through the study of stable isotopes in present-day precipitation. A new shallow ice core from Muztagata, in the eastern Pamirs, allows for a detailed comparison of annual δ18O variation with local meteorological data as well a...

Low-lying prairie wetland, which has characteristics of both grassland and wetland, has irreplaceable ecological functions in inland river basins of Northwest China. Owing to its small-scale distribution, so far, the observation and research on it are rare. The estimation of evapotranspiration is significant to ecological and environmental construc...

Under the impact of climatic warming, the glaciers in the High Asia in China have been retreating continuously with negative glacial mass balance in recent several decades. The retreat became more intensive in the past 10 years. The spatial pattern of the glacial retreat in the High Asia in China is that the smallest magnitude of retreat is in the...

A review of Holocene climatic variations in different parts of China shows that they were asynchronous. Proxy data from ice cores, pollen, loess, lacustrine sediments, and changes of sea and lake levels demonstrate that many warm and cold oscillations have occurred in China during the Holocene, including a most important climatic event known as the...

The relationship and feedback between landscape pattern, function and process serve to describe the behavior of a regional landscape. Based on landscape function characteristics such as biological productivity, soil nutrient content, vegetative cover, etc., a quantitative method and digital model for analyzing evolving landscape functionality in th...

Based on geographical and hydrological extents delimited, four principles are identified, as the bases for delineating the ranges of the source regions of the Yangtze and Yellow rivers in the paper. According to the comprehensive analysis of topographical characteristics, climate conditions, vegetation distribution and hydrological features, the so...

The regional hydrology and ecosystems of the Hexi Corridor region of northwestern China have changed over the last half century under the driving force of intense human activity and regional climate changes. Streamflow issuing from mountains in the eastern section of the Corridor by way of the Shiyang River has decreased significantly. Annual mount...

Taking the alpine cold meadow grassland in the southeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau as an example, this research deals with the characteristics of alpine meadow soil property changes, including soil nutrients, soil physical properties and soil moisture content under different land coverage conditions. With the degradation of grassland v...

Based on aerial photographs, topographical maps and the Landsat-5 image data, we have analyzed fluctuations of glaciers in the western Qilian Shan, northwest China, from the Little Ice Age (LIA) to 1990. The areas and volumes of glaciers in the whole considered region decreased 15% and 18%, respectively, from the LIA maximum to 1956.This trend of g...

The Quaternary climatic history of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau is reconstructed using Quaternary glacial geologic data. Four major glaciations are recognized: the Xixiabangma, Naynayxungla, Guxiang (the Penultimate), and Baiyu (the Last) Glaciation. These are dated at about 800–1170, 500–720, 130–300, and 10–70ka, respectively. These correspond to...

The runoff changes of arid inland river seriously influenced on the formations and changes of oasis in the lower reach. By the oasis patches dynamic modeling, the vegetation-water interrelated analysis, and the estimation of water demand by the ecological system, the dynamic tendency of the Ejina oasis in the lower reach of Heihe River Basin under...

Monitoring of frozen soil hydrology in macro-scale was performed by Chinese and Japanese scientists from 1997 to 1998. Quality measured data were obtained. Measured data on soil moisture and temperature are preliminarily analyzed. Based on profiles of soil temperature and moisture in individual measured sites, intra-annual freezing and melting proc...

To understand the effect of the Tibetan Plateau on the seasonal and interannual variation of the Asian summer monsoon, the spatial and temporal variation of land surface soil moisture and its effects on spatially averaged fluxes from land surface to atmosphere should be estimated correctly by using models. In this study, the characteristics of the...

Spatial and temporal variability of soil moisture is considered to have significant effects on energy and water transfer between land surface and atmosphere. One of the key effects on soil moisture distribution is topographic effect, that is, wet valley and dry hill top affected by surface and sub-surface flow along slope. Then, upward and downward...

On September 16th, 1986, an ice avalanche from a hanging glacier near the K2 peak at 7800 m asl, Karakorum, triggered a massive avalanche of ice and snow. Ice and snow, impacting on the path, formed a dust cloud at the advancing tip. Grounding on the firn basin surface, ice and snow broke into fine powder and covered the whole basin. Fine powder of...

In this study, the characteristics and changing trends of temperature, precipitation, and runoff in the upper Yellow River basin up Tangnag station are analyzed by using hydrological and meteorological data in the past 50 years from observation stations in the basin. Further, in this study, the evolving trend of runoff in the future decades is fore...