Characterizing air temperature changes in the Tarim Basin over 1960-2012.
There has been evidence of warming rate varying largely over space and between seasons. However, little has been done to evaluate the spatial and temporal variability of air temperature in the Tarim Basin, northwest China. In this study, we collected daily air temperature from 19 meteorological stations for the period of 1960-2012, and analyzed annual mean temperature (AMT), the annual minimum (T min) and maximum temperature (Tmax), and mean temperatures of all twelve months and four seasons and their anomalies. Trend analyses, standard deviation of the detrended anomaly (SDDA) and correlations were carried out to characterize the spatial and temporal variability of various mean air temperatures. Our data showed that increasing trend was much greater in the T min (0.55°C/10a) than in the AMT (0.25°C/10a) and Tmax (0.12°C/10a), and the fluctuation followed the same order. There were large spatial variations in the increasing trends of both AMT (from -0.09 to 0.43 °C/10a) and T min (from 0.15 to 1.12°C/10a). Correlation analyses indicated that AMT had a significantly linear relationship with T min and the mean temperatures of four seasons. There were also pronounced changes in the monthly air temperature from November to March at decadal time scale. The seasonality (i.e., summer and winter difference) of air temperature was stronger during the period of 1960-1979 than over the recent three decades. Our preliminary analyses indicated that local environmental conditions (such as elevation) might be partly responsible for the spatial variability, and large scale climate phenomena might have influences on the temporal variability of air temperature in the Tarim Basin. In particular, there was a significant correlation between index of El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and air temperature of May (P = 0.004), and between the index of Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) and air temperature of July (P = 0.026) over the interannual to decadal time scales.
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; Graduate University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Information Centre of Xinjiang Xingnong-Net, Urumqi, China.
Dongmei
D
Peng
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China; Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America.
Xiujun
X
Wang
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
Chenyi
C
Zhao
IM System Group and Environmental Modeling Center, National Centers for Environmental Prediction, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, College Park, Maryland, United States of America.
Xingren
X
Wu
State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
Fengqing
F
Jiang
Xinjiang Meteorological Observatory, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China.
Pengxiang
P
Chen
D057232:Global Warming; D006358:Hot Temperature; D010140:Pacific Ocean; D012621:Seasons