Introduction

The Laboratory was established in 2004 by merging several research units, including the system simulation laboratory of hydrological processes, water resources assessment and snow dynamics simulation, in XIEG. It became a member of the key laboratories of Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region in 2009.

The Laboratory addresses issues relating to hydrological processes and ecosystem succession in arid regions. It provides a platform for conducting both fundamental and applied research in hydrology and water resources. The Laboratory has been cooperating with foreign scientists, and promoting progress in science and technology. Research facilities include the Snow Fork for measuring physical properties of snow, automatic recording systems of meteorological parameters, an avalanche testing system, 500 m² water balance monitoring field, and a laboratory for analyzing water chemistry. The Laboratory also has a number of hydrological simulation tools, including SLURP, SWAT, MIKE SHE, SRM and FEFLOW.

Research Fields

(1) Snow dynamics and mountain hydrology

(2) Watershed-scale water resources and utilization

(3) Uncertainty in hydrological processes

(4) Pollution and restoration of aquatic environments

(5) Water security in international river basins

Significant Projects

(1) Eco-hydrological processes at different scales and their responses to climate change in the mainstream of the Tarim River Basin (supported by the General Program of National Natural Science Foundation of China)

(2) Integration of future climate change scenarios with Snowmelt runoff modeling and water resources assessment in arid regions (supported by the Hundred Talents Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

(3) Impacts of climate change on snowmelt runoff and water resources in Xinjiang (supported by the Knowledge Innovation Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences)

(4) Monitoring and sustainability of glacier and snow resources in the arid region of Xinjiang (supported by the Commonwealth Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the People’s Republic of China)

(5) Impacts of climate change on snow cover and streamflow in the middle section of Tianshan Mountains (supported by the initial phase of the State Key Basic R & D Program of China (973))

Major Accomplishments

The Laboratory has published more than 100 journal and conference papers, received 10 patents and registered 8 software copyrights in the last 6 years.

Main Publications

Li L H, Xu H G, Chen X, et al. 2010. Streamflow forecast and reservoir operation performance assessment under climate change. Water Resource Management, 24(1): 83–104.

Xu H L, Ye M, Li J M. 2009. The ecological characteristics of the riparian vegetation affected by river overflowing disturbance in the lower Tarim River. Environmental Geology, 58(8): 1749–1755.

Liu H L, Chen X, Bao A M. 2007. Investigation of groundwater response to overland flow and topography using a coupled MIKE SHE/MIKE 11 modeling system for an arid watershed. Journal of Hydrology, 347(3–4): 448–459.

Zuo Q T, Dou M, Chen X, et al. 2006. Physically-based model for studying the salinization of Bosten Lake in China. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 51(3): 432–449.

Software registered by National Patent Bureau

System for ecological water demand estimation, version 1.0, Software copyright, Registration No.: 2009SR039294.

T-FACE Layout

T-FACE on Working

Personnel

There are 30 research staffs in the Laboratory, including 5 professors, 4 associate professors and 10 visiting professors.

There are currently 43 postgraduate students in the Laboratory, including 8 PhD candidates and 35 MSc candidates.

Contact

Director: Dr. LI Lanhai

Tel: +86-991-7823125

E-mail: lilh@ms.xjb.ac.cn