Based on a temperature anomaly time series from 16 international exchange stations in Xinjiang from 1957 to 2012, the multi-scale characteristics of temperature variability were analysed using the ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) method. Regional differences in variation trends and change-points were also preliminarily discussed. The results indicated that in the past 50+ years, the overall temperature in Xinjiang has exhibited a significant nonlinear upward trend, and its changes have clearly exhibited an inter-annual scale (quasi-3 and quasi-6-year) and inter-decadal scale (quasi-10 and quasi-30-year). The variance contribution rates of each component demonstrated that the inter-annual change had a strong influence on the overall temperature change in Xinjiang, and the reconstructed inter-annual variation trend could describe the fluctuation state of the original temperature anomaly during the study period. The reconstructed inter-decadal variability revealed that the climate mode in Xinjiang had a significant transformation before and after 1995, namely the temperature anomaly shift from a negative phase to a positive one. Furthermore, there were regional differences in the nonlinear changes and change-points of temperature. At the same time, the results also suggested that the EEMD method can effectively reveal variations in long-term temperature sequences at different time scales and can be used for the complex diagnosis of nonlinear and non-stationary signal changes.

The temperature data from 3 meteorological stations (Kashi, Ruoqiang, and Hotan) in the South of Tarim River Basin (STRB) during 1964–2011 were analyzed by Mann-Kendall test and correlation analysis. The results from Mann-Kendall test show that the surface temperature (ST), 850 hPa temperature (T850), and 700 hPa temperature (T700) exhibited upward trends, while 300 hPa temperature (T300) revealed a downward trend. On the whole, the change rate of ST, T850, T700, and T300 was 0.26~0.46°C/10a, 0.15~0.40°C/10a, 0.03~0.10°C/10a, and −0.38~−0.13°C/10a, respectively. For the periods, ST and T850 declined during 1964–1997 and then rose during 1998–2011. T700 declined during 1964–2005 and then rose during 2006–2011, while T300 rose from 1964 to 1970s and then declined. The results from correlation analysis show that T850 and T700 positively correlated with ST (P < 0.01) at the all three stations and there was a negative correlation between T300 and ST at Hotan (P < 0.1), while the correlation is not significant at Kashi and Ruoqiang. The results indicate that there were gradient differences in the response of upper-air temperature (UT) to ST change.

No abstract

No abstract