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a b s t r a c tAttaining inclusive, regenerative and sustainable cities for all in the context of unparalleled rates of urbanization, economy-oriented priorities, and chaotic urban development that characterize the developing world is a major challenge. A first step in reaching this goal is to conceptualize an inclusive framework for delineating, assessing and guiding the development of these cities towards sustainability. In this study we outline an inclusive, causal framework for Sustainable Development (SD) assessment, entitled "Trinity of Cities Sustainability from Spatial, Logical and Time Dimensions" (TCS-SLTD). It has been developed for cities in developing countries, and is illustrated using one such city, Xi'an. After reviewing the history and trends of urbanization of cities in Western China, some principles for assessing sustainability of cities in developing countries are suggested, after which the Xi'an case is presented. The urban area of Xi'an has expanded by more than 10 fold during the last quarter century, while arable land has decreased by 39%. In addition to these dramatic changes in land-use, the main axis of urban expansion has shifted from a north-south axial to radial expansion towards all areas around the core city. Over time, urban expansion has followed a "concentratededeconcentratede concentrated" trend. Xi'an overall sustainability, as measured by the index we present, has followed an upward e but not monotonic e trend between 1990 and 2010, during which its urbanization rate increased by 30%. On the basis of our multi-dimensional analysis, suggestions are made on how to direct Xi'an toward a more regenerative development path. These include revitalization of the urban system, control of urban form through planning, consulting and informing local communities about sustainable development issues, and achieving efficient functioning and harmonious coordination among different departments and municipal authorities in Xi'an. The TCS-SLTD model, outlined in this study, is a useful tool for guiding the process of Sustainable Development Indicator (SDI) selection, and provides a conceptual framework for holistically assessing the sustainability of city growth and expansion in developing countries. The model can assist urban planners and policy makers in

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The Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite provides a new method for terrestrial hydrology research, which can be used for improving the monitoring result of the spatial and temporal changes of water cycle at large scale quickly. The paper presents a review of recent applications of GRACE data in terrestrial hydrology monitoring. Firstly, the scientific GRACE dataset is briefly introduced. Recently main applications of GRACE data in terrestrial hydrological monitoring at large scale, including terrestrial water storage change evaluation, hydrological components of groundwater and evapotranspiration (ET) retrieving, droughts analysis, and glacier response of global change, are described. Both advantages and limitations of GRACE data applications are then discussed. Recommendations for further research of the terrestrial water monitoring based on GRACE data are also proposed.

.[1] Many observations and studies have shown that water resources amount in the Hai River Basin decreased significantly over the last half of the twentieth century. This study attempts to attribute the observed changes in the water resources amount in the basin over a 40 year period to different factors, including natural climate variability, climate change induced by anthropogenic forcing of greenhouse gas emissions (referred to as anthropogenic forcing hereafter), and local human activity. First, the temporal variation of the annual water resources amount in the basin during the past 40 years is analyzed by employing the moving-average method, the linear regression method, and the MannKendall method. Second, through setting different scenarios, the effects on the water resources amount due to different factors, including natural climate variability, anthropogenic forcing, and local human activity, are obtained using the parallel climate model, the distributed hydrological model water and energy transfer processes in large river basins, and the statistical downscaling model. Third, the fingerprint-based attribution method is used to obtain the signal strengths of observed changes in water resources amount during 1961-2000 and changes in the water resources amount under different scenarios. Finally, by comparing the signal strengths, the observed changes in water resources amount in the basin can be attributed to different factors. The results indicate that natural climate variability and local human activity may be two factors responsible for the observed changes in the water resources amount during the past 40 years in the basin, with local human activity being the main factor and accounting for about 60% of the changes.