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Engineering >> 2022, Volume 18, Issue 11 doi: 10.1016/j.eng.2021.08.026

Xin’anjiang Nested Experimental Watershed (XAJ-NEW) for Understanding Multiscale Water Cycle: Scientific Objectives and Experimental Design

a State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
b Yangtze Institute for Conservation and Development, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
c College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, Jiangsu 210098, China
d Bureau of Hydrology (Information Center) of Taihu Basin Authority, Shanghai 200434, China
e Bureau of Hydrology of Anhui Province, Hefei 230022, China
f Department of Hydrology, Chinese Ministry of Water Resources, Beijing 100053, China

Received: 2021-02-19 Revised: 2021-07-29 Accepted: 2021-08-06 Available online: 2021-12-22

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Abstract

This paper presents the background, scientific objectives, experimental design, and preliminary achievements of the Xin’anjiang nested experimental watershed (XAJ-NEW), implemented in 2017 in eastern China, which has a subtropical humid monsoon climate and a total area of 2674 km2. The scientific objectives of the XAJ-NEW include building a comprehensive, multiscale, and nested hydrometeorological monitoring and experimental program, strengthening the observation of the water cycle, discovering the spatiotemporal scaling effects of hydrological processes, and revealing the mechanisms controlling runoff generation and partitioning in a typical humid, hilly area. After two years of operation, preliminary results indicated scale-dependent variability in key hydrometeorological processes and variables such as precipitation, runoff, groundwater, and soil moisture. The effects of canopy interception and runoff partitioning between the surface and subsurface were also identified. Continuous operation of this program can further reveal the mechanisms controlling runoff generation and partitioning, discover the spatiotemporal scaling effects of hydrological processes, and understand the impacts of climate change on hydrological processes. These findings provide new insights into understanding multiscale hydrological processes and their responses to meteorological forcings, improving model parameterization schemes, and enhancing weather and climate forecast skills.

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