Estimation and Spatiotemporal Analysis of Surface Evaporation in the Yangtze River Basin from 2010 to 2019

Abstract

Evaporation is a critical process involved in energy and water balance at the Earth’s surface and bears significant implications for water resource management, agricultural irrigation, and drought monitoring, among others. In this study, we focused on establishing a 1 km daily surface evaporation estimation for the Yangtze River Basin from 2010 to 2019 by using a machine learning method, and then analyzed its spatiotemporal patterns. The findings showed spatial heterogeneity in the Yangtze River Basin, indicating higher evaporation rates in the southwestern and southeastern regions in contrast to the western and northern areas. Additionally, the basin exhibited a strong spatial autocorrelation, indicating the influence of one spatial unit on the others. Furthermore, most regions in the basin displayed non-significant changes in surface evaporation, with some areas in the upper reaches exhibiting significant increases and a few regions near the source of the Yangtze River experiencing significant decreases. This study contributes to a better understanding of the spatial and temporal distribution of evaporation in the Yangtze River Basin, providing valuable insights for water resource management, environmental studies, and hydrological modeling in the region.

Keywords

• surface evaporation
• machine learning
• Yangtze River Basin
• spatiotemporal analysis