Assessment of water resource changes and drought characteristics in the Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia region based on GNSS and GRACE/GRACE-FO

doi:10.11947/j.AGCS.2026.20250466

Abstract

Abstract:

The complex topography and rugged terrain of the Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia region pose significant challenges to water resources monitoring and drought assessment. This study aims to analyze the spatiotemporal variations of terrestrial water storage (TWS) and groundwater storage (GWS) and their hydrological drought impacts in the region based on geodetic data. The results indicate that the correlation of TWS changes derived from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS) with the global land data assimilation system (GLDAS) data (0.67) is slightly higher than the correlation with the gravity recovery and climate experiment and its successor satellites (GRACE/GRACE-FO) data (0.66). The annual amplitudes of TWS obtained from GNSS, GRACE/GRACE-FO, and GLDAS were (45.99±6.87), (27.35±1.56), and (9.49±1.20) mm, respectively. Regarding spatial distribution, all datasets show a gradual enhancement of TWS amplitude from northwest to southeast, with a maximum amplitude occurring in the southeastern Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region and a minimum amplitude in northern Shaanxi. GWS exhibited a continuous downward trend from 2011 to 2024. GRACE/GRACE-FO inversion results show an annual GWS decline rate of (－4.38±0.59) mm/a for the period 2011—2017 and (－3.91±0.48) mm/a for 2018—2024, indicating that groundwater depletion in this region is still ongoing. The hydrological drought characteristics in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region are marked by high frequency but relatively low overall intensity. Among the various factors, precipitation is crucial in triggering hydrological droughts in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia region. The study indicates that GNSS and GRACE can effectively monitor the TWS and GWS changes on a regional scale, providing high spatiotemporal resolution information to support water resource management. Furthermore, its ability to identify hydrological drought events also highlights its application potential in the assessment of extreme climate impacts.

Key words: GNSS vertical displacement, GRACE/GRACE-FO, terrestrial water storage, groundwater storage, hydrological drought

CLC Number:

P228

Tangting WU, Xinyu LUO, Liguo LU, Zhanke LIU, Nengfang CHAO. Assessment of water resource changes and drought characteristics in the Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia region based on GNSS and GRACE/GRACE-FO[J]. Acta Geodaetica et Cartographica Sinica, 2026, 55(3): 439-450.

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数据名称	数据来源	研究时间	测站点数	时空分辨率	数据下载网址
GNSS	中国地壳运动观测网	2011-01—2024-08	52	日	https://www.eqdsc.com/
GRACE/GRACE-FO	美国喷气动力实验室	2011-01—2024-08	—	0.5°/月	https://grace.jpl.nasa.gov/
GLDAS	戈达德地球科学数据与信息服务中心	2011-01—2024-08	—	0.25°/月	https://disc.gsfc.nasa.gov/
P、E、R、T	ERA5-Land	2011-01—2024-08	—	0.25°/月	https://cds.climate.copernicus.eu/
水资源总量	中国统计年鉴	2011—2023	—	年	https://www.stats.gov.cn/sj/ndsj/
地下水位测井	国家地下水监测工程信息应用服务系统	2018—2024	44	日	https://jcgc.cigem.cn/

干旱指数	持续时间	持续时长	DSI峰值（峰值年日）	平均DSI	主要干旱类型
GNSS-DSI	2011-05—2011-09	5个月	－1.68（2011-07）	－1.08	D1
	2016-05—2016-10	6个月	－1.36（2016-08）	－0.92	D1
	2016-12—2017-02	3个月	－1.32（2017-02）	－1.08	D1
	2017-05—2017-08	4个月	－1.47（2017-07）	－0.99	D1
	2018-02—2018-06	5个月	－1.77（2018-04）	－1.03	D1
	2022-09—2023-06	10个月	－1.73（2022-12）	－1.23	D1
	2023-09—2024-05	9个月	－1.66（2023-09）	－1.23	D1
GRACE-DSI	2015-08—2015-12	5个月	－1.75（2015-11）	－1.19	D1
	2016-02—2017-06	17个月	－1.71（2017-02）	－1.18	D1
	2022-09—2023-04	8个月	－1.82（2022-10）	－1.12	D1
	2023-07—2024-07	13个月	－2.05（2024-01）	－1.23	D1
GWS-DSI	2016-08—2016-10	3个月	－0.70（2016-09）	－0.66	D0
	2021-06—2021-11	6个月	－1.55（2021-09）	－0.98	D1
	2022-04—2023-05	14个月	－2.09（2022-10）	－1.27	D1
	2023-07—2024-08	13个月	－2.16（2024-01）	－1.54	D2
SPI	2011-03—2011-06	4个月	－1.22（2011-05）	－1.01	D1
	2013-02—2013-04	3个月	－1.22（2013-03）	－1.10	D1
	2013-10—2014-01	4个月	－0.91（2013-10）	－0.90	D1
	2015-07—2015-09	3个月	－1.22（all time）	－1.22	D1
	2022-09—2024-03	19个月	－1.75（2023-10）	－1.52	D2
SPEI	2013-01—2013-04	4个月	－2.10（2013-03）	－1.24	D1
	2013-08—2013-0	3个月	－1.56（2013-10）	－1.32	D2
	2016-11—2016-01	3个月	－0.87（2016-11）	－0.76	D0
	2022-05—2022-07	3个月	－1.49（2022-06）	－0.92	D1