Irrigation, damming, and streamflow fluctuations of the Yellow River

Abstract. The streamflow of the Yellow River (YR) is strongly affected by human activities like irrigation and dam operation. Many attribution studies have focused on long-term trends streamflows, yet contributions these anthropogenic factors to fluctuations not been well quantified with fully mechanistic models. This study aims (1) demonstrate whether global land surface model ORCHIDEE (ORganizing Carbon Hydrology in Dynamic EcosystEms) able simulate streamflows this complex rivers using a generic parameterization for (2) preliminarily quantify roles operation monthly YR from 1982 2014 newly developed module an offline model. Validations observed near outlet demonstrated that performances improved notably incrementally considering (mean square error (MSE) decreased 56.9 %) (MSE another 30.5 %). Irrigation withdrawals were found substantially reduce river approximately 242.8±27.8×108 m3 yr?1 line independent census data (231.4±31.6×108 yr?1). Dam does change mean our model, but it impacts seasonality, more than seasonal precipitation. By only schemes, reproduce water storage changes two large reservoirs, LongYangXia LiuJiaXia (correlation coefficient ? 0.9). Moreover, other commonly neglected factors, such as contribution multiple medium/small dominance districts (e.g., Hetao Plateau), special management policies during extreme years, are highlighted study. Related processes should be integrated into models better project future resources under climate optimize adaption strategies.