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.

Southwest China (SC) has suffered a series of super extreme droughts in the last decade. This study analyzed the temporal and spatial variations of drought in SC from 1961 to 2012. Based on precipitation anomaly index (PAI) that was derived from 1 km gridded precipitation data, three time scales (month, year and decade) for the drought frequency (DF) and drought area were applied to estimate the spatio-temporal structure of droughts. A time-series analysis showed that winter droughts and spring droughts occurred frequently for almost half of the year from November to March. Summer droughts occasionally occurred in severe drought decades: the 1960s, 1980s and 2000s. During the period of observation, the percent of drought area in SC increased from the 1960s (25%). A total of 57% of the area was affected by drought in 2011, when the area experienced its most severe drought both in terms of area and severity. The spatial analysis, which benefitted from the gridded data, detailed that all of SC is at drought risk except for the central Sichuan Basin. The area at high risk for severe and extreme droughts was localized in the mountains of the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan. The temporal and spatial variability can be prerequisites for drought resistance planning and drought risk management of SC.

Climate change is expected to have stronger effects on water resources in higher latitude regions. Despite intensive research on possible hydrological responses in those regions to a warmer environment, our knowledge on erosion and sediment yield induced by the climate change in high-latitude headwaters is still limited. In this study, we estimated suspended sediment yields from 2021 to 2050 in a typical headwater area of far Northeast China to elucidate potential impacts of future climate change on surface runoff and erosion in higher latitude regions. We first parameterized the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) using historical measurements to estimate runoff from the river basin. The model performed well in both the calibration (2006–2011) and the validation (2012–2014) periods, with an R² of 0.85 and 0.88 and a Nash-Sutcliffe Efficiency (NSE) of 0.7 and 0.73, respectively. We also utilized historical measurements on sediment yields from the period 2006–2014 to develop a runoff-sediment yield rating curve, and the rating curve obtained an excellent goodness of fit (R² = 0.91, p < 0.001). We then applied the calibrated SWAT model to two climate change projections, also known as Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 and RCP8.5), for the period from 2021 to 2050 to obtain future runoff estimates. These runoff estimates were then used to predict future sediment yield by using the developed runoff-sediment yield rating curve. Our study found a significant increase of annual sediment yield (p < 0.05) for both climate change projections (RCP4.5 = 237%; RCP8.5 = 133%) in this, China’s high-latitude region. The increases of sediment yield were prevalent in summer and autumn, varying from 102–299% between the two RCPs scenarios. Precipitation was the dominated factor that determined the variation of runoff and sediment yield. A warming climate could bring more snowmelt-induced spring runoff and longer rainy days in autumn, hence leading to higher erosion. These findings demonstrate that under the changing climate, soils in this high-latitude headwater area would be eroded twice to three times that of the baseline period (1981–2010), indicating a potential risk to the downstream water quality and reservoir management.

Epidemiological studies around the world have reported that fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) is closely associated with human health. The distribution of PM_2.5concentrations is influenced by multiple geographic and socioeconomic factors. Using a remote-sensing-derived PM_2.5dataset, this paper explores the relationship between PM_2.5concentrations and meteorological parameters and their spatial variance in China for the period 2001–2010. The spatial variations of the relationships between the annual average PM_2.5, the annual average precipitation (AAP), and the annual average temperature (AAT) were evaluated using the Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) model. The results indicated that PM_2.5had a strong and stable correlation with meteorological parameters. In particular, PM_2.5had a negative correlation with precipitation and a positive correlation with temperature. In addition, the relationship between the variables changed over space, and the strong negative correlation between PM_2.5and the AAP mainly appeared in the warm temperate semihumid region and northern subtropical humid region in 2001 and 2010, with some localized differences. The strong positive correlation between the PM_2.5and the AAT mainly occurred in the mid-temperate semiarid region, the humid, semihumid, and semiarid warm temperate regions, and the northern subtropical humid region in 2001 and 2010.

Reclaimed water is an important resource for irrigation, and exploration in making full use of it is an important way to alleviate water shortage. This paper analyzes the effects of irrigation with reclaimed water through field trials on the content and distribution of heavy metals in both tomatoes and the soil. By exploring the effects of reclaimed water after secondary treatment on the content and distribution characteristics of heavy metals in tomatoes and the heavy metal balance in the soil-crop system under different conditions, the study shows that there are no significant differences in the heavy metal content when the quantity of reclaimed water for irrigation varies. Reclaimed water for short-term irrigation does not cause pollution to either the soil environment or the crops. Nor will it cause the accumulation of heavy metals, and the index for the heavy metal content is far below the critical value of the national standard, which indicates that the vegetables irrigated with reclaimed water during their growth turn out to be free of pollutants. The heavy metals brought into the soil by reclaimed water are less than that taken away by the crops. The input and output quantities have only small effects on the heavy metal balance in the soil. This paper provides a reference for the evaluation and safety control of irrigation with reclaimed water.

Hidrološka simulacija u meteorološki neispitanim područjima oduvijek je težak problem u proučavanju atmosferskih i hidroloških odnosa; to je također jedan od važnih faktora koji ograničavaju razvoj modela i spoznaju o izvoru...