The present study explores the spatial and temporal changing patterns of the precipitation in the Haihe River basin of North China during 1957-2007 at annual, seasonal and monthly scales. The Mann-Kendall and Sen's T tests are employed to detect the trends, and the segmented regression is applied to investigate possible change points. Meanwhile, Sen's slope estimator is computed to represent the magnitudes of the temporal trends. The regional precipitation trends are also discussed based on the regional index series of four sub-basins in the basin. Serial correlation of the precipitation series is checked prior to the application of the statistical test to ensure the validity of trend detection. Moreover, moisture flux variations based on the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis dataset are investigated to further reveal the possible causes behind the changes in precipitation. The results show that: (1) Although the directions of annual precipitation trends at all stations are downward, only seven stations have significant trends at the 90% confidence level, and these stations are mainly located in the western and southeastern Haihe River basin.(2) Summer is the only season showing a strong downward trend.
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