The Yellow River: Water and Life

The Yellow River basin, located in the semi-arid and arid climate zones in northern China, is confronted with serious problems of water deficit as well as water pollution. Due to increasing population, rising living standards, increasing pressure of expanding irrigation areas and developing industries in the basin, efficient water resource allocation has become a pressing issue. On the surface this problem appears domestic, but in reality it is of international proportions - it may impact other countries through trade. As such, development in the basin is severely curtailed. In order to understand and provide a way of thinking about the issues pertaining to the current state of water resources in the basin, The Yellow River systematically explains the methods of modeling and the mechanism of water circulation on each element, while introducing several new-age technologies for water-saving. This book also presents the cutting-edge research results of a five-year project that improved the sustainability in utilizing and controlling water in the Yellow River basin.

The Yellow River basin, located in the semi-arid and arid climate zones in northern China is confronted with serious problems of water deficit as well as water pollution. Due to increasing population levels, rising living standards, increasing pressure of expanding irrigation areas and developing industries in the basin, efficient water resource allocation has become a pressing issue here. On the surface it appears to be domestic, but in reality the problem is one of international proportions because it may impact other countries through trade. Development in the basin is restricted by acute water shortage, salinity damage and pollution.

There are many scenarios for the allocation of water resources. One extreme is industry-oriented and the other is agriculture-oriented. The allocation between upstream and downstream is also another issue.

In order to understand the current state of water resources in the basin and to provide a way of thinking about the issues, this book systematically explains the methods of modeling, mechanism of water circulation on each element and several technologies for water saving. It also introduces cutting-edge research results of the five-year project "improving the sustainability in utilizing and controlling water in the Yellow River basin" sponsored by Japan Science and Technology Corporation (JST).