WANG Shun-de, LI Hong-de, XU Ze-rui, HAN Ping, WANG Jin
The Tarim River Basin is located in the southern half of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, PRC. From the confluence of its three main contributing tributaries, the Tarim River mainstream extends 1321 km to Taitema Lake. The mainstream can be classed into the upstream with 495 km from Xiaojiake to Yinbazar, the middlestream with 398 km from Yinbazar to Kara and the lowerstream with 428 km from Kara to Taitema Lake. A number of rivers fed by snowmelt and glacier melt begin in the mountains and drain into the basin with average annual virgin flow of about 35 billion m3. A number of other subbasins exist within the Tarim Basin that does not contribute flows to the Tarim River because all of their flows either naturally evaporate in the desert or are used in irrigated agriculture areas. Peak flow months in the rivers are July, August and September. Lowest flow occurs in the period from January through April. Total streamflow of the four headstreams of the Tarim River in 2001 is 266.5×108m3, more 40.70×108m3 than annual mean streamflow, increasing 18% to annual mean value. Annual mean streamflow at Aler Gauging Station where the Tarim River mainstream begins was 46.00×108m3. The interzone consumed water of the Tarim River mainstream are estimated to be 15.33×108m3 for the upper course, account for 33.3% of Aler annual mean streamflow; 23.99×108m3 for the middle course, 52.2% of Aler ones and 6.680×108m3 for the downstream course,14.5% of Aler ones. The consumed water of both upstream and middlestream courses sum up 39.32×108m3, account for 85.5% of annual mean streamflow at Aler Gauging Station. Historical annual flows average over 40×108m3, but for the past two decades there has essentially been no flow below Daxihaizi Reservoir, 300 km upstream of Taitema Lake. In 2001, an emergency water diversion project was carried out in the "green corridor", transfer water from Bosten Lake to the Taitema Lake, and fed the "green corridor", ended the 30-years no flow history of 300 km upstream of the Taitema Lake, and ecological environment started to be restoring.