Spatiotemporal Distribution Characteristics and Influencing Factors Analysis of Reference Evapotranspiration in Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei Region from 1990 to 2019 under Climate Change
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Spatio-temporal data analysis is a growing area of research with the development of powerful computing processors. Spatio-temporal databases collect data across both space and time that describe a phenomenon in a particular location and period of time. Climate change is a change in the pattern of weather occurring over time scales of decades or longer. It greatly affects crop growth. Therefore, the topic of presented study is important and describes interesting findings.
Broad comments
- I found the paper to be very well written and describing relevant topic.
- Introduction gives a nice overview.
- Materials and Methods are well described.
- Results, Discussion and Conclusions are well written, clear, precise and easy to understand. However, all R2 values in the paper are very low (except Figure 2c) and not significant. Therefore it is hard to make any conclusions based on those results. It should be mentioned by the Authors in both Results and Conclusions paragraphs.
Author Response
Dear Reviewer 1,
Thanks for your careful work and constructive suggestions on our manuscript. We have revised your comments. Please see the attachment for details.
Kind regards,
Dr. Liu
Email: [email protected]
Reviewer 2 Report
The manuscript title:
Spatio-temporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors analysis of reference evapotranspiration in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 1990 to 2019 under climate change.
Manuscript ID: sustainability-1719212.
The review includes Major comments as well as some minor comments.
Major comments:
This study provides a scientific basis for understanding the influencing factors and spatiotemporal variations of ETo for guiding regional water-saving irrigation and regulating agricultural production in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. Data for daily meteorological observations from several meteorological stations for the period from 1990 to 2019 were used.
Although the paper is generally well written and presents an interesting topic with substantial content and well-presented figures. However, there are still some shortcomings that need to be addressed before its publication.
1-It is not clear what actual novelty in terms of research is presented.
The literature review is generally comprehensive but reviewed in a narrative way, not in a critical manner. So the authors do not pay particular attention to drawing out the novelty in terms of both method and application of the presented research in relation to precedent studies. The authors may be asked what is the difference between their work and the study of Kang et al. [14] who studied the spatio-temporal variations of reference evapotranspiration and its determining climatic factors in the Taihang Mountains, China during 1973-2016. The authors must carefully identify the research question (or the knowledge gap) compared with the previous related studies in the abstract and in the introduction.
2-In the abstract: The objective of the study stated in lines 30 and 31 as “This study provides a scientific basis for the regulation and control of agricultural production in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region.” should be placed before the paragraph (including lines 21 to 24) “Data for daily meteorological observations of temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and sunshine hours from 40 surface meteorological stations were utilized to analyze the spatio-temporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 1990 to 2019.” The analysis method used in the study is not indicated in the abstract. The implications of the study should also be indicated at the end of the abstract.
3-The manuscript mentions the use of sensitivity analysis and contribution rate analysis for the quantitative analysis of ETo causes. I think you need to clarify a little bit the sensitivity analysis concept and its context based upon some related sources such as:
- Saltelli, A. Sensitivity analysis for importance assessment. Risk analysis, 22(3), 2002, 579-590.
- Kaoula, D.; Bouchair, A. The pinpointing of the most prominent parameters on the energy performance for optimal passive strategies in ecological buildings based on bioclimatic, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. International Journal of Ambient Energy 43, 1, 2022, 685-712.
- Heiselberg, P.; Brohus, H.; Hesselholt, A.; Rasmussen, H., Seinre, E.; Thomas, S. Application of sensitivity analysis in design of sustainable buildings. Renewable Energy, 34, 9, 2009, 2030-2036.
4-The conclusion is not sound as it ought to be. The conclusion is not another way to present the results. It should remind the reader of the research problem addressed in the article (zoom back in on the problem), it summarizes the key arguments and findings, discusses the broader implications of the research, addresses limitations of the research, and proposes suggestions for future research. The conclusion needs to be reformulated accordingly.
Minor comments:
-Delete from the abstract (1), (2), (3) and (4) to avoid confusion with citations.
-Keywords should be single words but not sentences
-You should cite the GIS (Geographical Information system) software used to produce figures 1 and 3.
-In Line 125 “ net radiation is Rn” should be written as “Rn is the net radiation
-In Line 126 “mean air temperature is T” should be written as “T is the mean air temperature”
-In Line 127 “actual water vapor pressure is ea” should be written as “ea is the actual water vapor pressure”
-In Line 128 “the psychometric constant is γ” should be written as “γ is the psychometric constant”
-Figure 5 (a): in the legend, stations are represented by a square while in the related map there are no squares.
-The acronyms UB and UF in section 3.5.1 and the acronym IPCC in section 4 should be defined when first introduced.
-Check for the accurate spelling of the word: “Spatio-temporal” or “Spatiotemporal”.
Comments for author File: 
Comments.pdf
Author Response
Dear Reviewer2,
Thank you for your comments on our manuscript entitled "Spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors analysis of reference evapotranspiration in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 1990 to 2019 under climate change" (Sustainability ID：1719212). Those comments are very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to other research. We have studied the comments carefully and made corrections which we hope meet with approval. The main corrections are in the manuscript and the responds to the reviewers’ comments are as an attachment “ Response to Reviewer2 Sustainability.pdf ”(the replies are highlighted in blue and the revisions are highlighted in red).
Once again, thank you very much for your constructive comments and suggestions which would help us both in English and in depth to improve the quality of the manuscript.
Kind regards,
Dr. Liu
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Corresponding author : Dr. Zhangzhong
E-mail address: [email protected]
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
Round 2
Reviewer 2 Report
Comments to authors
Manuscript title:
Spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors analysis of reference evapotranspiration in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 1990 to 2019 under climate change.
Manuscript ID: sustainability-1719212.
The review includes minor comments before acceptance:
1-In the abstract correct the spelling of the word “mothods” into “methods”
2-It seems to me appropriate to cite the following references to reinforce the sensitivity analysis concept in the manuscript:
a- Saltelli, A. Sensitivity analysis for importance assessment. Risk analysis, 22(3), 2002, 579-590. https://doi.org/10.1111/0272-4332.00040
b- Kaoula, D.; Bouchair, A. The pinpointing of the most prominent parameters on the energy performance for optimal passive strategies in ecological buildings based on bioclimatic, sensitivity and uncertainty analyses. International Journal of Ambient Energy 43, 1, 2022, 685-712. https://doi.org/10.1080/01430750.2019.1665583
Good Luck
Comments for author File: Comments.pdf
Author Response
Dear Reviewer2,
Thank you for your peer comments on our manuscript entitled "Spatiotemporal distribution characteristics and influencing factors analysis of reference evapotranspiration in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region from 1990 to 2019 under climate change" (Sustainability ID：1719212). Those comments are very helpful for revising and improving our paper, as well as the important guiding significance to other research. We have studied the comments carefully and made corrections which we hope meet with approval. The main corrections are in the manuscript and the responds to the reviewers’ comments are as an attachment “ Response to Reviewer2 Sustainability-round2.PDF ”(the replies are highlighted in blue and the revisions are highlighted in red).
Once again, thank you very much for your constructive comments and suggestions which would help us both in English and in depth to improve the quality of the manuscript.
Kind regards,
Dr. Liu
E-mail: [email protected]; [email protected]
Corresponding author : Dr. Zhangzhong
mail address: [email protected]
Author Response File: Author Response.pdf
