Spatial Variability of Water Resources State of Regions around the “Belt and Road”
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
The paper is interesting. I do not make any critical remarks.Author Response
We thank you very much for the approval of our study.
Reviewer 2 Report
The article "Spatial variability of water resources state of regions around The "Belt and Road", written by 5 authors representing research institutions from Beijing, is generalising and reviewing. An interesting intention of the authors was the presentation of The „Belt and Road” against the natural background of the continents and countries through which it runs. The main attention was paid to water issues, especially water resources state. It should also be noted that the article discusses selected water problems, does not take into account the quantitative resources of groundwater and surface waters and the quality of these waters. The article is well documented graphically (10 figures) and tabulated (7 tables).
The value of the article is the spatial and temporal heterogeneity analysis of water security in the research area, with the use of global, current climate (precipitation, drought, flood), demographic (population) and economic (cropland, highways, railways) data obtained with the use of modern research tools. The number of the obtained data sets and their cartographic presentation on a global scale is impressive. The spatial distribution of precipitation is presented as standard. In the case of the spatial distribution of droughts, the global SPEI index was used, for which only numerical values were given. It would be advisable to assign the values to their specifications. The same is true for floods - which flood frequencies does the low flood risk correspond to and which are the medium flood risk and high flood risk? It is also logical to present the impact of floods on cropland, highway and railway in 2016 (table 5). At the same time, it should be explained why 2016 was chosen, was it representative? Subsequently, the risk of water hazard in relation to flood and drought was logically analyzed, distinguishing 5 risk classes. The water hazard risk criteria were not presented. Likewise, it is appropriate potential impact population analysis, which is the most important element in this analysis. From the economic point of view, it is also justified by the authors to highlight the role of corridors in this analysis, but it would be worthwhile to write what distinguish corridors in the areas of the “Belt and Road” initiative.
The discussion is too short and very general and does not add significant value to the article. The conclusions are very synthetic. Further intentions presented in the Applications should be completed. Among the studies that were missing at this level of generalization, groundwater resources and their availability for exploitation should be taken into account. Apart from the quantitative aspect, the utility value of surface and groundwater should also be analyzed in terms of its quality.
The literature citation was found to be consistent with References.
Detailed comments are provided below.
1 / Table 1. Data specification - no Time specification for: Railway, Highway
2 / Table 3, 4, 6. - why there is no data for "Belt and Road", as for table 5
3 / Table 7. potential impact population ... - the values for "Belt and Road" should be recalculated
4 / Summary (and later in the text) - why North Africa is represented in the figures only by Egypt
5 / Introduction - the presented examples are mainly from China and Iran. Examples from other areas and continents related to "Belt and Road" should also be presented
6 / 2.2. Data source - write the period of time they are presented in the subsection of the study (rainfall, drought, flood)
7 / 3.3. Flood
the paragraph below table 4 - explain the contradiction - whether there are floods in Central Asia or not
8 / 4.3. Potential impact corridor analysis
New Eurasian Continental Bridge (NECB) - write what geographic area the NECB covers.
The article is reviewed, at a good scientific level, but requires some supplements. It should find a wide range of readers dealing with water issues on a global scale and the "Belt and Road" initiative.
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: 
Author Response.docx
Reviewer 3 Report
The subject of the reviewed research is "Spatial variability of water resources state of regions ..." - the manuscript should be completed with information on the variability of surface water and groundwater resources in regions.
Also,
- no clearly determined purpose of the research - The purpose of this paper is to provide some theoretical support for the smooth construction of the 'Belt and Road' initiative (Page 2 line 93)
- Materials and Methods - should be completed with a description of the test methods used, e.g. SPEI and the method of determining the components,
- the corridor markings introduced are not clear, e.g. Page 3 line 109-112 and Page 13 line 305
- regions cited in the manuscript should be included in Fig 1,
-considering, the variability of e.g. precipitation, it is necessary to refer to the literature items from regions including corridors.
Specific Comments
Page 1 line 16
… temporal variability of precipitation…- on what is it consist in?
Page 2 line 90
…5 levels …- I suggest complete with criterions which were taken into account
Page 2 line 93-94
“The purpose of this paper is to provide some theoretical support for the smooth construction of the ‘Belt and Road’ initiative” - I suggest clearly define the purpose of the research
Page 3 line 98-99
Atlantic Ocean, Arctic Ocean– it should be added to Fig1
Page 3 line 98-99
…from Indonesia in the South to the Arctic Ocean in the north (Figure 1) - all cited regions, oceans should be added to Fig 1
Page 4 line 128-129
It requires a description of the SPEI determination method, together with the citation of the relevant literatures.
Page 5 line 156
The analysis of mean precipitation along the ’Belt and Road’ zone from 1985 to 2016 shows that the spatial distribution of precipitation is extremely uneven.. - requires any comment and citation of relevant literature from the areas.
Page 3-4 Table1
Why was the period 1985-2016 was adopted for the research? After 2016, are there no tests carried out at stations, e.g. at atmospheric precipitation? If the data strings contain gaps? In what way the data homogeneous were verified? If the data, which was taken into account, are homogenous?
Page 5 point 3.1
I suggest quoting the relevant literature for the spatial distribution of precipitation in the selected areas - e.g. ….Central and Eastern Europe
doi: 10.3390/atmos9080313, doi: 10.1007/s00704-019-03079-1, doi.org/10.1007/s00704-019-02910-z
Page 6 line 176
Furthermore, we also analyzed the inter-annual variation trend of precipitation during 24 hours with at least 50mm - why 50mm? requires any comment
I suggest quoting relevant literature from other areas
Page 6 line 177
… increase trend with extreme precipitation… - is it statistically significant? And on what significance level? Which test was used to check the significance of the trend? - needs to be completed
Page 6 Figure 3
Legend – high…., low….- I suggest to complete. If the given values are p-values?
Page 6 line 181
I suggest start title with a capital letter
Page 6 line 182
Droughts- I suggest to clearly indicate what types of droughts will be taken into account, and also describe the method of determining the indicator. I suggest quoting the relevant literature,
Page 6 line 189
The method of calculating the SPEI should be located in Chapter 2
Page 6 line 193
The severity of drought in eastern China, Southern Asia, South-eastern Asia, Central and Eastern Europe is somewhere in between- the notation is not clear, requires explanation.
Page 7 line 197
Instead of "left" I suggest putting "a", and instead of "right" I suggest writing "b" - similar to Fig.6
Page 7 line 198-199
Then the drought frequency map was classified into 5 classes of approximately equal number of grid cells (Figure 4 right). The greater the grid cell value in the final dataset, the higher the relative frequency of drought occurrence- requires explanation and citation of the criterion used
Page 8 line 222-224
Then the flood frequency map was classified into 5 classes of approximately equal number of grid cells (Figure 5 right). The greater the grid cell value in the final data set, the higher the relative frequency of flood occurrence- requires explanation and citation of the criterion used
Page 8 line 221
Instead of "left" I suggest putting "a", and instead of "right" I suggest writing "b" - similar to Fig.6
Page 8 line 235
Why attention was paid to year 2016? And what in other years?
Were there no areas affected by drought in the year 2016?
Page 9 line 246 – Fig6
I suggest giving the legend only once, without repetitions
Page 10 Fig 7
The title in figures a and b should be deleted,
I suggest adding the title of the OY axis;
Page 10 line 266-267
In this paper we drew the water hazard risk map by combine flood data (Figure 5 right) and drought data (Figure 4 right) during 1985-2016 (Figure.8) - the notation is not clear and requires detailed information
Page 11 Table 6
Page 13 Table 7
Page 14 Table 8
The unit layout in Table 6,7,8 is not readable;
Table7,8 - at the beginning should be a capital letter.
Page 11 Fig 8
Fig 8 - Needs a detailed explanation
Page 13 line 305
The key areas of ‘Belt and Road’ initiative mainly include 6 corridors, which are China-Mongolia-Russia Corridor (CMRC), New Eurasian Continental Bridge (NECB), China-Central Asia-West Asia Corridor (CCAWAC), China-Pakistan Corridor (CPC), Bangladesh-China-India-Burma Corridor (BCIBC), China-Indo-China-Peninsula Corridor (CICPC)- I suggest checking and verifying with the information contained on the page3 line 109-112;
CMRC=MRCA?
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
Round 2
Reviewer 3 Report
I thank the authors of the study for their answers;
The Authors, alluded to the comments indicated in the first review, replied to most of the comments, however, lack of information about the homogeneity of the data, e.g. about precipitation
Comments for Authors
Page 3 Figure 1
“NAECO CITNALA? – the notation is not clear. If there should be an ATLANTIC OCEAN?
Page 4 line 126
The Global SPEI drought…- you should add SPEI (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index)
Page 4 line 129
…meteorological droughts – meteorological?
Page 7 line 206
[38,39] – literature should be supplied with items 38
Page 17 line 476
Vicente-Serrano, S.M.; Beguería, S.; López-Moreno, J.I. A Multiscalar Drought Index Sensitive to Global Warming: The Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index. J. Clim. 2010, 23, 1696–1718. – you should add: DOI: 10.1175/2009JCLI2909.1
Page 17 line 488
Dariusz M, Marta C, Andrzej W. Trends, Variability, and Seasonality of Maximum Annual Daily Precipitation in the Upper 488 Vistula Basin, Poland[J]. Atmosphere. 2018, 9(8), 313.doi:10.3390/atmos9080313. - should be changed: Młyński D, Cebulska M, Wałęga A. Trends…
Page 17 line 490
Robert T, Marta C. Temporal variability of the highest and the lowest monthly precipitation totals in the Polish Carpathian 490 Mountains (1881–2018)[J]. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. 2020(140), 327-341.doi:10.1007/s00704-019-03079-1. - should be changed: Twardosz R, Cebulska M. Temporal…
Page 17 line 490
Dariia K, Marta C. The highest monthly precipitation in the area of the Ukrainian and the Polish Carpathian Mountains in the 492 period from 1984 to 2013[J]. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. 2019(138), 1615-1628.doi:10.1007/s00704-019-02910-z. - should be changed: Kholiavchuk D, Cebulska M. The highest…
Page 17 line 494
38? – lack of literature - citations in the manuscript should be completed and verified
Page 17 line 517
50? – I suggest checking citations in whole manuscript
Author Response
Please see the attachment.
Author Response File: Author Response.docx
This manuscript is a resubmission of an earlier submission. The following is a list of the peer review reports and author responses from that submission.
Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
Authors have used lots of secondary data around the Belt and Road region to understand the spatial variability of water resources. It is a great effort but does not have any novelty as a journal research article. The works are mostly cropped data from global products and just explain them as per the areal coverage of different classes. Also, the motivation is weak and does not seem to have a methodology section that follows any scientific test and tools to support those variabilities.
Before even starting a journal or article, it should be always asked what the major significance of this work is, the implication and will there be an addition of information to the academia or authorities. Otherwise, many people will invest time reading this with no growth in knowledge.
Reviewer 2 Report
The introduction section can be updated using newly published relevant studies. The innovation of the paper should be further characterized. In the discussion part, your results should be compared to other previous researches and have a deep discussion Provide a graphical abstract for better understanding. Conclusion is not enough, please extend it. Provide more relevant keywords