Abstract
Editorial on the Research Topic Climate change, land surface, and critical zone processes in endorheic basins Endorheic (terminal) basins are land-locked drainage systems where water does not drain into rivers that eventually reach the ocean.Most of these basins are typically found in drylands where water loss occurs mainly through evaporation and groundwater recharge.Endorheic basins and their sinks, such as lakes, are extremely sensitive to changes in climate and anthropogenic activities, including the overexploitation of water and land resources.Nevertheless, our understanding of the processes and fluxes on land surface and in critical zone (subsurface and vegetation) in these basins is still very limited.Thus, this topical issue was proposed to narrow the knowledge gap on environmental change(s) in endorheic basins under rapidly changing climatic conditions.In the topical issue "Climate Change, Land Surface, and Critical Zone Processes in Endorheic Basins," two papers offer insights into the hydrological impacts of climate change.The first paper by Wang et al., investigates the changes in precipitation types and related climate indices in the upper Heihe River Basin (UHRB) on the Tibetan Plateau, from 1960 to 2021.The study compared three methods for improving precipitation type estimation using daily records from 24 discontinuous years.It examined the spatial and temporal changes in the total precipitation, rainfall, snowfall and air temperature at six stations and across the UHRB over 62 years.Using the RClimDex model and statistical analysis, the study evaluated the quantity, duration magnitude, and frequency of extreme climate indices.Their results reveal that the UHRB's warming rate, influenced by ENSO and the East Asian monsoon, is three times the global average.Extreme precipitation and rainfall events significantly increased in magnitude and frequency, alleviating annual droughts and extending the growing season.The study concludes by emphasizing the