Climate Effects on Recharge and Evolution of Natural Water Resources in middle-latitude Watersheds Under Arid Climate Bingqi Zhu, Jingjie Yu, Patrick Rioual, Yan Gao, Yichi Zhang and Heigang Xiong Abstract This paper analyzes the physico-chemical characteristics of natural waters in middle-latitude drainage systems of central Asia, including the climatic, lithological and geomorphological conditions in which water flows and resides. This analysis allowed the identification of the geological evolution and recharge mechanism of the water resources in an arid environment. The studied waters at various sites are different in mineralization but similar to the majority of large rivers on earth, which are typically alkaline. However, no Cl-dominated water type occurs in the study area, indicating that these natural waters are still at an early stage of evolution. The regolith and geomorphological parameters controlling ground-sur- face temperature may play a large role in rock weathering regime and so in the geological evolution of water. Three main morphological and hydrological units are reflected in water physico-chemistry: the montane areas (recharge area) with silicate and carbonate weathering, the piedmonts and sedimentary platform (runoff area) with carbonate weathering, and the desert plains (discharge area) with evaporite dissolution. Climate influences the salinization of natural waters substantially. Direct recharge from seasonal snow and meltwater and infiltration of rainfall into the ground are thought to be significant recharge processes for natural waters in the B. Zhu (&) Á J. Yu Á Y. Zhang Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China e-mail: zhubingqi@igsnrr.ac.cn P. Rioual Key Laboratory of Cenozoic Geology and Environment, Institute of Geology and Geophysics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China Y. Gao Centro de Investigaciones en Geografia Ambienta, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Campus Morelia, Morelia, Mexico H. Xiong Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Ministry of Education, Urumqi, China © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 Mu. Ramkumar et al. (eds.), Environmental Management of River Basin Ecosystems, Springer Earth System Sciences, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-13425-3_5 91