The data set includes the estimated data of the SOS (start of season) and the EOS (end of season) of vegetation in Sanjiangyuan based on 10-day synthetic NDVI products from the SPOT satellite. Two common phenological estimation methods were adopted: the threshold extraction method based on polynomial fitting (the term “poly” was included in the file names) and the inflection point extraction method based on double logistic function fitting (the term “sig” was included in the file names). These data can be used to analyse the relationship between vegetation phenology and climate change. The temporal coverage is from 1999 to 2013, and the spatial resolution is 1 km.

This dataset contains data on river water level and flow velocity at No.3 in the intensive runoff observation in the middle reaches of Heihe River runoff from July 28, 2014 to December 31, 2014. The observation point is located at Heihe Bridge, Lan-Xin Railway, Zhangye City, Gansu Province. The riverbed is gravel and the section is stable. The latitude and longitude of the observation point is N39°2'33.08", E100°25'49.42", the altitude is 1443 meters, and the river channel width is 50 meters. The water level observation is measured by SR50 ultrasonic range finder with a frequency of 60 minutes. The flow profile observation is conducted by StreamPro micro ADCP. The data declaration includes the following two parts: Water level observation, the observation frequency is 60 minutes, unit (cm); data covering time period from July 28, 2014 to December 31, 2014; Flow observation, unit (m3); monitoring flow and obtaining water level flow curve according to different water levels. The process of the runoff changing is obtained by observing the water level process. The missing data is uniformly represented by the string -6999. For hydrometeorological network or site information, please refer to Li et al. (2013). For observation data processing, please refer to He et al. (2016).

This dataset contains the automatic weather station (AWS) measurements from site No.4 in the flux observation matrix from 10 May to 17 September, 2012. The site (100.35753° E, 38.87752° N) was located in a residential area in Yingke irrigation district, which is near Zhangye, Gansu Province. The elevation is 1561.87 m. The installation heights and orientations of different sensors and measured quantities were as follows: air temperature and humidity (HMP45C; 5 m, towards north), air pressure (CS100; 2 m), rain gauge (TE525M; 10 m), wind speed and direction (010C/020C; 10 m, towards north), a four-component radiometer (CNR4; 6 m, towards south), two infrared temperature sensors (SI-111; 6 m, vertically downward), soil temperature profile (109ss-L; 0, -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, and -1.0 m), soil moisture profile (CS616; -0.02, -0.04, -0.1, -0.2, -0.4, -0.6, and -1.0 m), and soil heat flux (HFP01; 3 duplicates, 0.06 m). The observations included the following: air temperature and humidity (Ta_5 m and RH_5 m) (℃ and %, respectively), air pressure (press, hpa), precipitation (rain, mm), wind speed (Ws_10 m, m/s), wind direction (WD_10 m, °), four-component radiation (DR, incoming shortwave radiation; UR, outgoing shortwave radiation; DLR_Cor, incoming longwave radiation; ULR_Cor, outgoing longwave radiation; Rn, net radiation; W/m^2), infrared temperature (IRT_1 and IR_2, ℃), soil heat flux (Gs_1, Gs_2 and Gs_3, W/m^2), soil temperature profile (Ts_0 cm, Ts_2 cm, Ts_4 cm, Ts_10 cm, Ts_20 cm, Ts_40 cm, Ts_60 cm, and Ts_100 cm, ℃), and soil moisture profile (Ms_2 cm, Ms_4 cm, Ms_10 cm, Ms_20 cm, Ms_40 cm, Ms_60 cm, and Ms_100 cm, %). The data processing and quality control steps were as follows. (1) The AWS data were averaged over intervals of 10 min; therefore, there were 144 records per day. The missing data were filled with -6999. (2) Data in duplicate records were rejected. (3) Unphysical data were rejected. (4) In this dataset, the time of 0:10 corresponds to the average data for the period between 0:00 and 0:10; the data were stored in *.xlsx format. (5) Finally, the naming convention was AWS+ site no. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. For more information, please refer to Liu et al. (2016) (for multi-scale observation experiment or sites information), Xu et al. (2013) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

This dataset contains the flux measurements from the large aperture scintillometer (LAS) at site No.2 in the flux observation matrix. There were two types of LASs at site No.2: German BLS900 and German BLS450. The observation periods were from 7 June to 19 September, 2012, and 18 June to 19 September, 2012, for the BLS900 and the BLS450, respectively. The north tower is placed with the receiver of BLS900 and the transmitter of BLS450, and the south tower is placed with the transmitter of BLS900 and the receiver of BLS450. The site (north: 100.363° E, 38.883° N; south: 100.362° E, 38.857° N) was located in the Yingke irrigation district, which is near Zhangye, Gansu Province. The elevation is 1552.75 m. The underlying surface between the two towers contains corn, greenhouse, and village. The effective height of the LASs was 33.45 m; the path length was 2841 m. Data were sampled at 1 min intervals. Raw data acquired at 1 min intervals were processed and quality-controlled. The data were subsequently averaged over 30 min periods. The main quality control steps were as follows. (1) The data were rejected when Cn2 was beyond the saturated criterion (Cn2>4.08E-14). (2) Data were rejected when the demodulation signal was small (BLS900: Average X Intensity<1000; BLS450: Minimum X<50). (3) Data were rejected within 1 h of precipitation. (4) Data were rejected at night when weak turbulence occurred (u* was less than 0.1 m/s). The sensible heat flux was iteratively calculated by combining with meteorological data and based on Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. There were several instructions for the released data. (1) The data were primarily obtained from BLS900 measurements; missing flux measurements from the BLS900 were filled with measurements from the BLS450. Missing data were denoted by -6999. (2) The dataset contained the following variables: data/time (yyyy-mm-dd hh:mm:ss), the structural parameter of the air refractive index (Cn2, m-2/3), and the sensible heat flux (H_LAS, W/m^2). (3) In this dataset, the time of 0:30 corresponds to the average data for the period between 0:00 and 0:30; the data were stored in *.xlsx format. Moreover, suspicious data were marked in red. For more information, please refer to Liu et al. (2016) (for multi-scale observation experiment or sites information), Xu et al. (2013) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

The dataset of LAS (Large Aperture Scintillometer, made in Holland) observations was obtained in the Linze grassland station, Linze county (Gansu province), from May 19 to Aug. 31, 2008. The instrument was composed of the transmitter (100°04′10.4″E, 39°15′02.8″N, 9.25m), the receiver (100°03′36.8″E, 39°15′02.8″N, 9.1m) and the data acquisition system. The transmitter and the receiver were 1550m away from each other and the operating altitude was 9.2m. The observation item was natural logarithm of structural parameters of the refractive index (UCn2). The transmitting frequency was 0.5HZ. The data were named after WATER_LAS_Linze_yyyymmdd-yyyymmdd.csv (yyyymmdd-yyyymmdd for observation time). The missing data were marked "None". For more detailed information, please refer to Directions on LAS (Large Aperture Scintillometer) observations.

The dataset of meteorological station observations (2008-2009) was obtained at the Yeniugou cold region hydrological station (E99°33'/N38°28', 3320m), Qilian county, Qinghai province. Observation items were multilayer (2m and 10m) of the air temperature and air humidity, the wind speed and direction, the air pressure, precipitation, the global radiation, the net radiation, the multilayer soil temperature (20cm, 40cm, 60cm, 80cm, 120cm and 160cm), soil moisture (20cm, 40cm, 60cm, 80cm, 120cm and 160cm), and soil heat flux. For more details, please refer to the attached Data Directions.

The dataset of albedo observations was obtained in the Linze grassland foci experimental area. Measurements were carried out by using the shortwave radiometer (the upward radiometer: 071392; the downward radiometer: 071389) in the reed plot A, the saline plots B and C, the alfalfa plot D, the barley plot E and the temporary cement floor. Manual work was applied before Jun. 6, 2008 with the probe 1.3m-1.46m high and automatic observations hereafter with the probe 1.20m or 1.30m. Observation site cover type observation date Plot E barley May 25, 2008 Plot D alfalfa May 26, 2008 Plot D alfalfa May 27, 2008 Plot E cumin May 28, 2008 Plot E cumin May 30, 2008 Plot A reed Jun. 1, 2008 Plot B saline Jun. 2, 2008 Plot A reed Jun. 3, 2008 Temporary cement floor Jun. 4, 2008 Vicinity of plot E Jun. 6, 2008 Plot A reed Jun. 20, 2008 Plot A reed Jun. 22, 2008 Plot D alfalfa Jun. 23, 2008 Plot E barley Jun. 24, 2008 Plot E barley Jul. 11, 2008 Self-recording observations included: TIMESTAMP: observation time SOLAR_UP_AVG: downward shortwave radiation SOLAR_DOWN_AVG: upward shortwave radiation SOLAR_NET_AVG: net radiation = SOLAR_UP_AVG - SOLAR_DOWN_AVG albedo_Avg: albedo = SOLAR_DOWN_AVG / SOLAR_UP_AVG batt_volt_Min: voltage ptemp: CR1000 temperature Data were archived in Excel file. See WATER: Dataset of setting of the sampling plots and stripes in the foci experimental area of Linze station for more information.

The dateset of GPR (Ground Penetration Radar) observations was obtained in the A'rou foci experimental area from Mar. 10 to Jun. 19, 2008. Those provide reliable dataset for retrieval of soil moisture and frozen depth from GPR observations. Observation items, sites and time were as follows: (1) GPR in No. 1 quadrate of A'rou on Mar. 10, 2008 (2) GPR+TDR in No. 2 and 3 quadrates of A'rou on Mar. 11, 2008 (3) GPR in No. 1 quadrate of A'rou on Mar. 12, 2008 (4) GPR in No. 2 quadrate of A'rou on Mar. 14, 2008 (5) GPR +TDR in No. 1 quadrate of A'rou on Mar. 15, 2008 (6) GPR +TDR in L6 of A'rou on Mar. 16, 2008 (7) GPR +TDR in L6 of A'rou on Mar. 17, 2008 (8) GPR +TDR in L6 of A'rou on Mar. 18, 2008 (9) GPR +TDR in L6 of A'rou on Mar. 19, 2008 (10) GPR in L6 of A'rou on Mar. 20, 2008 (11) GPR +TDR in No. 3 quadrate of A'rou on Mar. 21, 2008 (12) GPR in No. 1 and 3 quadrates of A'rou on May. 31, 2008 (13) GPR in No. 1 quadrate of A'rou on Jun. 20, 2008

On 1 August 2012, Wide-angle Infrared Dual-mode line/area Array Scanner (WIDAS) carried by the Harbin Y-12 aircraft was used in a visible near Infrared thermal Dual-mode airborne remote sensing experiment, which is located in the artificial oasis eco-hydrology experimental area. WIDAS includes a CCD camera with a spatial of resolution 0.08 m, a visible near Infrared multispectral camera with five bands scanner (an maximum observation angle 48° and spatial resolution 0.4 m), and a thermal image camera with a spatial resolution of 2 m. The CCD camera data are recorded in DN values processed by mosaic and orthorectification.

The dataset of PR2 soil moisture profile observations (10cm, 20cm, 30cm, 40cm, 60cm and 100cm) was obtained in the Linze grassland foci experimental area. The sample points, with various underlying surface and depth were measured by PR2 probe in PR2 quadrate (3Grid×3Grid, 90m×90m) and PR2 line. Observations were carried out from May 31 to Jul. 13, 2008 with exceptions on Jun. 6, 8, 10, 13, 21, 27, 28, 29, Jul. 3 and 12. Data were archived in Excel and Word file. See WATER: Dataset of setting of the sampling plots and stripes in the foci experimental area of Linze station for more information.

The No. 6 hydrological section is located at Ban Heihe River Bridge (39°15′32.41″ N，100°16′33.95″ E, 1398 m a.s.l.) in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin, Zhangye, Gansu Province. The dataset contains observations from the No.6 hydrological section from 19 June, 2012, to 10 August, 2012. The width of this section is 270 meters. The water level was measured using HOBO pressure range and the discharge was measured using cross-section reconnaissance by the StreamPro ADCP. The dataset includes the following sections: Water level (recorded every 30 minutes) and Discharge. The data processing and quality control steps were as follows: 1) The water level data which collected from the hydrological station were averaged over intervals of 10 min for a total of 144 records per day. The missing data were denoted by -6999. 2) Data out the normal range records were rejected. 3) Unphysical data were rejected. For more information, please refer to Liu et al. (2016) (for multi-scale observation experiment or sites information), He et al. (2016) (for data processing) in the Citation section.

On 10 July 2012 (UTC+8), TASI sensor carried by the Harbin Y-12 aircraft was used in a visible near Infrared hyperspectral airborne remote sensing experiment, which is located in the observation experimental area (30×30 km). The relative flight altitude is 2500 meters. Land surface temperature product was obtained at a resolution of 3 m using a modified temperature/emissivity separation algorithm based on TASI surface radiance data. The product were validated with in situ ground measurements. The validation results indicated that the Land surface temperature product agreed with the ground LSTs well with RMSE lower than 1.5 K.