scholarly journals Response of melt water and rainfall runoff to climate change and their roles in controlling streamflow changes of the two upstream basins over the Tibetan Plateau

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-289 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yueguan Zhang ◽  
Zhenchun Hao ◽  
Chong-Yu Xu ◽  
Xide Lai
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Snowmelt Runoff ◽  
Infiltration Capacity ◽  
Total Runoff

Abstract Located in the Tibetan Plateau, the upstream regions of the Mekong River (UM) and the Salween River (US) are very sensitive to climate change. The ‘VIC-glacier‘ model, which links a degree-day glacier algorithm with variable infiltration capacity (VIC) model, was employed and the model parameters were calibrated on observed streamflow, glacier mass balance and MODIS snowcover data. Results indicate that: (1) glacier-melt runoff exhibits a significant increase in both areas by the Mann–Kendall test. Snowmelt runoff shows an increasing trend in the UM, while the US is characterized by a decreasing tendency. In the UM, the snowmelt runoff peak shifts from June in the baseline period 1964–1990 to May for both the 1990s and 2000s; (2) rainfall runoff was considered as the first dominant factor driving changes of river discharge, which could be responsible for over 84% in total runoff trend over the two regions. The glacial runoff illustrates the secondary influence on the total runoff tendency; (3) although the hydrological regime is rain dominated in these two basins, the glacier compensation effect in these regions is obvious, especially in dry years.

scholarly journals Variation of Melt Water and Rainfall Runoff and Their Impacts on Streamflow Changes during Recent Decades in Two Tibetan Plateau Basins

Water ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 3112
Author(s):  
Yueguan Zhang ◽  
Chong-Yu Xu ◽  
Zhenchun Hao ◽  
Leilei Zhang ◽  
Qin Ju ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Minor Role ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Rainfall Runoff ◽  
Snowmelt Runoff ◽  
Total Runoff ◽  
Recent Climate ◽  
Glacier Runoff ◽  
Melt Water

To fully understand potential changes in hydrological regime over the Lhasa River Basin (LRB) and the upstream of Niyang River Basin (UNRB) in Tibetan Plateau under global warming, the VIC-glacier model was employed to analyze the responses of rainfall runoff and melt water to recent climate change, and we also quantify their roles in controlling the trend of river streamflow during 1963–2012. The hydrological model was calibrated using the observed streamflow, glacier mass balance, and MODIS snow cover. The simulations indicate that there is a significant increasing trend in glacier runoff for both basins during 1963–2012, especially in the period of 2000s when it exhibits a large increment up to about 45% relative to baseline period. Rainfall runoff suggests a rising tendency whereas snowmelt runoff displays a general decreasing tendency. For both basins, increasing rainfall runoff was identified as the dominant driver for the upward trend in total runoff during 1963–2012. The role of glacier runoff in controlling the trend of total runoff is also obvious, especially in the more glaciated UNRB where increased glacier runoff accounts for up to 41% of the tendency in river discharge. Snowmelt runoff plays a minor role in affecting the trend of total runoff.

Multiproxy records in middle–late Miocene sediments from the Wushan Basin: Implications for climate change and tectonic deformation in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

2020 ◽  
Vol 133 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 149-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weitao Wang ◽  
Peizhen Zhang ◽  
Zhicai Wang ◽  
Kang Liu ◽  
Hongyan Xu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Magnetic Susceptibility ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Phase Changes ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Tectonic Deformation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Global Cooling ◽  
Δ18o And Δ13c

Abstract To help understand the relationship between global cooling and Tibetan uplift in the middle to late Miocene, multiple proxy data including carbonate stable isotope records, magnetic susceptibility, and sediment color references were obtained from a magnetostratigraphic section (14.5–6.0 Ma) of the Wushan Basin along the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau. New proxies identify two phase changes that may have been controlled by global cooling and tectonic deformation at this time. During 14.5–13.2 Ma, positive shifts of ∼2.0‰ in δ18O and δ13C, an increase in lightness (L*), and a decrease in redness (a*) suggest gradually increasing aridity. Relatively high δ18O and δ13C values and low a*/L* and magnetic susceptibility values continue until ca. 10 Ma, when δ18O and δ13C significantly decrease and redness as well as magnetic susceptibility significantly increase. The negative shifts in δ18O and δ13C and increases in redness and magnetic susceptibility at 10 Ma are consistent with coeval basin environment and provenance changes. Combining these data with basin analysis, we suggest that global cooling was the dominant factor and Tibetan uplift was the subordinate factor for the middle Miocene aridification of the Wushan Basin. In contrast, the contribution of Tibetan uplift was dominant and global climate change was subordinate in the late Miocene basin paleogeographic reorganization.

scholarly journals Trends and variability in snowmelt in China under climate change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yong Yang ◽  
Rensheng Chen ◽  
Guohua Liu ◽  
Zhangwen Liu ◽  
Xiqiang Wang
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snow Cover ◽  
Northeast China ◽  
Cmip5 Models ◽  
Historical Period ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Snowmelt Runoff ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Precipitation And Temperature

Abstract. Snowmelt is a major fresh water resource, and quantifying snowmelt and its variability under climate change is necessary for planning and management of water resources. Spatiotemporal changes in snow properties in China have drawn wide attention in recent decades; however, country-wide assessments of snowmelt are lacking. Using precipitation and temperature data with a high spatial resolution (0.5 seconds, approximately 1 km), this study calculated the monthly snowmelt in China for the 1951–2017 period using a simple temperature index model, and the model outputs were validated using snowfall, snow depth, snow cover extent and snow water equivalent. Precipitation and temperature scenarios developed from five CMIP5 models were used to predict future snowmelt in China under three different representative concentration pathways (RCP) scenarios (RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5). The results showed that the mean annual snowmelt in China from 1951 to 2017 was 2.41 × 1011 m3. The mean annual snowmelts in Northern Xinjiang, Northeast China, and the Tibetan Plateau – China’s three main stable snow cover regions – were 0.18 × 1011 m3, 0.42 × 1011 m3 and 1.15 × 1011 m3, respectively. From 1951 to 2017, the snowmelt increased significantly in the Tibetan Plateau and decreased significantly in North, Central and Southeast China. In the whole of China, there was a decreasing trend in snowmelt, but this was not statistically significant. The mean annual snowmelt runoff ratios were generally more than 10 % in almost all third-level basins in West China, more than 5 % in third-level basins in North and Northeast China, and less than 2 % in third-level basins in South China. From 1951 to 2017, the annual snowmelt runoff ratios decreased in most third-level basins in China. Under RCP2.6, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5, the projected snowmelt in China in 2030s (2050s, 2090s) may decrease by 13.4 % (16.3 %, 13.8 %), 19.1 % (19.8 %, 22.5 %), 17.1 % (24.7 %, 42.8 %) compared with the historical period (1951–2017), respectively. Most of the projected mean annual snowmelt runoff ratios in third-level basins in different decades (2030s, 2050s and 2090s) were lower than those in the historical period. Low temperature regions can tolerate more warming, and the snowmelt change in these regions is mainly influenced by precipitation; however, the snowmelt change in warm regions is more sensitive to temperature increases. The spatial variability of snowmelt changes may lead to regional differences in the impact of snowmelt on water supply.

scholarly journals Contrasting Evolution Patterns of Endorheic and Exorheic Lakes on the Central Tibetan Plateau and Climate Cause Analysis during 1988–2017

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 1962
Author(s):  
Zhilong Zhao ◽  
Yue Zhang ◽  
Zengzeng Hu ◽  
Xuanhua Nie
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Climatic Factors ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Rapid Expansion ◽  
Annual Precipitation ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Climate Change Research ◽  
Mean Temperature

The alpine lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are indicators of climate change. The assessment of lake dynamics on the TP is an important component of global climate change research. With a focus on lakes in the 33° N zone of the central TP, this study investigates the temporal evolution patterns of the lake areas of different types of lakes, i.e., non-glacier-fed endorheic lakes and non-glacier-fed exorheic lakes, during 1988–2017, and examines their relationship with changes in climatic factors. From 1988 to 2017, two endorheic lakes (Lake Yagenco and Lake Zhamcomaqiong) in the study area expanded significantly, i.e., by more than 50%. Over the same period, two exorheic lakes within the study area also exhibited spatio-temporal variability: Lake Gaeencuonama increased by 5.48%, and the change in Lake Zhamuco was not significant. The 2000s was a period of rapid expansion of both the closed lakes (endorheic lakes) and open lakes (exorheic lakes) in the study area. However, the endorheic lakes maintained the increase in lake area after the period of rapid expansion, while the exorheic lakes decreased after significant expansion. During 1988–2017, the annual mean temperature significantly increased at a rate of 0.04 °C/a, while the annual precipitation slightly increased at a rate of 2.23 mm/a. Furthermore, the annual precipitation significantly increased at a rate of 14.28 mm/a during 1995–2008. The results of this study demonstrate that the change in precipitation was responsible for the observed changes in the lake areas of the two exorheic lakes within the study area, while the changes in the lake areas of the two endorheic lakes were more sensitive to the annual mean temperature between 1988 and 2017. Given the importance of lakes to the TP, these are not trivial issues, and we now need accelerated research based on long-term and continuous remote sensing data.

Spring phenology outweighed climate change in determining autumn phenology on the Tibetan Plateau

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 3725-3742
Author(s):  
Jie Peng ◽  
Chaoyang Wu ◽  
Xiaoyue Wang ◽  
Linlin Lu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Spring Phenology

scholarly journals Seasonal Response of Grasslands to Climate Change on the Tibetan Plateau

PLoS ONE ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. e49230 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haiying Yu ◽  
Jianchu Xu ◽  
Erick Okuto ◽  
Eike Luedeling
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau

Paleolake salinity evolution in the Qaidam Basin (NE Tibetan Plateau) between ~42 and 29 Ma: Links to global cooling and Paratethys sea incursions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chengcheng Ye ◽  
Yibo Yang ◽  
Xiaomin Fang ◽  
Weilin Zhang ◽  
Chunhui Song ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Middle Eocene ◽  
Qaidam Basin ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Climate Change ◽  
Driving Mechanism ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Early Oligocene ◽  
Global Cooling

<p>Global cooling, the early uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, and the retreat of the Paratethys are three main factors that regulate long-term climate change in the Asian interior during the Cenozoic. However, the debated elevation history of the Tibetan Plateau and the overlapping climate effects of the Tibetan Plateau uplift and Paratethys retreat makes it difficult to assess the driving mechanism on regional climate change in a particular period. Some recent progress suggests that precisely dated Paratethys transgression/regression cycles appear to have fluctuated over broad regions with low relief in the northern Tibetan Plateau in the middle Eocene–early Oligocene, when the global climate was characterized by generally continuous cooling followed by the rapid Eocene–Oligocene climate transition (EOT). Therefore, a middle Eocene–early Oligocene record from the Asian interior with unambiguous paleoclimatic implications offers an opportunity to distinguish between the climatic effects of the Paratethys retreat and those of global cooling.</p><p>Here, we present a complete paleolake salinity record from middle Eocene to early Miocene (~42-29 Ma) in the Qaidam Basin using detailed clay boron content and clay mineralogical investigations. Two independent paleosalimeters, equivalent boron and Couch’s salinity, collectively present a three-staged salinity evolution, from an oligohaline–mesohaline environment in the middle Eocene (42-~34 Ma) to a mesosaline environment in late Eocene-early Oligocene (~34-~29 Ma). This clay boron-derived salinity evolution is further supported by the published chloride-based and ostracod-based paleosalinity estimates in the Qaidam Basin. Our quantitative paleolake reconstruction between ~42 and 29 Ma in the Qaidam Basin resembles the hydroclimate change in the neighboring Xining Basin, of which both present good agreement with changes of marine benthic oxygen isotope compositions. We thus speculated that the secular trend of clay boron-derived paleolake salinity in ~42-29 Ma is primarily controlled by global cooling, which regulates regional climate change by influencing the evaporation capacity in the moisture source of Qaidam Basin. Superimposed on this trend, the Paratethys transgression/regression cycles served as an important factor regulating wet/dry fluctuations in the Asian interior between ~42 and ~34 Ma.</p>

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document