scholarly journals Variations in water level and glacier mass balance in Nam Co lake, Nyainqentanglha range, Tibetan Plateau, based on ICESat data for 2003-09

2014 ◽  
Vol 55 (66) ◽  
pp. 239-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hongbo Wu ◽  
Ninglian Wang ◽  
Xi Jiang ◽  
Zhongming Guo
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Water Level ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Altimeter Data ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Glacier Meltwater ◽  
Nam Co Lake

AbstractWater level fluctuations of inland lakes are related to regional-scale climate changes, and reflect variations in evaporation, precipitation and glacier meltwater flowing into the lake area in its catchment. In this paper, Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) altimeter data and Landsat imagery (2002-09) are used to estimate Nam Co lake (Nyainqentanglha range, Tibetan Plateau) water elevation changes during 2002-09. In 2003 Nam Co lake covered an area of ~1998.8 ± 4.2 km2 and was situated at 4723 m a.s.l. Over such inland water bodies, ICESat altimeter data offer both wide coverage and spatial and temporal accuracy. We combine remote-sensing and GIS technology to map and reconstruct lake area and increased volume changes during a 7 year time series. Nam Co lake water level increased by 2.4±0.12m (0.33ma–1) between 23 February 2003 and 1 October 2009, and lake volume increased by 4.9 ±0.5 km3. In the past 7 years, Nam Co lake area has increased from 1998.78 ±5.4 to 2023.8 ±3.4 km2, the glacier-covered area has decreased from 832.34 to 821.0 km2 and the drainage basin area has decreased from 201.1 ±4.2 to 196.1 ±2.3 km2. However, the most spectacular feature is the continual water level rise from 2003 to 2009 without an obvious associated increase in precipitation. Based on digital elevation models (DEMs) from Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM data and corrected ICESat elevation data, significant changes to glacier mass balance in the western Nyainqentanglha mountains are indicated. Nyainqentanglha mountain glacier surface elevations decreased by 8.39 ± 0.45 m during 2003-09. Over the same period, at least 1.01 km3 of glacial meltwater flowed into Nam Co lake, assuming a glacial runoff coefficient of 0.6. The mean glacier mass-balance value is -490mmw.e. over the corresponding period, indicating that glacier meltwater in the catchment contributes to lake level rise. The contribution rate of glacial meltwater to lake water volume rise is 20.75%. The temporal lake level fluctuation correlates with temperature variations over the same time span.

Long-Term Changes of Lake Level and Water Budget in the Nam Co Lake Basin, Central Tibetan Plateau

2014 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 1312-1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanhong Wu ◽  
Hongxing Zheng ◽  
Bing Zhang ◽  
Dongmei Chen ◽  
Liping Lei
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Budget ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
Lake Basin ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Long Term Changes ◽  
Nam Co Lake

Abstract Long-term changes in the water budget of lakes in the Tibetan Plateau due to climate change are of great interest not only for the importance of water management, but also for the critical challenge due to the lack of observations. In this paper, the water budget of Nam Co Lake during 1980–2010 is simulated using a dynamical monthly water balance model. The simulated lake level is in good agreement with field investigations and the remotely sensed lake level. The long-term hydrological simulation shows that from 1980 to 2010, lake level rose from 4718.34 to 4724.93 m, accompanied by an increase of lake water storage volume from 77.33 × 109 to 83.66 × 109 m3. For the net lake level rise (5.93 m) during the period 1980–2010, the proportional contributions of rainfall–runoff, glacier melt, precipitation on the lake, lake percolation, and evaporation are 104.7%, 56.6%, 41.7%, −22.2%, and −80.9%, respectively. A positive but diminishing annual water surplus is found in Nam Co Lake, implying a continuous but slowing rise in lake level as a hydrological consequence of climate change.

Mechanism of Lake Area Variations and Water Level Changes in Nam Co Lake

2013 ◽  
Vol 838-841 ◽  
pp. 1685-1692 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Du ◽  
Mo Wen Xie ◽  
Man Hu
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Linear Regression Analysis ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Seepage Flow ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Nam Co Lake

The Tibetan Plateau is one of the best areas for the study because of its geographical location as well as human disturbance. AS one of the largest lakes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Nam Co Lake seepage underestimated for a long time. By linear regression analysis of hydrological data from 1970-2005, we qualitatively understands the water level operation mechanism. The result shows that the model deviates from 2000, compared with the actual water level. Correlation analysis indicates the Nam Co Lake seepage flow reduces after 2000. The Three Gorges project resulted in the uplift of the downstream water level, which exacerbates the rise of water level of Nam Co Lake. Owing to the non timeliness of underground seepage recharge, water level of downstream lake is difficult to simulate. According to the result and recent research, underground seepage may be a cycle, affecting the water level of all the lakes.

scholarly journals COMPARISON OF CRYOSAT-2 AND ICESAT-2 ON WATER LEVEL MONITORING OF NAM CO LAKE

2021 ◽  
Vol XLIII-B3-2021 ◽  
pp. 527-532
Author(s):  
H. Zhao ◽  
R. Xu ◽  
G. Qiao
Keyword(s):  
Water Level ◽  
Lake Level ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lake Levels ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Important Indicator ◽  
Annual Changes ◽  
Nam Co Lake ◽  
Level Monitoring ◽  
Water Level Monitoring

Abstract. There are more than 1,000 lakes (> 1 km2) on the Tibetan Plateau and lake level is an important physical feature of lake changes. Lake level change is an important indicator to reflect changes of climate and environment in a certain area. The development of satellite altimetry has provided data support for the monitoring of lake level and effectively compensated for the deficiencies of traditional water level monitoring in alpine regions. In this study, the laser altimeter of ICESat-2 and the radar altimeter of CryoSat-2 are used to provide lake level of the Nam Co lake during the period of 2010–2020. The result showed that the standard deviation (SD) of ICESat-2 (0.0895 m) was lower than the SD of CryoSat-2 (0.2556 m) and the months with higher SD values were mostly during the ice period of Nam Co lake. ICESat-2 had a considerably decreased measurement uncertainty. There are systematic differences in lake levels extracted by different altimetry satellites and the mean bias between ICESat-2 and CryoSat-2 was around 0.45 m. After removing inter-altimeter biases, the continuous lake levels from 2010 to 2020 were constructed. The inter-annual changes in lake levels were flat or even slightly decreased and the lake level has dropped by about 0.80 m in general. The water level generally reached the highest from September to October of the year in terms of intra-annual changes. Besides, temperature and precipitation changes were closely related to lake level tendency.

scholarly journals Atmospheric processes of persistent organic pollutants over a remote lake of the central Tibetan Plateau: Implications for regional cycling

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiao Ren ◽  
Xiaoping Wang ◽  
Chuanfei Wang ◽  
Ping Gong ◽  
Tandong Yao
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Organic Pollutants ◽  
Persistent Organic Pollutants ◽  
Secondary Source ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Surface Exchange ◽  
Atmospheric Processes ◽  
Water Gas

Abstract. Atmospheric processes (air-surface exchange, and atmospheric deposition and degradation) are crucial for understanding the global cycling and fate of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). However, such assessment over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) remains uncertain. More than 50 % of the Chinese lakes are located on the TP, which exerts a remarkable influence on the regional water, energy, and chemical cycling. In this study, air and water samples were simultaneously collected in Nam Co, a large lake on the TP, to test whether the lake is a "secondary source" or "sink" of POPs. Lower concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were observed in the atmosphere and lake water of Nam Co, while the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were relatively higher. Results of fugacity ratios and chiral signatures both suggest that the lake acted as the net sink of atmospheric hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs), following their long-range transport driven by the Indian Monsoon. Different behaviors were observed in the PAHs, which primarily originated from local biomass burning. Acenaphthylene, acenaphthene, and fluorene showed volatilization from the lake to the atmosphere; while other PAHs were deposited into the lake due to the integrated deposition process (wet/dry and air-water gas deposition) and limited atmospheric degradation. As the dominant PAH compound, phenanthrene exhibited a seasonal reversal of air-water gas exchange, which was likely related to the melting of the lake ice in May. The annual input of HCHs from air to the entire lake area (2015 km2) was estimated as 1.9 kg year−1, while those estimated for PAHs can potentially reach up to 550 kg year−1. This study highlights the significance of PAH deposition on the regional carbon cycling in the oligotrophic lakes of the TP.

scholarly journals Morphometric Controls on Glacier Mass Balance of the Puruogangri Ice Field, Central Tibetan Plateau

Water ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 496 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lin Liu ◽  
Liming Jiang ◽  
Yafei Sun ◽  
Hansheng Wang ◽  
Chaolu Yi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Central Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Ice Field

scholarly journals Observed and Simulated Lake Effect Precipitation Over the Tibetan Plateau: An Initial Study at Nam Co Lake

2018 ◽  
Vol 123 (13) ◽  
pp. 6746-6759 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yufeng Dai ◽  
Lei Wang ◽  
Tandong Yao ◽  
Xiangyu Li ◽  
Lingjing Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Initial Study ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Lake Effect ◽  
Nam Co Lake

Lake-atmospheric Interaction and its Impact on the Local Precipitation over Nam co region

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
xianyu yang
Keyword(s):  
Water Vapor ◽  
Latent Heat ◽  
Salt Lake ◽  
Transfer Model ◽  
Observation Data ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Total Precipitation ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Vapor Source ◽  
Nam Co Lake

<p>Nam Co Lake is the third largest salt lake in China. Nam Co Lake is a typical inland salt lake and a typical representative area of the complex topography of the Tibetan Plateau. In this study, the effects of Nam Co Lake on the short-term climate in the lake area are analyzed using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model in conjunction with field observation data for the Nam Co Lake area through a control experiment on the Nam Co Lake area and a sensitivity experiment on the same area without the presence of Nam Co Lake. Moreover, a backward water vapor transfer model is also employed to investigate the contribution of water vapor evaporation (transpiration) from this typical plateau lake and various types of surfaces to local precipitation. The following conclusions are derived: (1) After the removal of the lake, the sensible heat in the original lake area increases, whereas the latent heat decreases. The sum of the sensible and latent heat in the lake area simulated with and without the presence of the lake is 187.6 and 116.7 W·m<sup>-2</sup>, respectively. (2)After the removal of the lake, precipitation in the central Nam Co Lake area increases significantly, generally by more than 20–30 mm. The presence of Nam Co Lake effectively reduces the height of the ABL over the lake during the day. (3) Approximately 76.93% of the total precipitation in the Nam Co Lake area is contributed by external water vapor sources. Evapotranspiration from grassland surfaces is the secondary water vapor source for precipitation in the study area and 18.34% of the total precipitation is contributed by this source. Approximately 2.46% of the total precipitation in the lake area is contributed by evaporation from Nam Co Lake.</p>

Evaporation variability of Nam Co Lake in the Tibetan Plateau and its role in recent rapid lake expansion

2016 ◽  
Vol 537 ◽  
pp. 27-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ning Ma ◽  
Jozsef Szilagyi ◽  
Guo-Yue Niu ◽  
Yinsheng Zhang ◽  
Teng Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Nam Co ◽  
Nam Co Lake

scholarly journals Tree-ring-inferred glacier mass balance variation in southeastern Tibetan Plateau and its linkage with climate variability

2013 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 2451-2458 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Duan ◽  
L. Wang ◽  
L. Li ◽  
Y. Sun
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Climate Variability ◽  
Mass Balance ◽  
Tree Ring ◽  
Summer Monsoon ◽  
Indian Summer Monsoon ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Glacier Mass Balance ◽  
Monsoon Precipitation

Abstract. A large number of glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) have experienced wastage in recent decades. And the wastage is different from region to region, even from glacier to glacier. A better understanding of long-term glacier variations and their linkage with climate variability requires extending the presently observed records. Here we present the first tree-ring-based glacier mass balance (MB) reconstruction in the TP, performed at the Hailuogou Glacier in southeastern TP during 1868–2007. The reconstructed MB is characterized mainly by ablation over the past 140 yr, and typical melting periods occurred in 1910s–1920s, 1930s–1960s, 1970s–1980s, and the last 20 yr. After the 1900s, only a few short periods (i.e., 1920s–1930s, the 1960s and the late 1980s) were characterized by accumulation. These variations can be validated by the terminus retreat velocity of Hailuogou Glacier and the ice-core accumulation rate in Guliya and respond well to regional and Northern Hemisphere temperature anomaly. In addition, the reconstructed MB is significantly and negatively correlated with August–September all-India monsoon rainfall (AIR) (r1871-2008 = −0.342, p < 0.0001). These results suggest that temperature variability is the dominant factor for the long-term MB variation at the Hailuogou Glacier. Indian summer monsoon precipitation does not affect the MB variation, yet the significant negative correlation between the MB and the AIR implies the positive effect of summer heating of the TP on Indian summer monsoon precipitation.

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