scholarly journals Seasonal Variations in Dissolved Organic Carbon in the Source Region of the Yellow River on the Tibetan Plateau

Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 2901
Author(s):  
Xiaoni You ◽  
Xiangying Li
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Precipitation Amount ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Deposition Flux ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Permafrost Degradation

Rivers as the link between terrestrial ecosystems and oceans have been demonstrated to transport a large amount of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) to downstream ecosystems. In the source region of the Yellow River (SRYR), climate warming has resulted in the rapid retreat of glaciers and permafrost, which has raised discussion on whether DOC production will increase significantly. Here, we present three-year data of DOC concentrations in river water and precipitation, explore the deposition and transport processes of DOC from SRYR. Results show that annual mean concentrations of riverine DOC ranged from 2.03 to 2.34 mg/L, with an average of 2.21 mg/L. Its seasonal variation is characterized by the highest concentration in spring and summer (2.65 mg/L and 2.62 mg/L, respectively), followed by autumn (1.95 mg/L), and the lowest in winter (1.44 mg/L), which is closely related to changes in river runoff under the influence of precipitation and temperature. The average concentration of DOC in precipitation (2.18 mg/L) is comparable with riverine DOC, while the value is inversely related to precipitation amount and is considered to be the result of precipitation dilution. DOC deposition flux in precipitation that is affected by both precipitation amount and DOC concentration roughly was 86,080, 105,804, and 73,072 tons/yr from 2013 to 2015, respectively. DOC flux delivered by the river ranged from 24,629 to 37,539 tons/yr and was dominated by river discharge. Although permafrost degradation in SRYR is increasing, DOC yield is not as significant as previously assumed and is much less than other large rivers in the world.

scholarly journals Erosion-induced massive organic carbon burial and carbon emission in the Yellow River basin, China

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 945-959 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ran ◽  
X. X. Lu ◽  
Z. Xin
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
River System ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Organic Carbon Burial ◽  
The Yellow River Basin

Abstract. Soil erosion and terrestrial deposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) can potentially play a significant role in global carbon cycling. Assessing the redistribution of SOC during erosion and subsequent transport and burial is of critical importance. Using hydrological records of soil erosion and sediment load, and compiled organic carbon (OC) data, estimates of the eroded soils and OC induced by water in the Yellow River basin during the period 1950–2010 were assembled. The Yellow River basin has experienced intense soil erosion due to combined impact of natural process and human activity. Over the period, 134.2 ± 24.7 Gt of soils and 1.07 ± 0.15 Gt of OC have been eroded from hillslopes based on a soil erosion rate of 1.7–2.5 Gt yr−1. Approximately 63% of the eroded soils were deposited in the river system, while only 37% were discharged into the ocean. For the OC budget, approximately 0.53 ± 0.21 Gt (49.5%) was buried in the river system, 0.25 ± 0.14 Gt (23.5%) was delivered into the ocean, and the remaining 0.289 ± 0.294 Gt (27%) was decomposed during the erosion and transport processes. This validates the commonly held assumption that 20–40% of the eroded OC would be oxidized after erosion. Erosion-induced OC redistribution on the landscape likely represented a carbon source, although a large proportion of OC was buried. In addition, about half of the terrestrially redeposited OC (49.4%) was buried behind dams, revealing the importance of dam trapping in sequestering the eroded OC. Although several uncertainties need to be better constrained, the obtained budgetary results provide a means of assessing the redistribution of the eroded OC within the Yellow River basin. Human activities have significantly altered its redistribution pattern over the past decades.

scholarly journals Erosion-induced massive organic carbon burial and carbon emission in the Yellow River basin, China

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (8) ◽  
pp. 13491-13534 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Ran ◽  
X. X. Lu ◽  
Z. Xin
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Yellow River Basin ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Soil Erosion Rate ◽  
Organic Carbon Burial ◽  
The Yellow River Basin

Abstract. Soil erosion and terrestrial deposition of soil organic carbon (SOC) can potentially play a significant role in global carbon cycling. Assessing the fate of SOC during erosion and subsequent transport and sedimentation is of critical importance. Using hydrological records of soil erosion and sediment load, and compiled organic carbon (OC) data, budgets of the eroded soils and OC induced by water in the Yellow River basin during 1950–2010 were analyzed. The Yellow River basin has experienced intense soil erosion due to integrated impact of natural process and human activity. Over the period, 134.2 ± 24.7 Gt of soils and 1.07 ± 0.26 Gt of OC have been eroded from slope lands based on a soil erosion rate of 1.7–2.5 Gt yr–1. Among the produced sediment, approximately 63% of it was deposited on land, while only 37% was discharged into the ocean. For the OC budget, approximately 0.53 ± 0.18 Gt (49.5%) was buried on land, 0.25 ± 0.14 Gt (23.5%) was delivered into the ocean, and the remaining 0.289 ± 0.202 Gt (27%) was decomposed during the erosion and transport processes. This validates the commonly used assumption that 20–40% of the eroded OC would be oxidized after erosion. Erosion-induced OC transport in the basin likely represents an atmospheric carbon source. In addition, about half of the terrestrially redeposited OC (around 49.4%) was buried in reservoirs and behind silt check dams, revealing the importance of dam sedimentation in trapping the eroded OC. Although with several uncertainties to be better constrained, the obtained budgetary results provide a means of assessing the potential fates of the eroded OC within the Yellow River basin.

scholarly journals Impacts of the Two Biggest Lakes on Local Temperature and Precipitation in the Yellow River Source Region of the Tibetan Plateau

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Wen ◽  
Shihua Lv ◽  
Zhaoguo Li ◽  
Lin Zhao ◽  
Nidhi Nagabhatla
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Maximum Temperature ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Lake Area ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Community Land Model ◽  
Yellow River Source

The Tibetan Plateau harbors thousands of lakes; however few studies focus on impacts of lakes on local climate in the region. To investigate and quantify impacts of the two biggest lakes (Ngoring Lake and Gyaring Lake) of the Yellow River source region in the Tibetan Plateau on local climate, two simulations (with and without the two large lakes) from May 2010 to July 2011 are performed and analyzed using the WRF-CLM model (the weather research and forecasting model coupled with the community land model). Differences between simulated results show that the WRF-CLM model could provide realistic reproduction of surface observations and has better simulation after considering lakes. Lakes mostly reduce the maximum temperature all year round and increase the minimum temperature except in March due to the large heat capacity that makes lakes absorb (release) more energy for the same temperature change compared to land. Lakes increase precipitation over the lake area and in the nearby region, mostly during 02–14 BT (Beijing Time) of July to October when the warm lake surface induces the low level horizontal convergence and updraft over lake and provides energy and vapor to benefit the development of the convection for precipitation.

scholarly journals A first investigation of hydrogeology and hydrogeophysics of the Maqu catchment in the Yellow River source region

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 4727-4757
Author(s):  
Mengna Li ◽  
Yijian Zeng ◽  
Maciek W. Lubczynski ◽  
Jean Roy ◽  
Lianyu Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Source Region ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Mountainous Area ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Soil Thickness ◽  
Eastern Area ◽  
Yellow River Source

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau is the source of most of Asia's major rivers and has been called the Asian Water Tower. Detailed knowledge of its hydrogeology is paramount to enable the understanding of groundwater dynamics, which plays a vital role in headwater areas like the Tibetan Plateau. Nevertheless, due to its remoteness and the harsh environment, there is a lack of field survey data to investigate its hydrogeology. In this study, borehole core lithology analysis, soil thickness measurement, an altitude survey, hydrogeological surveys, and hydrogeophysical surveys (e.g. magnetic resonance sounding – MRS, electrical resistivity tomography – ERT, and transient electromagnetic – TEM) were conducted in the Maqu catchment within the Yellow River source region (YRSR). The hydrogeological surveys reveal that groundwater flows from the west to the east, recharging the Yellow River. The hydraulic conductivity ranges from 0.2 to 12.4 m d−1. The MRS sounding results, i.e. water content and hydraulic conductivity, confirmed the presence of an unconfined aquifer in the flat eastern area. Based on TEM results, the depth of the Yellow River deposits was derived at several places in the flat eastern area, ranging from 50 to 208 m. The soil thickness measurements were done in the western mountainous area of the catchment, where hydrogeophysical and hydrogeological surveys were difficult to be carried out. The results indicate that most soil thicknesses, except on the valley floor, are within 1.2 m in the western mountainous area of the catchment, and the soil thickness decreases as the slope increases. These survey data and results can contribute to integrated hydrological modelling and water cycle analysis to improve a full-picture understanding of the water cycle at the Maqu catchment in the YRSR. The raw dataset is freely available at https://doi.org/10.17026/dans-z6t-zpn7 (Li et al., 2020a), and the dataset containing the processed ERT, MRS, and TEM data is also available at the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center with the link https://doi.org/10.11888/Hydro.tpdc.271221 (Li et al., 2020b).

Assessing soil erosion and control factors by radiometric technique in the source region of the Yellow River, Tibetan Plateau

2014 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 538-544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yibo Wang ◽  
Fujun Niu ◽  
Qingbai Wu ◽  
Zeyong Gao
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Vegetation Cover ◽  
Soil Loss ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Source Region ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Erosion Rates ◽  
Main Factors

AbstractMeasurements of 137Cs concentration in soils were made in a representative catchment to quantify erosion rates and identify the main factors involved in the erosion in the source region of the Yellow River in the Tibetan Plateau. In order to estimate erosion rates in terms of the main factors affecting soil loss, samples were collected taking into account the slope and vegetation cover along six selected transects within the Dari County catchment. The reference inventory for the area was established at a stable, well-preserved, site of small thickness (value of 2324 Bq·m− 2). All the sampling sites had been eroded and 137Cs inventories varied widely in the topsoil (14.87–25.56 Bq·kg− 1). The effective soil loss values were also highly variable (11.03–28.35 t·km− 1·yr− 1) in line with the vegetation cover change. The radiometric approach was useful in quantifying soil erosion rates and examining patterns of soil movement.

scholarly journals A first investigation of hydrogeology and hydrogeophysics of the Maqu catchment in the Yellow River source region

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengna Li ◽  
Yijian Zeng ◽  
Maciek W. Lubczynski ◽  
Jean Roy ◽  
Lianyu Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Hydraulic Conductivity ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Source Region ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Soil Thickness ◽  
Eastern Area ◽  
Yellow River Source

Abstract. The Tibetan Plateau is the source of most of Asia's major rivers and has been called the Asian Water Tower. Detailed knowledge of its hydrogeology is paramount to enable the understanding of groundwater dynamics, which plays a vital role in headwater areas like the Tibetan Plateau. Nevertheless, due to its remoteness and the harsh environment, there is a lack of field survey data to investigate its hydrogeology. In this study, borehole core lithology analysis, altitude survey, soil thickness measurement, hydrogeological survey, and hydrogeophysical surveys (e.g., Magnetic Resonance Sounding – MRS, Electrical Resistivity Tomography – ERT, and Transient Electromagnetic – TEM) were conducted in the Maqu catchment within the Yellow River Source Region (YRSR). The soil thickness measurements were done in the western mountainous area of the catchment, where hydrogeophysical surveys were difficult to be carried out. The results indicate soil thicknesses are within 1.2 m in most cases, and the soil thickness decreases as the slope increases. The hydrogeological survey reveals that groundwater flows from the west to the east, recharging the Yellow River. The hydraulic conductivity ranges from 0.2 m/d to 12.4 m/d. The MRS soundings results, i.e., water content and hydraulic conductivity, confirmed the presence of unconfined aquifer in the flat eastern area. The depth of the Yellow River deposits was derived at several places in the flat eastern area based on TEM results. These survey data and results can be used to develop integrated hydrological modeling and water cycle analysis to improve a full–picture understanding of the water cycle at the Maqu catchment in the YRSR. The raw data set is freely available at https://doi.org/10.17026/dans-z6t-zpn7 (Li et al., 2020).

scholarly journals High Riverine CO<sub>2</sub> Outgassing affected by Land Cover Types in the Yellow River Source Region

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingyang Tian ◽  
Xiankun Yang ◽  
Lishan Ran ◽  
Yuanrong Su ◽  
Lingyu Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Co2 Emissions ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Source Region ◽  
Environmental Parameters ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Temporal Variations ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Co2 Efflux ◽  
Yellow River Source

Abstract. Rivers connect the land and the oceans, acting as both active pipes and containers transporting carbon and other substances from terrestrial ecosystems to aquatic ecosystems. Meanwhile, rivers can release huge amounts of CO2 to the atmosphere. However, estimates of global riverine CO2 emissions remain greatly uncertain owing to the absence of a comprehensive spatially and temporally CO2 emissions measurement, especially in river source regions. In this study, riverine partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and CO2 efflux (FCO2) in the Yellow River source region under different landcover types, including glaciers, permafrost, wetlands, and grasslands, were investigated in April, June, August, and October 2016. The relevant chemical parameters and environmental parameters, including pH, dissolved oxygen (DO), and dissolved organic carbon (DOC), were analyzed to explore the main control factors of riverine pCO2 and FCO2. The results showed that the rivers in the Yellow River source region were a net CO2 source, with the pCO2 ranging from 181 to 2441 μatm and the FCO2 from −221 to 6892 g C m−2 yr−1. Both the pCO2 and FCO2 showed strong spatial and temporal variations. The average FCO2 in August was higher than that in other months, with the lowest in October. In alpine climates, low temperature conditions played a crucial role in limiting biological activity and reducing CO2 emissions. The lowest FCO2 values (−221 g C m−2 yr−1) were observed in the glacier and permafrost regions. By integrating seasonal changes of water surface area, the total CO2 efflux was estimated at 0.37 ± 0.49 Tg C yr−1, which is significantly higher than previous studies. Although it is still a small proportion of CO2 emissions compared with the whole Yellow River Basin, but there is a huge carbon emissions potential. Since the permafrost in the source region of the Yellow River is rich in large amounts of ice and organic carbon, the continuously increasing temperature due to global warming will accelerate not only the mobilization of organic carbon in permafrost, but also the degradation of organic carbon by soil microorganisms. As a consequence, huge amounts of CO2 release from soils and rivers is anticipated.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document