Abstract
AbstractThe Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is characterized by a cold climate and a large number of lakes. The long ice season necessitates study of the widespread ice covers in the region. An unprecedented multidisciplinary field campaign was conducted on lake ice processes in the central QTP during the period 2019–13. The study lake generally froze up in late October or early November, and broke up in mid or late April, with a maximum ice thickness of 50–70 cm. The mass balances at both ice surface and bottom were measured continuously. Significant ice surface sublimation/ablation was detected and accounted for up to 40% of the whole ice thickness over the ice season. A simple heat-transfer model was developed for the surface ice loss. The calculated values were in good agreement with the observations. They also indicated that atmospheric conditions, including low air humidity and prevailing strong winds, are the primary drivers of the ice surface sublimation.
Highlights
The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is characterized by high mean elevation (4000–5000 m a.s.l.) and a cold climate, with a mean annual air temperature of –3 to –7°C, and is often called the Third Pole of the Earth
We present the results, develop a heat-transfer model for the ice surface mass budget based on atmospheric boundary layer theory, and discuss the effects of ice processes on the heat budget of permafrost and water balance of QTP lakes
Ice processes were investigated in a typical shallow lake in the central QTP over three winters in 2010–13
Summary
The Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) is characterized by high mean elevation (4000–5000 m a.s.l.) and a cold climate, with a mean annual air temperature of –3 to –7°C, and is often called the Third Pole of the Earth. A significant degradation of permafrost has been reported, which is probably due to the warming climate and increased human activity (Wang and others, 2000; Cheng and Wu, 2007). There are widespread reports of thermokarst lake expansion from, for instance, sub-Arctic lowlands and Siberian and alpine regions (Kokelj and Jorgenson, 2013; Niu and others, 2014). In China, sparse and limited observations have been conducted on the thermokarst lakes in the QTP with respect to their impacts on infrastructures and permafrost regimes, development mechanisms (Wang and others, 1979; Lin and others, 2010, 2012; Niu and others, 2011), methane emission (Jin and others, 1999; Wu and others, 2014) and the physics of seasonally ice-covered lakes. The responses of ice covers and ice-covered lakes in the QTP to warming climate and anthropogenic influences have not been studied extensively by field campaigns or modelling methods
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