Abstract
Abstract The area covered by the four lakes in the Zhuonai Lake–Salt Lake Basin in Hoh Xil (Zhuonai Lake, Kusai Lake, Heidinor Lake, and Salt Lake) has changed significantly over the past 30 years. In this study, remote sensing image data gathered via the Landsat thematic mapper, enhanced thematic mapper plus, and operational land imager from 1989 to 2018 were used to extract the areal parameters of four lakes. The total area of the four lakes had increased by 18% in the past 30 years due to climate change. Interpolated results based on the meteorological data from 28 meteorological stations in the basin were used for trend analysis. A single-layer lake evaporation model was utilized to study the changes in the annual lake evaporation in the basin. The annual lake evaporation slightly increased from 1989 to 1995, followed by a sharp decrease from 1995 to 2018. From 1989 to 2018, the annual evaporation in the basin ranged between 615.37 and 921.66 mm, with a mean of 769.73 mm. A mass balance model was developed to estimate the changes in the lake volumes due to precipitation and evaporation. The increase in precipitation and the decrease in the annual lake evaporation promote the expansion of the four lakes. Lake evaporation is the main factor inducing changes in the lake areas.
Highlights
Lakes in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) can act as indicators of global climate change (Li et al a)
The results showed that the expansion of most lakes in the TP is caused by significant glacier retreat and permafrost thawing due to sustained warming (Ersi et al ; Yang et al ; Zhang et al a; Lei et al )
Owing to the abundant annual precipitation in the basin from May to early October and the long freezing period of the lakes (December to early May), images from mid-October to end of November without cloud cover over the lakes were selected to extract the lake areas to reduce the effects of precipitation and lake freezing
Summary
Lakes in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) can act as indicators of global climate change (Li et al a). In the past 30 years, the total number of lakes and their surface areas have increased significantly (Li et al a). Climate change has been an important factor affecting the evolution of high-altitude lakes (Lei et al ) because sustained warming has resulted in the retreat of permafrost and glaciers, supplying water to the lakes. The general increase in precipitation and the decrease in evaporation contribute water to alpine lakes (Yang et al ). Long-term monitoring of the lake dynamics can be used to uncover the effects of climate change on water resources and the environment in the TP (Beniston et al ; Li et al a)
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