Modes of exploitation of atmospheric water resources in the Qinghai–Tibet plateau

Abstract

AbstractKnown as “China's Water Tower,” the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) becomes warm and humid in the short term but faces drought in the long term because of global climate change. Atmospheric water resources seem to be the only choice in the QTP region to alleviate drought conditions. Analysis of water vapour distribution and evaluation of exploitation modes of atmospheric water resources are carried out in this study. Different exploitation modes of atmospheric water resources including routine, selective, and emergency‐oriented exploitation are distinguished using water vapour budget and its distribution entropy. Zoning of the QTP indicates that routine exploitation, that is, long‐term, continuous, and fixed‐point exploitation, can only be carried out in its eastern part, while the middle and western parts are suitable for selective exploitation. Such entropy‐based assessment and zoning can be used as a reference for the exploitation of atmospheric water in the QTP in the future. Furthermore, the proposed zoning criteria can be used to estimate the exploitability of atmospheric water resources.