Abstract
The South American Altiplano in the Andes is, aside from Tibet, the most extensive high plateau on Earth. This semiarid area represents important water resources storages, including the Lakes Titicaca and Poopó located in the northern and central Altiplano, respectively. The two lake basins and the southern saltpans constitute a large watershed, called the Lake Titicaca, Desaguadero River, Lake Poopó, and Coipasa Salt Flat System (TDPS hydrologic system). The Altiplano climate, topography, and location determine the TDPS hydrologic functioning. Scarce data and high spatial variability represent challenges to correctly simulate the TDPS water budget. Consequently, there is an important need to improve the understanding of the water resources in current and future climate over the area. The paper provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art regarding current knowledge of the TDPS hydro-socioeconomic system and summarizes the data needs to improve the current hydrological understanding.
Highlights
The South American Altiplano is one of the largest high plateaus in the world
The objective of this study is to produce a state of the art review of the research with respect to climate and water resources in the TDPS hydrological system, define important research gaps in hydrological data information of the region, and the key role that these have for the sustainable development in view of climate change and population increase
Summertime precipitation variability of the Altiplano relates to the strength and position of the upper-level anticyclone called the Bolivian High
Summary
The South American Altiplano is one of the largest high plateaus in the world. The highland is faced with extreme climatic variability that determines the regions poverty and harsh living conditions [1]. The Altiplano contains two large lakes, Lake Titicaca in the northern part and. The two lakes are connected through the Desaguadero River and salt content in the water is gradually increasing from north to south, with Lake Poopó’s extremely salty water. This is due to increasing upstream irrigation leading to a more salty return flow and lower precipitation occurrence in the southern part of the system. The water in Lake Titicaca represents about 99% of the total surface water in the Altiplano, meaning that this lake supplies a major part of water and humidity into the southern arid region.
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