Significant contribution of the Tianshan lakes to their water storage and water resources

Abstract

Study regionThe Tianshan region Study focusThe Tianshan region possesses a complex landscape with lakes, and changes in the water storage of these lakes serve as a crucial indicator of climate change. They also represent a significant water resource for the local area, profoundly impacting water resource allocation and playing a pivotal role in understanding the mass balance in the Tianshan region. Nevertheless, there is still a lack of systematic research on the Tianshan lake group. New hydrological insights for the regionThe results reveal that the total lake water storage is exhibiting an increasing trend (0.73±0.10 Gt/a). The Tianshan region experienced two periods of mass anomalies in 2010 and 2016, which were reflected not only in the changes of lake water storage but also in soil moisture, snow water, and even Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) displacement fields. These two mass anomalies were closely related to abnormal precipitation resulting from El Niño events (r=0.55, p<0.01). During these two mass anomaly periods, the regional total mass increased by 65.73 Gt and 67.35 Gt. Compared with their contributions to the mass (22% and 14%), the variations in lake area were remarkably slight (0.01% and 0.014%). This study contributes to understanding the sensitivity of lakes to climate responses and underscores the necessity of lake research for water resource management in complex surface environments.