Abstract
The northeastern part of the Tengger Desert accommodates several lakes. The effect of these lakes on local temperatures is unclear. In this study, the effects of the lakes were investigated using land surface temperature (LST) from MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) data from 2003 to 2018 and air temperatures from meteorological stations in 2017. LST and air temperatures are compared between the lake-group region and an area without lakes to the north using statistical methods. Our results show that the lake-group region is found to exhibit a warm island effect in winter on an annual scale and at night on a daily scale. The warm island effect is caused by the differing properties of the land and other surfaces. Groundwater may also be an important heat source. The results of this study will help in understanding the causative factors of warm island effects and other properties of lakes.
Highlights
IntroductionOwing to the extreme arid climate and other special conditions, desert areas have considerably different surface radiation budgets and energy distribution processes than other ecosystems, with unique energy, water, and material circulation processes
Deserts account for approximately 1/4 of the global land area [1]
We used remote sensing data and field observations to compare the land surface temperature (LST) and air temperatures of the lake-group region and the non-lake area located to the north
Summary
Owing to the extreme arid climate and other special conditions, desert areas have considerably different surface radiation budgets and energy distribution processes than other ecosystems, with unique energy, water, and material circulation processes. These unique exchanges of heat, water, and momentum influence ecosystems at the local, regional, and global scales, exerting strong direct and indirect influences on the global climate [2,3]. Previous research has shown that due to non-uniform solar heating of oases or lakes in arid areas like the Gobi Desert that are colder than the surrounding environment, a “cold island effect” is formed, different to the UHI [6,7,8]. Like the UHI, the ‘’warm island effect” is a meteorological phenomenon in the atmospheric boundary layer, but their formations are different [14]
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