| Citation: |
Chang-chang Fu, Xiang-quan Li, Xu Cheng, 2023. Unraveling the mechanisms underlying lake expansion from 2001 to 2020 and its impact on the ecological environment in a typical alpine basin on the Tibetan Plateau, China Geology, 6, 216-227. doi: 10.31035/cg2023015
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Unraveling the mechanisms underlying lake expansion from 2001 to 2020 and its impact on the ecological environment in a typical alpine basin on the Tibetan Plateau
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Abstract
Yanhu Lake basin (YHB) is a typical alpine lake on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). Its continuous expansion in recent years poses serious threats to downstream major projects. As a result, studies of the mechanisms underlying lake expansion are urgently needed. The elasticity method within the Budyko framework was used to calculate the water balance in the Yanhu Lake basin (YHB) and the neighboring Tuotuo River basin (TRB). Results show intensification of hydrological cycles and positive trends in the lake area, river runoff, precipitation, and potential evapotranspiration. Lake expansion was significant between 2001 and 2020 and accelerated between 2015 and 2020. Precipitation increase was the key factor underlying the hydrological changes, followed by glacier meltwater and groundwater. The overflow of Yanhu Lake was inevitable because it was connected to three other lakes and the water balance of all four lakes was positive. The high salinity lake water diverted downstream will greatly impact the water quality of the source area of the Yangtze River and the stability of the permafrost base of the traffic corridor.
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References
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Chang-chang Fu, Xiang-quan Li, Xu Cheng, 2023. Unraveling the mechanisms underlying lake expansion from 2001 to 2020 and its impact on the ecological environment in a typical alpine basin on the Tibetan Plateau, China Geology, 6, 216-227. doi: 10.31035/cg2023015
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Figure 1.
Location and key features of the YHB and TRB. The illustration shows that the YHB and TRB are distributed in the source region of the Yangtze River.
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Figure 2.
Yanhu Lake area in (a) 2010, and (b) 2020; (c) interannual variations in areas of the four lakes; (d) the survey of water level and quality on October 19, 2020.
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Figure 3.
Interannual variations of (a) lake area in the YHB, and (b) river runoff depth in the TRB.
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Figure 4.
Results of Mann-Kendall tests of runoff depths between 1960 and 2020 in the TRB.
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Figure 5.
a–Interannual variations of lake volume between 2015 and 2020; b–variations in an annual change of lake area for different periods between 1980 and 2020.
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Figure 6.
The water balance of the four lakes between 2015 and 2020 in the YHB. The pie chart shows the whole basin's average water balance in 2015–2020.
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Figure 7.
The spatial distribution of the water samples.
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Figure 8.
Significant changed components of the water in Qingshui River and Chumaer River before and after diversion.
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Figure 9.
Changes of the Qingshui River bridge before and after Yanhu Lake water diverting. a‒The old bridge is quite narrow and has limited water crossing capacity; b‒after the demolition of the old bridge, the modern Qingshui River Bridge was built to ensure the safety of the Qinghai-Tibet highway through which the Yanhu Lake water is diverted.