Meteorological Effects of a Lake in A Permafrost Basin: Difference of Seasonal Freeze–Thaw Cycles in Hovsgol Lake and Darhad Basin, Northern Mongolia

Abstract

The effects of the present global climate change appear more pronounced in high latitudes and alpine regions. Transitions zones, such as the southern fringe of the boreal region in northern Mongolia, are expected to experience drastic changes as a result. This area is dry and cold with forests forming only on the north-facing slopes of hills and grasslands distributing on the south-facing slopes, making it difficult for continuous forests to exist. However, in the Hovsgol Lake Basin, there is a vast continuous pure forest of Siberian larch (Larix sibirica). In other words, the lake water thawing/freezing process may have created a unique climatic environment that differs with the climate of the adjacent Darhad Basin, where no lake exists. Thus, in order to compare the effect of the thawing/freezing dynamics of lake water and the active layer on the thermal regime at each basin, respectively, temperatures were simultaneously measured. The Darhad Basin has similar latitude, topography, area, and elevation conditions. As expected, the presence of the lake affected the annual temperature amplitude, as it was 60% of that in the Darhad Basin. The difference in the seasonal freeze–thaw cycles of the lake and the active layer caused a significant difference in the thermal regime, especially in winter.