Modeling and analysis of lake water storage changes on the Tibetan Plateau using multi-mission satellite data

Song, Chunqiao; Huang, Bo; Ke, Linghong

doi:10.1016/j.rse.2013.03.013

Cited by 318 publications

(259 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…The reliability of ICESat altimetry data used for investigating water level changes of Tibetan lakes has been confirmed by comparing with hydrological station data, radar altimetry, and lake area data derived from optical images [1,2,7,21,22]. We obtained the ICESat Level-2 altimetry data (Release-33) during 2003-2009 from National Snow and Ice Data Center [3,10].…”

Section: Icesat Altimetry Datamentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Recent research reveals dramatic changes in water level and mass budgets of Tibetan lakes in the early twenty-first century [1][2][3][4], indicating a sharp alteration existing in mass balance of Asian "water tower" [2,4,5] and an evident signal of climate dynamics [3,[6][7][8][9]. These findings greatly depend on the lake elevation measurements by the Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation satellite (ICESat), as long-term in situ hydrological observations at the plateau scale are unavailable due to the remoteness and broad coverage of the Tibetan Plateau (TP).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Combined ICESat and CryoSat-2 Altimetry for Accessing Water Level Dynamics of Tibetan Lakes over 2003–2014

Song

Sheng

et al. 2015

Water

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Long-term observations of lake water level are essential to our understanding of the evolution of Tibetan lake system. CryoSat-2 radar altimetry data over the Tibetan Plateau (2010Plateau ( -2014) is used to extend lake level measurements from ICESat laser altimetry (2003-2009, P1). This study evaluates the performance of CryoSat-2 data by comparing with gauge-based water levels that are calibrated by ICESat-observed water level time series, and quantifies the uncertainty of water-level change rate estimates from satellite altimetry measurements. We completely investigate the 131 lakes that were observed by both ICESat and CryoSat-2. The mean change rate of water level for all of examined lakes in P2 (0.19 ± 0.03 m·year -1 ) is slightly lower than that (0.21 ± 0.02 m·year -1 ) observed in P1. The extended lake level time series also indicates that, in the past few years, lakes in the Northern Changtang (especially in Hol Xil) showed accelerated growth; and that the extensive lake level rises north to the Gangdise Mountains, during 2003Mountains, during -2009, were found dampened during the CryoSat-2 observation period. The spatio-temporal heterogeneity of precipitation observed from weather stations can be used to partly explain the observed temporal pattern of lake level changes over different sub-zones of the plateau. OPEN ACCESSWater 2015, 7 4686

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Section: Icesat Altimetry Datamentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Combined ICESat and CryoSat-2 Altimetry for Accessing Water Level Dynamics of Tibetan Lakes over 2003–2014

Song

Sheng

et al. 2015

Water

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“…Ulan Ul Lake, Xijin Ulan Lake, Hoh Xil Lake, and Dogai Coring Lake were located in the east of the Hoh Xil region and water area increased in these lakes by 14.84%, 16.53%, 9.36%, and 14.22%, respectively, during the study period (Song et al, 2013). These lakes followed a falling-rising pattern from the 1970s to 2010s, with rapid increases in area since the 2000s (Yao et al, 2013).…”

Section: Spatial Heterogeneity Of Lake Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Qinghai Lake, located in the Qaidam Basin, showed an overall decrease in area of 3% between the 1970s and 2000 (Zhang et al, 2014b) but the lake showed an obvious increase in area since the 2000s (Zhang et al, 2014b). Har Lake, located in the Qilian Mountains, showed a falling-rising pattern (type II, subtype ii) during the last four decades with a marked increase in area since the 2000s for a total increase in area of 9.6 km 2 (Song et al, 2013). Ayakekum Lake in the Kunlun Mountains increased from 614.62 km 2 in the 1970s to 940.41 km 2 in 2010.…”

Section: Spatial Heterogeneity Of Lake Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water-level changes for 26 typical inland lakes on the Tibetan Plateau were examined based on ICESat altimetry data (Zhang et al, 2011b;Song et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2013). Among the 26 lakes, 22 showed an upward tendency and four showed a downward tendency for water level during 2003 to 2009 (Table 3) Tibetan Plateau also showed considerable spatial heterogeneity.…”

Section: Changes In Lake Water Level Of the Tibetan Plateaumentioning

confidence: 99%

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Changes in inland lakes on the Tibetan Plateau over the past 40 years

et al. 2016

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Inland lakes and alpine glaciers are important water resources on the Tibetan Plateau. Understanding their variation is crucial for accurate evaluation and prediction of changes in water supply and for retrieval and analysis of climatic information. Data from previous research on 35 alpine lakes on the Tibetan Plateau were used to investigate changes in lake water level and area. In terms of temporal changes, the area of the 35 alpine lakes could be divided into five groups: rising, falling-rising, rising-falling, fluctuating, and falling. In terms of spatial changes, the area of alpine lakes in the Himalayan Mountains, the Karakoram Mountains, and the Qaidam Basin tended to decrease; the area of lakes in the Naqu region and the Kunlun Mountains increased; and the area of lakes in the Hoh Xil region and Qilian Mountains fluctuated. Changes in lake water level and area were correlated with regional changes in climate. Reasons for changes in these lakes on the Tibetan Plateau were analyzed, including precipitation and evaporation from meteorological data, glacier meltwater from the Chinese glacier inventories. Several key problems, e.g. challenges of monitoring water balance, limitations to glacial area detection, uncertainties in detecting lake water-level variations and variable region boundaries of lake change types on the Tibetan Plateau were discussed. This research has most indicative significance to regional climate change.

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Accelerated lake expansion on the Tibetan Plateau in the 2000s: Induced by glacial melting or other processes?

Song

Huang

Richards

et al. 2014

Water Resources Research

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Alpine lakes on the Tibetan Plateau are minimally disturbed by human activities and are sensitive indicators of climate variability. Accelerated lake expansion in the 2000s has been confirmed by both dramatic lake-area increases (for 312 lakes larger than 10 km 2 ) derived from optical images, and rapid water-level rises (for 117 lakes with water-level data) measured by satellite altimetry. However, the underlying climate causes remain unclear. This paper analyzes the relationship between the water-level changes of lakes on the plateau and the potential driving factors, such as the glacier meltwater supply and a dependency on precipitation and runoff over the whole plateau and in each zone. The results show that the rates of change of non-glacier-fed lakes in the 2000s were as high as those of glacier-fed lakes across the whole plateau and the lake-level changes were closely associated with the lake supply coefficients (the basin/lake area ratio). The lake variations agreed well with the spatial pattern of precipitation changes. However, in different zones, especially at around 33 N north of the plateau, glacier-fed lakes did exhibit faster lake level increases than no-glacier-fed lakes, indicating that the presence of a glacier meltwater supply augmented the precipitation-driven lake expansions in these areas. Despite the absence of quantitative modeling due to limited data availability, this study provides qualitative support that the lake expansions on the Tibetan Plateau in the 2000s have been driven primarily by changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration and not solely by the effect of glacier wastage.

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Modeling and analysis of lake water storage changes on the Tibetan Plateau using multi-mission satellite data

Cited by 318 publications

References 47 publications

Combined ICESat and CryoSat-2 Altimetry for Accessing Water Level Dynamics of Tibetan Lakes over 2003–2014

Combined ICESat and CryoSat-2 Altimetry for Accessing Water Level Dynamics of Tibetan Lakes over 2003–2014

Changes in inland lakes on the Tibetan Plateau over the past 40 years

Accelerated lake expansion on the Tibetan Plateau in the 2000s: Induced by glacial melting or other processes?

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