What drives the rapid water-level recovery of the largest lake (Qinghai Lake) of China over the past half century?

Fan, Chenyu; Song, Chunqiao; Li, Wenkai; Liu, Kai; Cheng, Jian; Fu, Congsheng; Tan, Cheng; Ke, Linghong; Wang, Jida

doi:10.1016/j.jhydrol.2020.125921

Cited by 40 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…As a result, increasing water level in the past decade decreased the δ 18 O of lake water from 3.42 ± 0.25‰ in 2006 (Liu et al, 2009) to 2.01 ± 0.14‰ in 2012 (Table 1) in Lake Qinghai. The increased lake level in Lake Qinghai since 2005 was considered to be a result of increasing annual rainfall and/or changing rainfall pattern, rather than temperature and evaporation (Jin et al, 2013b;Fan et al, 2021). However, the lake water δ 18 O SMOW vary seasonally little (Table 1), so that the impact of annual rainfall (∼1.25 km 3 /yr) is minor for this huge lake with a water volume of 71.6 km 3 .…”

Section: The Control Of Seasonal Ostracod δ 18 O In Lake Qinghaimentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal/Interannual Variation and Controlling Factors for Oxygen and Carbon Isotopes of Ostracod Shells Collected From a Time-Series Sediment Trap in Lake Qinghai

Jin

Zhang

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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Because the shell substance of an ostracod is derived entirely from the water body where it lives, its chemical compositions are sensitive to aquatic environment and thus have been used to reconstruct past climatic and environmental changes. However, there is controversy about the controlling factors for the different compositions of ostracod shells from various water bodies. In this study, seasonal and interannual variations in daily flux and stable oxygen-carbon isotopic compositions (δ18O, δ13C) for two species of ostracod shells (Limnocythere inopinata and Eucypris mareotica) and their controlling factors are discussed, based on ostracod shell samples collected from a time-series sediment trap from July 2010 through September 2012 and from surface sediments in Lake Qinghai, which were correlated with the state-of-the-art sensing data of the lake water. The results show that the daily flux of L. inopinata shells is an order of magnitude higher than that of E. mareotica. The δ18O and δ13C of both L. inopinata and E. mareotica shells have distinctly interannual and seasonal variations, with species differences. Interannual differences of δ18O for the two species of ostracod shells directly reflect the systematic differences of the summer water temperature between 2010 and 2012. We propose that seasonal variations of both δ18O and δ13C for the two species are affected by the precipitation of authigenic carbonates in microenvironment induced by high water temperature in summers, highlighting their environmental implications in Lake Qinghai.

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Section: The Control Of Seasonal Ostracod δ 18 O In Lake Qinghaimentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal/Interannual Variation and Controlling Factors for Oxygen and Carbon Isotopes of Ostracod Shells Collected From a Time-Series Sediment Trap in Lake Qinghai

Jin

Zhang

et al. 2021

Front. Earth Sci.

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“…The reduction in glacier water bodies mainly occurred in the first period (1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990), and it was small in the later three periods. The melting of glaciers resulted in a smaller increase in surface runoff [20,44]. According to the SWAT model, we divided the catchments of the Shaliu and Buha rivers into 30 subbasins and 44761 HRUs.…”

Section: Land Use Change In Lake Qinghai Catchmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this study, due to the lack of glacier type information in the SWAT land use database, the area of glaciers in study area was reclassified as water body areas. The Glacier-Enhanced SWAT Model [48] can describe the glacier-related change in surface runoff for detail, although the contribution of glacier and permafrost change to Lake Qinghai is less than 1% [20,44].…”

Section: Uncertainty Analysis Of the Swat Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Water level measurements indicated that lake level first decreased and then increased in the past few decades [13,14], and estimates of lake area obtained by remote sensing have also revealed such changes in Lake Qinghai [15][16][17]. Some researchers have studied the relationships between water level change and key factors, such as precipitation, surface runoff, air temperature, and evaporation by correlation analysis [18][19][20]. Other researchers have calculated the contributions of different factors to lake water volume change by employing statistical models [21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Quantifying the Contributions of Climate Change and Human Activities to Water Volume in Lake Qinghai, China

et al. 2021

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Lake Qinghai has shrunk and then expanded over the past few decades. Quantifying the contributions of climate change and human activities to lake variation is important for water resource management and adaptation to climate change. In this study, we calculated the water volume change of Lake Qinghai, analyzed the climate and land use changes in Lake Qinghai catchment, and distinguished the contributions of climate change and local human activities to water volume change. The results showed that lake water volume decreased by 9.48 km3 from 1975 to 2004 and increased by 15.18 km3 from 2005 to 2020. The climate in Lake Qinghai catchment is becoming warmer and more pluvial, and the changes in land use have been minimal. Based on the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT), land use change, climate change and interaction effect of them contributed to 7.46%, 93.13% and −0.59%, respectively, on the variation in surface runoff into the lake. From the perspective of the water balance, we calculated the proportion of each component flowing into and out of the lake and found that the contribution of climate change to lake water volume change was 97.55%, while the local human activities contribution was only 2.45%. Thus, climate change had the dominant impact on water volume change in Lake Qinghai.

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“…Due to its unique geographic location, Qinghai Lake plays a significant role in the climate change of the Tibetan Plateau [10], and climate change on the Tibetan Plateau can heavily affect global climate change [11]. Thus, studies on the ecological environment of Qinghai Lake have drawn much attention in recent years [12][13][14]. Moreover, with the increasing human activities in the Qinghai Lake Basin, the ecosystem of the lake is also being gradually affected [9,15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Estimation of Water Clarity and Suspended Particulate Matter in Qinghai Lake from 2001 to 2020 Using MODIS Images

et al. 2022

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Climate change and human activities have been heavily affecting oceanic and inland waters, and it is critical to have a comprehensive understanding of the aquatic optical properties of lakes. Since many key watercolor parameters of Qinghai Lake are not yet available , this paper aims to study the spatial and temporal variations of the water clarity (i.e., Secchi-disk depth, ZSD) and suspended particulate matter concentration (CSPM) in Qinghai Lake from 2001 to 2020 using MODIS images. First, the four atmospheric correction models, including the NIR–SWIR, MUMM, POLYMER, and C2RCC were tested. The NIR–SWIR with decent accuracy in all bands was chosen for the experiment. Then, four existing models for ZSD and six models for CSPM were evaluated. Two semi-analytical models proposed by Lee (2015) and Jiang (2021) were selected for ZSD (R2 = 0.74) and CSPM (R2 = 0.73), respectively. Finally, the distribution and variation of the ZSD and CSPM were derived over the past 20 years. Overall, the water of Qinghai Lake is quite clear: the monthly mean ZSD is 5.34 ± 1.33 m, and CSPM is 2.05 ± 1.22 mg/L. Further analytical results reveal that the ZSD and CSPM are highly correlated, and the relationship can be formulated with ZSD=8.072e−0.212CSPM (R2 = 0.65). Moreover, turbid water mainly exists along the edge of Qinghai Lake, especially on the northwestern and northeastern shores. The variation in the lakeshore exhibits some irregularity, while the main area of the lake experiences mild water quality deterioration. Statistically, 81.67% of the total area is dominated by constantly increased CSPM, and the area with decreased CSPM occupies 4.56%. There has been distinct seasonal water quality deterioration in the non-frozen period (from May to October). The water quality broadly deteriorated from 2001 to 2008. The year 2008 witnessed a sudden distinct improvement, and after that, the water quality experienced an extremely inconspicuous degradation. This study can fill the gap regarding the long-time monitoring of water clarity and total suspended matter in Qinghai Lake and is expected to provide a scientific reference for the protection and management of the lake.

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What drives the rapid water-level recovery of the largest lake (Qinghai Lake) of China over the past half century?

Cited by 40 publications

References 75 publications

Seasonal/Interannual Variation and Controlling Factors for Oxygen and Carbon Isotopes of Ostracod Shells Collected From a Time-Series Sediment Trap in Lake Qinghai

Seasonal/Interannual Variation and Controlling Factors for Oxygen and Carbon Isotopes of Ostracod Shells Collected From a Time-Series Sediment Trap in Lake Qinghai

Quantifying the Contributions of Climate Change and Human Activities to Water Volume in Lake Qinghai, China

Remote Estimation of Water Clarity and Suspended Particulate Matter in Qinghai Lake from 2001 to 2020 Using MODIS Images

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