Significant water rise in major lakes

Scientists have determined that 10 main lakes spanning Qinghai-Tibet Plateau’s endorheic area doubled their total water content by 58.5 cubic kilometres from 1979 to 2016.

According to a recent study published in the journal Science Bulletin, the key contributions to the water rise include rainfall, glaciers and snow meltwater, lake surface evaporation, and soil freezing-thawing.

More than 60 percent of the region’s lake storage is located in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau’s endorheic area. Most lake basins in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau are poorly understood because of the complicated topography and interactions between the cryosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.

For this study, scientists looked at ten large lakes in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau’s endorheic region and analysed how lake water storage and the cryosphere’s impact on lake expansion varied over time and space. The results were used to support further research into the lake basin’s hydrological process and how the cryosphere influences lake expansion.

Chinese Academy of Sciences and University of California academics participated in the study.

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