Sensitivities of hydrological processes under climate warming and Landuse/landcover change in the Lhasa basin, Tibetan plateau

Study Region: The Lhasa River Basin (LRB) on the Tibetan Plateau.Study Focus: This study assessed the influence of climate change and landuse/landcover (LULC) change on hydrological processes using the water balancing simulation model (WaSiM). We used multiple data sources in a multi-objective calib...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of Hydrology: Regional Studies
Main Authors: Kanon Guédet Guédé, Zhongbo Yu, Huanghe Gu, Ousmane Badji, Naveed Ahmed, Brice Sika, Yéï Marie Solange Oga
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024
Subjects:
Climate warming
Landuse
Landcover
Permafrost
Lhasa Basin
Tibetan Plateau
Physical geography
GB3-5030
Geology
QE1-996.5
permafrost
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2024.101731
https://doaj.org/article/8cbbcee6447a4fe89df884490e5de4da
Description
Summary:Study Region: The Lhasa River Basin (LRB) on the Tibetan Plateau.Study Focus: This study assessed the influence of climate change and landuse/landcover (LULC) change on hydrological processes using the water balancing simulation model (WaSiM). We used multiple data sources in a multi-objective calibration and validation approach, such as streamflow, snow cover, and glacier inventory, to minimize the uncertainties in the simulation results. Heat transfer in the soil was implemented in this study, which is crucial for permafrost regions.New Hydrological Insights for the Region: The results revealed spatiotemporal variation of precipitation change induced by climate warming in the last few decades. Runoff, actual evapotranspiration, and glacier melt are experiencing an increased trend. Meanwhile, decreased trends are signaled for snowmelt and water storage changes. Snowmelt showed an earlier peak that changed from June to May, which, combined with increased rainfall, resulted in an earlier peak of runoff in the basin. Rainfall is the main factor affecting runoff generation in LRB, while snowmelt and storage change are driven by the amount of snowfall, and actual evapotranspiration and glacier melt are most influenced by temperature. The annual discharge in LRB is projected to decrease, ranging from 20% to 39%, in response to the total permafrost degradation. Finally, the apparent variations in LULC exhibited in this study reveal a variety of water cycle and hydrological implications.

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