Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions
Slope geohazards, which cause significant social, economic and environmental losses, have been increasing worldwide over the last few decades. Climate change-induced higher temperatures and shifted precipitation patterns enhance the slope geohazard risks. This study traced the spatial transference o...
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ftmdpi:oai:mdpi.com:/2071-1050/13/19/10488/ 2023-08-20T04:09:15+02:00 Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions Yiru Jia Jifu Liu Lanlan Guo Zhifei Deng Jiaoyang Li Hao Zheng agris 2021-09-22 application/pdf https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910488 EN eng Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute Air, Climate Change and Sustainability https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su131910488 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Sustainability; Volume 13; Issue 19; Pages: 10488 Qinghai-Tibet Plateau climate change slope geohazards new geohazard clusters Text 2021 ftmdpi https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910488 2023-08-01T02:45:30Z Slope geohazards, which cause significant social, economic and environmental losses, have been increasing worldwide over the last few decades. Climate change-induced higher temperatures and shifted precipitation patterns enhance the slope geohazard risks. This study traced the spatial transference of slope geohazards in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and investigated the potential climatic factors. The results show that 93% of slope geohazards occurred in seasonally frozen regions, 2.6% of which were located in permafrost regions, with an average altitude of 3818 m. The slope geohazards are mainly concentrated at 1493–1988 m. Over time, the altitude of the slope geohazards was gradually increased, and the mean altitude tended to spread from 1984 m to 2562 m by 2009, while the slope gradient varied only slightly. The number of slope geohazards increased with time and was most obvious in spring, especially in the areas above an altitude of 3000 m. The increase in temperature and precipitation in spring may be an important reason for this phenomenon, because the results suggest that the rate of air warming and precipitation at geohazard sites increased gradually. Based on the observation of the spatial location, altitude and temperature growth rate of slope geohazards, it is noted that new geohazard clusters (NGCs) appear in the study area, and there is still a possibility of migration under the future climate conditions. Based on future climate forecast data, we estimate that the low-, moderate- and high-sensitivity areas of the QTP will be mainly south of 30° N in 2030, will extend to the south of 33° N in 2060 and will continue to expand to the south of 35° N in 2099; we also estimate that the proportion of high-sensitivity areas will increase from 10.93% in 2030 to 14.17% in 2060 and 17.48% in 2099. Text permafrost MDPI Open Access Publishing Sustainability 13 19 10488 |
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MDPI Open Access Publishing |
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ftmdpi |
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English |
topic |
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau climate change slope geohazards new geohazard clusters |
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Qinghai-Tibet Plateau climate change slope geohazards new geohazard clusters Yiru Jia Jifu Liu Lanlan Guo Zhifei Deng Jiaoyang Li Hao Zheng Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions |
topic_facet |
Qinghai-Tibet Plateau climate change slope geohazards new geohazard clusters |
description |
Slope geohazards, which cause significant social, economic and environmental losses, have been increasing worldwide over the last few decades. Climate change-induced higher temperatures and shifted precipitation patterns enhance the slope geohazard risks. This study traced the spatial transference of slope geohazards in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) and investigated the potential climatic factors. The results show that 93% of slope geohazards occurred in seasonally frozen regions, 2.6% of which were located in permafrost regions, with an average altitude of 3818 m. The slope geohazards are mainly concentrated at 1493–1988 m. Over time, the altitude of the slope geohazards was gradually increased, and the mean altitude tended to spread from 1984 m to 2562 m by 2009, while the slope gradient varied only slightly. The number of slope geohazards increased with time and was most obvious in spring, especially in the areas above an altitude of 3000 m. The increase in temperature and precipitation in spring may be an important reason for this phenomenon, because the results suggest that the rate of air warming and precipitation at geohazard sites increased gradually. Based on the observation of the spatial location, altitude and temperature growth rate of slope geohazards, it is noted that new geohazard clusters (NGCs) appear in the study area, and there is still a possibility of migration under the future climate conditions. Based on future climate forecast data, we estimate that the low-, moderate- and high-sensitivity areas of the QTP will be mainly south of 30° N in 2030, will extend to the south of 33° N in 2060 and will continue to expand to the south of 35° N in 2099; we also estimate that the proportion of high-sensitivity areas will increase from 10.93% in 2030 to 14.17% in 2060 and 17.48% in 2099. |
format |
Text |
author |
Yiru Jia Jifu Liu Lanlan Guo Zhifei Deng Jiaoyang Li Hao Zheng |
author_facet |
Yiru Jia Jifu Liu Lanlan Guo Zhifei Deng Jiaoyang Li Hao Zheng |
author_sort |
Yiru Jia |
title |
Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions |
title_short |
Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions |
title_full |
Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions |
title_fullStr |
Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions |
title_full_unstemmed |
Locomotion of Slope Geohazards Responding to Climate Change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and Its Adjacent Regions |
title_sort |
locomotion of slope geohazards responding to climate change in the qinghai-tibetan plateau and its adjacent regions |
publisher |
Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910488 |
op_coverage |
agris |
genre |
permafrost |
genre_facet |
permafrost |
op_source |
Sustainability; Volume 13; Issue 19; Pages: 10488 |
op_relation |
Air, Climate Change and Sustainability https://dx.doi.org/10.3390/su131910488 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/su131910488 |
container_title |
Sustainability |
container_volume |
13 |
container_issue |
19 |
container_start_page |
10488 |
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