Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China
Climate warming has been observed for some time in the permafrost regions on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP), China, resulting in active layer thickening, shrinkage or expansion of thermokarst lakes, and reduced permafrost extent. Little is known, however, about the hydrological processes near therm...
Published in: | Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | unknown |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1797 |
id |
ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:perpro:v:25:y:2014:i:1:p:60-68 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftrepec:oai:RePEc:wly:perpro:v:25:y:2014:i:1:p:60-68 2023-05-15T17:57:07+02:00 Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China Xicai Pan Yanhui You Kurt Roth Lei Guo Xinbing Wang Qihao Yu https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1797 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1797 article ftrepec https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1797 2020-12-04T13:31:25Z Climate warming has been observed for some time in the permafrost regions on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP), China, resulting in active layer thickening, shrinkage or expansion of thermokarst lakes, and reduced permafrost extent. Little is known, however, about the hydrological processes near thermokarst lakes and their influences on lake development. We employed ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) profiling, topographic mapping and drilling to explore the interaction between hydrological processes and thermokarst lake development at a site on the QTP. The GPR data and borehole water‐level measurements revealed spatio‐temporal variation of the frost table and soil water storage, and indicated the main direction of subsurface flow through soil on hillslopes near the lake. The measurements hinted at the self‐organised formation of lateral flow channels at the thawing frost table near the lake. The ensuing recharge of the lake is balanced by drainage from the deepest end of the lake, down the topographic gradient, as ascertained by coring and lake bed mapping. Such a process‐based qualitative understanding is crucial for assessing the impact of climate change, in conjunction with the local topography and hydrogeology, on the evolution of thermokarst lakes on the QTP. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Article in Journal/Newspaper permafrost Thermokarst RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) Permafrost and Periglacial Processes 25 1 60 68 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
RePEc (Research Papers in Economics) |
op_collection_id |
ftrepec |
language |
unknown |
description |
Climate warming has been observed for some time in the permafrost regions on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP), China, resulting in active layer thickening, shrinkage or expansion of thermokarst lakes, and reduced permafrost extent. Little is known, however, about the hydrological processes near thermokarst lakes and their influences on lake development. We employed ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) profiling, topographic mapping and drilling to explore the interaction between hydrological processes and thermokarst lake development at a site on the QTP. The GPR data and borehole water‐level measurements revealed spatio‐temporal variation of the frost table and soil water storage, and indicated the main direction of subsurface flow through soil on hillslopes near the lake. The measurements hinted at the self‐organised formation of lateral flow channels at the thawing frost table near the lake. The ensuing recharge of the lake is balanced by drainage from the deepest end of the lake, down the topographic gradient, as ascertained by coring and lake bed mapping. Such a process‐based qualitative understanding is crucial for assessing the impact of climate change, in conjunction with the local topography and hydrogeology, on the evolution of thermokarst lakes on the QTP. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Xicai Pan Yanhui You Kurt Roth Lei Guo Xinbing Wang Qihao Yu |
spellingShingle |
Xicai Pan Yanhui You Kurt Roth Lei Guo Xinbing Wang Qihao Yu Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China |
author_facet |
Xicai Pan Yanhui You Kurt Roth Lei Guo Xinbing Wang Qihao Yu |
author_sort |
Xicai Pan |
title |
Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China |
title_short |
Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China |
title_full |
Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China |
title_fullStr |
Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mapping Permafrost Features that Influence the Hydrological Processes of a Thermokarst Lake on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau, China |
title_sort |
mapping permafrost features that influence the hydrological processes of a thermokarst lake on the qinghai‐tibet plateau, china |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1797 |
genre |
permafrost Thermokarst |
genre_facet |
permafrost Thermokarst |
op_relation |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1797 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1002/ppp.1797 |
container_title |
Permafrost and Periglacial Processes |
container_volume |
25 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
60 |
op_container_end_page |
68 |
_version_ |
1766165485561315328 |