Total suspended matter (TSM), as an indicator of the concentration of fine materials in the water column including particulate nutrients, pollutants, and heavy metals, is widely used to monitor aquatic ecosystems. However, the long-term spatiotemporal variations of TSM in lakes across the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and their response to environmental factors are rarely explored. Accordingly, taking advantage of the Landsat top-of-atmosphere reflectance and in-situ data, an empirical model (R2 = 0.83, RMSE = 1.08 mg/L, and MAPE = 19.49 %) was developed to estimate the average autumnal TSM in large TP lakes (≥50 km2) during the 1990-2020 period. For analyzing the spatiotemporal variability in TP lakes TSM, the examined lakes were classified into four types (Type A-D) based on their water storage changing in different periods. The results showed that the lakes in the southern and some northeastern parts of the TP exhibited lower TSM values than those situated in other regions. The assessment of TSM in each of these four lake types showed that more than half of them had a TSM value of <20 mg/L. Apart from Type D, the lakes with the TSM showing significantly decreasing trends were dominantly Types A-C. A relative contribution analysis involving five driving factors indicated that they contributed by >50 % to lake TSM interannual variation in 73 out of 114 watersheds, and the lakes area change demonstrated the greatest contribution (82.2 %), followed by wind speed (11.0 %). Further comparison between the entire lake and the non-expansive regions suggested that the expansive region played an indispensable role in determining the TSM value of the whole lake. This study can help to better understand the water quality condition and provide valuable information for policy-makers to maintain sustainable development in the TP region.
Keywords: Driving factors; Lake area; Landsat imagery; Total suspended matter (TSM); Water storage change.
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