New permafrost is forming on the exposed bottom of Zonag Lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Yuxin Zhang; Changwei Xie; Tonghua Wu; Lin Zhao; Jichun Wu; Xiaodong Wu; Ren Li; Guojie Hu; Guangyue Liu; Wu Wang; Guiqian Yang

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152879

New permafrost is forming on the exposed bottom of Zonag Lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Sci Total Environ. 2022 Apr 1:815:152879. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152879. Epub 2022 Jan 5.

Authors

Yuxin Zhang¹, Changwei Xie², Tonghua Wu³, Lin Zhao⁴, Jichun Wu⁵, Xiaodong Wu⁶, Ren Li⁶, Guojie Hu⁶, Guangyue Liu⁶, Wu Wang⁶, Guiqian Yang¹

Affiliations

¹ Cryosphere Research Station on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Cryosphere Research Station on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China. Electronic address: xiecw@lzb.ac.cn.
³ Cryosphere Research Station on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China; Southern Marine Science and Engineering Guangdong Laboratory, Guangzhou 511458, China.
⁴ School of Geographical Sciences, Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology, Nanjing 210044, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory of Frozen Soil Engineering, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.
⁶ Cryosphere Research Station on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resource, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, Gansu 730000, China.

PMID: 34995596
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152879

Abstract

Most lakes on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have expanded in recent years. Zonag Lake, a critical habitat for Tibetan antelopes in the continuous permafrost zone, burst and overflowed after several years of expansion, resulting in a reduction of approximately 100 km² in the lake area. Observations have revealed new permafrost is forming on the exposed bottom, accompanied by various periglacial landscapes. The permafrost aggradation on the exposed bottom is rapid, and the permafrost base reached 4.9 m, 5.4 m, and 5.7 m in the first three years, respectively. In this study, the future changes and influencing factors of recently formed permafrost are simulated using a one-dimensional finite element model of heat flow. The simulated results indicate that the permafrost on the exposed bottom is likely to continue to develop, appearing first quick back slow trend. Besides the surface temperature, the annual amplitude is also an important factor in affecting the aggradation of permafrost. The unidirectional permafrost aggradation in the study area is different from the bidirectional permafrost aggradation on the closed taliks around the Arctic. Additionally, snow cover and vegetation are two important factors influencing the future development of permafrost on the exposed lake bottom.

Keywords: Exposed bottom; Heat conduction model; Periglacial landscapes; Permafrost aggradation; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

MeSH terms

Arctic Regions
Ecosystem
Lakes
Permafrost*
Tibet