Changes in the thermal and hydraulic regime within the active layer in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The change trends of air temperature,precipitation and evaporation from 1999 to 2008 shows that the climate in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau permafrost region had become warmer.The analysis of the systematic active-layer data monitoring network along the Qinghai-Tibet Highway indicated that the active-layer thickness had been increasing and the soil temperature was rising.The soil temperature was rising in winter but not at the end of spring or during the entire summer.With thickening and warming of the active layer,the liquid water content of the active layer had an obvious downward migration and liquid water content in the top horizons decreased,but in the deeper horizons it increased.     

An Estimation of Ground Ice Volumes in Permafrost Layers in Northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially attempts to assess the ground ice volume in permafrost layers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by considering landform types, the corresponding lithological composition, and the measured water content in various regions. An approximation demonstrating the existence of many similarities in lithological composition and water content within a unified landform was established during the calculations. Considerable knowledge of the case study area, here called the Source Area of the Yellow(Huanghe) River(SAYR) in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has been accumulated related to permafrost and fresh water resources during the past 40 years. Considering the permafrost distribution, extent, spatial distribution of landform types, the ground ice volume at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m below the ground surface was estimated based on the data of 101 boreholes from field observations and geological surveys in different types of landforms in the permafrost region of the SAYR. The total ground ice volume in permafrost layers at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m was approximately(51.68 ± 18.81) km~3, and the ground ice volume per unit volume was(0.31 ± 0.11) m~3/m~3. In the horizontal direction, the ground ice content was higher in the landforms of lacustrine-marshland plains and alluvial-lacustrine plains, and the lower ground ice content was distributed in the erosional platforms and alluvial-proluvial plains. In the vertical direction, the volume of ground ice was relatively high in the top layers(especially near the permafrost table) and at the depths of 7.0–8.0 m. This calculation method will be used in the other areas when the necessary information is available, including landform type, borehole data, and measured water content.     

Response of biomass spatial pattern of alpine vegetation to climate change in permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China

Alpine ecosystems in permafrost region are extremely sensitive to climate changes.To determine spatial pattern variations in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomass dynamics in the permafrost region of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,China,calibrated with historical datasets of above-ground biomass production within the permafrost region's two main ecosystems,an ecosystem-biomass model was developed by employing empirical spatialdistribution models of the study region's precipitation,air temperature and soil temperature.This model was then successfully used to simulate the spatio-temporal variations in annual alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change.For a 0.44°C decade-1 rise in air temperature,the model predicted that the biomasses of alpine meadow and alpine steppe remained roughly the same if annual precipitation increased by 8 mm per decade-1,but the biomasses were decreased by 2.7% and 2.4%,respectively if precipitation was constant.For a 2.2°C decade-1 rise in air temperature coupled with a 12 mm decade-1 rise in precipitation,the model predicted that the biomass of alpine meadow was unchanged or slightly increased,while that of alpine steppe was increased by 5.2%.However,in the absence of any rise in precipitation,the model predicted 6.8% and 4.6% declines in alpine meadow and alpine steppe biomasses,respectively.The response of alpine steppe biomass to the rising air temperatures and precipitation was significantly lesser and greater,respectively than that of alpine meadow biomass.A better understanding of the difference in alpine ecosystem biomass production under climate change is greatly significant with respect to the influence of climate change on the carbon and water cycles in the permafrost regions of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

Response of Vegetation in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to Global Warming

Using satellite-observed Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) dada and station-observed surface air temperature anomalies for the Northern Hemisphere (NH), we analyze the spatio-temporal characteristics of vege- tation variations in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and their correlations with global warming from 1982 to 2002. It is found that the late spring and early summer (May-June) are the months with the strongest responses of vegetation to global warming. Based on the Rotated Empirical Orthogonal Function (REOF) method, the study shows that the first REOF spatial pattern of average NDVI for May-June reveals the northern and southern zones with great inter-annual variations of vegetation, the northern zone from the eastern Kunlun Mountains to the southwestern Qilian Mountain and southern zone from the northern edge of the Himalayas eastward to the Hengduan Mountains. The vegetation, especially grassland, in the two zones increases significantly with global warming, with a correlation coefficient of 0.71 between the first REOF of May-June vegetation and the April-May surface air temperature anomaly in the NH during 1982-2002. A long-term increasing trend in May-June vegetation for the plateau region as a whole is also attributed mainly to global warming although there are considerable regional differences. The areas with low NDVI (grassland and shrubland) usually respond more evidently to global warming, especially since the 1990s, than those with moderate or high NDVI values.     

Modeling regional and local-scale permafrost distribution in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau using equivalent-elevation method

This study proposes an equivalent-elevation method to evaluate the integrated effects of latitude and elevation on regional and local-scale permafrost distribution in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,and to model the general permafrost-distribution patterns in regional and local-scale area.It is found that the Gaussian curve―an empirical model describing the relation between variations of altitudinal permafrost lower limit (PLL) and latitude in the Northern Hemisphere―could be applied in regional-and local-scale areas in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in a latitude-sensitive interval of 30°-50°N.The curve was then used to evaluate the latitudinal effect on permafrost distribution through transforming the latitudinal effect into a kind of altitudinal difference of PLL.This study then calculated the local equivalent-elevation value by overlaying the altitudinal difference of PLL onto real elevation at a certain location.The equivalent-elevation method was verified in an experimental subwatershed of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.However,feasibility of the method should be further tested in order to extend for future studies.The use of equivalent-elevation values can build a platform for comparing the regional general permafrost distribution in the plateau,and for basing further evaluations of local factors’ effects on regional permafrost distribution.     

Characteristics of Permafrost along Highway G214 in the Eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The characteristics of the permafrost along National Highway No. 214(G214) in Qinghai province(between kilometer markers K310 and K670),including the distribution patterns of permafrost and seasonally frozen ground(SFG), ground ice content and mean annual ground temperature(MAGT), were analyzed using a large quantity of drilling and measured ground temperature data. Three topographic units can be distinguished along the highway: the northern mountains, including Ela Mountain and Longstone Mountain; the medial alluvial plain and the southern Bayan Har Mountains.The horizontal distribution patterns of permafrost can be divided into four sections, from north to south: the northern continuous permafrost zone(K310-K460),the island permafrost zone(K460-K560), the southern continuous permafrost zone(K560-K630),and the discontinuous permafrost zone(K630-K670).Vertically, the permafrost lower limits(PLLs) of the discontinuous zone were 4200/4325 m, 4230/4350 m,and 4350/4450 m on the north-facing/south-facing slopes of Ela Mountain, Longstone Mountain and Bayan Har Mountains, respectively. The permafrost was generally warm, with MAGTs between-1.0°C and0°C in the northern continuous permafrost zone,approximately-0.5°C in the island permafrost zone,between-1.5°C and 0°C in the southern continuous permafrost zone, and higher than-0.5°C in the discontinuous permafrost zone. In contrast, the spatial variations in ground ice content were mainly controlled by the local soil water content and lithology.The relationships between the mean annual air temperature(MAAT) and the PLLs indicated that the PLLs varied between-3.3°C and-4.1°C for the northern Ela and Longstone Mountains and between-4.1°C and-4.6°C in the southern Bayan Har Mountains.     

CHARACTERISTICS OF CHANGE IN TEMPERATURE DURING THE PAST 50 YEARS IN JILIN PROVINCE OF CHINA

Based on the monthly mean temperature, the changing processes and tendencies of temperature during1951 -2000 in Jilin Province, which is in Northeast China, are analyzed. And the spatial characteristics of the changeare submitted. In the past 50 years the temperature of Jilin Province was increasing just like the other areas in the world.Since 1990, the increasing of temperature has been more obvious than that in the previous 40a. From the west to theeast, the province has larger temperature rising. According to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of temperature field,Jilin Province is divided into 3 regions and the degree of becoming warmer is different from region to region. During theperiod of 1951 to 2000, the annual temperature in Jilin Province has been rising, so has the temperature in winter andsummer. The average temperature in the 1990s was 0. 5 - 2. 0℃ higher than that in the 1950s. From the west to theeast, the increasing of temperature became smaller.     

The Relationship between Normalized Difference Vegetation Index （NDVI） and Climate Factors in the Semiarid Region： A Case Study in Yalu Tsangpo River Basin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

The Yalu Tsangpo River basin is a typical semi-arid and cold region in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, where significant climate change has been detected in the past decades. The objective of this paper is to demonstrate how the regional vegetation, especially the typical plant types, responds to the climate changes. In this study, the model of gravity center has been firstly introduced to analyze the spatial-temporal relationship between NDVI and climate factors considering the time-lag effect. The results show that the vegetation grown has been positively influenced by the rainfall and precipitation both in moving tracks of gravity center and time-lag effect especially for the growing season during the past thirteen years. The herbs and shrubs are inclined to be influenced by the change of rainfall and temperature, which is indicated by larger positive correlation coefficients at the 0.05 confidence level and shorter lagging time. For the soil moisture, the significantly negative relationship of NDV-PDI indicates that the growth and productivity of the vegetation are closely related to the short-term soil water, with the correlation coefficients reaching the maximum value of o.81 at Lag 0-1. Among the typicalvegetation types of plateau, the shrubs of low mountain, steppe and meadow are more sensitive to the change of soil moisture with coefficients of -0.95, -0.93, -0.92, respectively. These findings reveal that the spatial and temporal heterogeneity between NDVI and climatic factors are of great ecological significance and practical value for the protection of eco-environment in Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

Effects of snow cover on ground thermal regime: A case study in Heilongjiang Province of China

The important effects of snow cover to ground thermal regime has received much attention of scholars during the past few decades. In the most of previous research, the effects were usually evaluated through the numerical models and many important results are found. However, less examples and insufficient data based on field measurements are available to show natural cases. In the present work, a typical case study in Mohe and Beijicun meteorological stations, which both are located in the most northern tip of China, is given to show the effects of snow cover on the ground thermal regime. The spatial(the ground profile) and time series analysis in the extremely snowy winter of 2012–2013 in Heilongjiang Province are also performed by contrast with those in the winter of 2011–2012 based on the measured data collected by 63 meteorological stations. Our results illustrate the positive(warmer) effect of snow cover on the ground temperature(GT) on the daily basis, the highest difference between GT and daily mean air temperature(DGAT) is as high as 32.35℃. Moreover, by the lag time analysis method it is found that the response time of GT from 0 cm to 20 cm ground depth to the alternate change of snow depth has 10 days lag, while at 40 cm depth the response of DGAT is not significant. This result is different from the previous research by modeling, in which the response depth of ground to the alteration of snow depth is far more than 40 cm.     

Thermal state of soils in the active layer and underlain permafrost at the kilometer post 304 site along the China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline

On-site monitoring is very important for understanding formation mechanisms of frost hazards frequently occurring in pipeline foundation soils and for designing and deploying according mitigative measures in permafrost regions.Significant thaw subsidence of ground surfaces along the ChinaRussia Crude Oil Pipeline(CRCOP) from Mo'he to Daqing,Heilongjiang Province,Northeast China have been observed at some segments underlain by ice-rich warm(1.0°C) permafrost since the official operation in January 2011.Recent monitoring results of the thermal states of foundation soils at the kilometer post(KP) 304 site along the CRCOP are presented in this paper.The results indicate that during the period from 2012 to 2014,shallow soils(at the depths from0.8 to 4.0 m from ground surface) has warmed by approximately 1.0°C in the lateral range of 1.2 to 2.1 maway from the pipeline axis,and deeper permafrost(such as at the depth of 15 m,or the depth of zero annual amplitude of ground temperatures) by 0.08°C per year 4 m away from the pipe axis,and 0.07°C per year 5 m away from the pipeline axis.The results indicate an all-season talik has developed around and along the CRCOP.The thaw bulb,with a faster lateral expansion(compared with the vertical growth),enlarges in summer and shrinks in winter.This research will provide important references and bases for evaluating thermal influences of warm pipeline on permafrost and for design,construction,operation and maintenance of pipelines in permafrost regions.     

Land use regionalization of rural settlements in China

This paper compartmentalizes regional land use of rural settlements in China by employing a hierarchical clustering method.The statistic data are sourced from the National Bureau of Statistics of China(NBSC) and the data of land use change from the Ministry of Land and Resources of China(MLRC).The population of rural settlement decreases from the southeast to the northwest of China and the density of rural settlement decreases from the east to the west of China.Land-use scale of rural settlement,the proportion of one-storey houses and the average household area decrease from the north to the south of China.The ratio of area of cultivated land to rural settlement is high in the northeast and southwest of China but low in the southeast of China.The land use regionalization of rural settlement can be divided into four regions,namely:the northern region of China,Qinghai-Tibet,Yunnan-Guizhou,and the middle and eastern region of China.The northern region of China and the middle and eastern region of China can be further divided into nine sub-regions:Xinjiang,Northeast China,Ningxia and Inner Mongolia,North China,the south of the Changjiang(Yantze) River and Sichuan Basin,Jiangsu-Shanghai,South China,the Loess Plateau,and Guangxi.In consideration of the significant regional differences,it is proposed that different policies should be implemented regarding the utilization and management of rural settlements.     

Characteristics of the transition Layer in the South China Sea in 1998

CTD data on standard levels coolected during July and December in 1998 and the cubic spline interpolating method were used to study the characteristics of the transition layer temperature and salinity.The thermocline undergoes remarkable seasonal variation in the South China Sea (SCS),and especially in the region of the north shelf where the thermocline disappears in december.The thermocline is stronger and thicker in July than in December,There is no obvious seasonal variation in the halocline.Due to the upper Ekman transport caused by monsoon over the SCS,the thermocline slopes upward in July and downward in december from east to west in the northern SCS.The characteristics of the thermocline and halocline are influenced by local eddies in the SCS.The Zhujiang diluted flow influences significantly the SCS shelf‘s halocline.     

Mapping the vegetation distribution of the permafrost zone on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

In this paper,an updated vegetation map of the permafrost zone in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP) was delineated.The vegetation map model was extracted from vegetation sampling with remote sensing(RS) datasets by decision tree method.The spatial resolution of the map is 1 km×1 km,and in it the alpine swamp meadow is firstly distinguished in the high-altitude areas.The results showed that the total vegetated area in the permafrost zone of the QTP is 1,201,751 km~2.In the vegetated region,50,260 km~2 is the areas of alpine swamp meadow,583,909 km~2 for alpine meadow,332,754 km~2 for alpine steppe,and 234,828 km~2 for alpine desert.This updated vegetation map in permafrost zone of QTP could provide more details about the distribution of alpine vegetation types for studying the vegetation mechanisms in the land surface processes of highaltitude areas.     

Distribution of borehole temperature at four high-altitude alpine glaciers in Central Asia

The distribution of borehole temperature at four high-altitude alpine glaciers was investigated. The result shows that the temperature ranges from -13.4℃ to -1.84℃, indicating the glaciers are cold throughout the boreholes. The negative gradient （i.e., the temperature decreasing with the increasing of depth） due to the advection of ice and climate warming, and the negative gradient moving downwards relates to climate warming, are probably responsible for the observed minimum temperature moving to lower depth in boreholes of the Gyabrag glacier and Miaoergou glacier compared to the previously investigated continental ice core borehole temperature in West China. The borehole temperature at 10m depth ranges from -8.0℃ in the Gyabrag glacier in the central Himalayas to -12.9℃ in the Tsabagarav glacier in the Altai range. The borehole temperature at 10 m depth is 3-4 degrees higher than the calculated mean annual air temperature on the surface of the glaciers and the higher 10 m depth temperature is mainly caused by the production of latent heat due to melt-water percolation and refreezing. The basal temperature is far below the melting point, indicating that the glaciers are frozen to bedrock. The very low temperature gradients near the bedrock suggest that the influence of geothermal flux and ice flow on basal temperature is very weak. The low temperature and small velocity of ice flow of glaciers are beneficial for preservation of the chemical and isotopic information in ice cores.     

A comprehensive evaluation of tourism climate suitability in Qinghai Province, China

Qinghai Province is an important component of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in China. Scientific evaluation of the suitability of Qinghai’s climate for tourism can contribute to overcoming obstacles posed by climate on sustainable tourism development in Qinghai Province, including disparities between the low and high seasons, high altitude health concerns, and weather events. A tourism climate suitability evaluation model of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is constructed (Tourism Climate Suitability Index, or TCSI), and tourism climate suitability is comprehensively evaluated for Qinghai Province from climate data from 1960 to 2009. Results show that: (I) There is clear distributional characteristics of spatial-temporal variability of TCSI values in Qinghai Province. (II) Tourism climate suitability in Qinghai Province has significant seasonal and regional differences. The year is divided into a very suitable period (July and August), suitable tourism periods (from April and October), less suitable periods (From Nov to Mar). June to August is the most suitable tourism period in Qinghai. Qinghai Province is divided into five levels of tourism climate suitability: most suitable regions, very suitable regions, suitable regions, less suitable regions, and unsuitable region. (III) The key factor which influences regional differences in tourism climatic suitability is atmospheric oxygen. And the key factors which chiefly influence seasonal differences of tourism climate suitability are temperature and humidity, the wind chill factor, and barrier weather.     

Effects of Freeze–thaw Cycles on Soil Mechanical and Physical Properties in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau

Extreme freeze-thaw action occurs on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau due to its unique climate resulting from high elevation and cold temperature.This action causes damage to the surface soil structure, as soil erosion in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is dominated by freeze-thaw erosion.In this research,freezing–thawing process of the soil samples collected from the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau was carried out by laboratory experiments to determinate the volume variation of soil as well as physical and mechanical properties, such as porosity, granularity and uniaxial compressive strength, after the soil experiences various freeze–thaw cycles.Results show that cohesion and uniaxial compressive strength decreased as the volume and porosity of the soil increased after experiencing various freeze–thaw cycles, especially in the first six freeze–thaw cycles.Consequently, the physical and mechanical properties of the soil were altered.However, granularity and internal friction angle did not vary significantly with an increase in the freeze–thaw cycle.The structural damage among soil particles due to frozen water expansion was the major cause of changes in soil mechanical behavior in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau.     

Characteristics of the active-layer under the China-Russia Crude Oil pipeline

Active layer is a key component for permafrost environment studies as many subsurface biological,biogeochemical,ecological,and pedogenic activities prevail in this layer.This study focuses on active layer temperature monitoring in an area with sporadic permafrost at two adjacent sites along China-Russia Crude Oil Pipeline(CRCOP),NorthEast China.Site T1 is located in disturbed ground on the right-of-way(on-ROW)2 m away from the center of the oil pipeline.T2 is located in a natural and undisturbed site,around 16.6 m off-ROW.Our objective was to study seasonal variability of the active layer depth and thermal regime from October 2017 to September 2018.The monitoring sites consist of soil temperature probes arranged in a vertical array at different depths at both sites.The following parameters were computed:number of isothermal days(ID),freezing days(FD),thawing days(TD),freezing degree days(FDD),thawing degree days(TDD),number of freeze-thaw days(FTD).The mean air temperature in the monitoring period reached-3.2℃.The temperature profile indicates that the maximum active layer thickness observed during the study period was 10 m at T1 and 2 m at T2.The majority of the soil temperatures were above or close to 0℃,resulting in great values of TDD,especially in the first 4 m depth.TDD for T1 were predominant and ranged between 600-1160℃·days(0-4 m depth)reflecting the influence of oil temperature from the pipeline.In T2 borehole FDD were predominant for all the soil layer depths resulting in less permafrost degradation.This comparison emphasizes the significant influence of vegetation removal and the dispersed heat from the pipeline on the active layer thickness.     

Analyses of structure of planetary boundary layer in ice camp over Arctic ocean

The vertical structure of Planetary boundary layer over Arctic floating ice is presented by using about 50 atmospheric profiles and relevant data sounded at an ice station over Arctic Ocean from 22 August to 3 September,2003.It shows that the height of the convective boundary layer in day is greater than that of the stability boundary layer in night.The boundary layer can be described as vertical structures of stability,instability and multipling The interaction between relative warm and wet down draft air from up level and cool air of surface layer is significant,which causes stronger wind shear,temperature and humidity inversion with typical wind shear of 10 m/s/100 m,intensity of temperature inversion of 8 ℃/100 m.While the larger pack ice is broken by such process,new ice free area in the high latitudes of arctic ocean.The interactions between air/ice/water are enhanced.The fact helps to understanding characteristics of atmospheric boundary layer and its effect in Arctic floating ice region.     

Study on dynamic numerical simulation of mountain system in tibet plateau

Tibet Plateau in mountain system is becoming one of the focuses of global technique research, because its crust is marvelous thick, which is twice of the normal thickness of mountain system in lithosphere, and its rapid raise from the Quaternary.By using a finite element analysis software ABAQUS,the numeric analysis has been carried out and presented in this paper for the lithosphere stress field.It is the first time to use the displacement loading in the simulation of Tibet Plateau. During the analysis,the deformed elements are used to simulate the structure band, and friction mechanism is used to model the fracture band. The boundary conditions are given according to the boundary displacements around the Plateau. The stress and displacement distributions are obtained for the geological evolution of the plateau, which are consistent with P axial orientations of the seismic origin mechanism and the measures principle stress orientations. The analysis is also given for the dynamic lithosphere evolution of the Mountain System in the Tibet Plateau.     

Symbiosis of Marshes and Permafrost in Da and Xiao Hinggan Mountains in Northeastern China

Recently, the degradation of permafrost and marsh environments in the Da and Xiao Hinggan Mountains has become a great concern as more human activities and pronounced climate warming were observed during the past 30 years and projected for the near future. The distr/bution patterns and development mechanisms of the permafrost and marshes have been examined both in theories and in field observations, in order to better understand the symbiosis of permafrost and marshes. The permafrost and marshes in the Da and Xiao Hinggan Mountains display discernible zonations in latitude and elevation. The marsh vegetation canopy, litter and peat soil have good thermal insulation properties for the underlying permafrost, resulting in a thermal offset of 3 ℃ to 4℃ and subsequently suppressing soil temperature. In addition, the much higher thermal conductivity of frozen and ice-rich peat in the active layer is conducive to the development or in favor of the protection of permafrost due to the semi-conductor properties of the soils overlying the permafrost. On the other hand, because permafrost is almost impervious, the osmosis of water in marsh soils can be effectively reduced, timely providing water supplies for helophytes growth or germination in spring. In the Da and Xiao Hinggan Mountains, the permafrost degradation has been accelerating due to the marked climate warming, ever increasing human activities, and the resultant eco-environmental changes. Since the permafrost and marsh environments are symbiotic and interdependent, they need to be managed or protected in a well-coordinated and integrated way.