Lake Area Changes and the main causes in the hinterlandof Badain Jaran Desert during 1973–2010, China

Lake area information in the Badain Jaran Desert in 1973, 1990, 2000, and 2010 was obtained by visual interpretation and waterindex analysis of remote sensing images, based on the spatial and temporal characteristics of lake area changes during 37 years.Results indicated that the number of lakes declined from 94 to 82 and the total surface area was reduced by 3.69 km² during1973–2010. The desert lake area reduced by different degrees in different periods, but this occurred most rapidly during1973–1990. According to the statistics of lake area changes, lake area decreases mainly occurred in the lakes with areas less than0.2 km², while the areas of lakes greater than 0.9 km² only fluctuated. The changes of lake areas were probably due to changes inthe quantity of underground water supplies rather than the effects of local climate change or human factors.