Evaporation and sublimation measurement and modeling of an alpine saline lake influenced by freeze–thaw on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau
<p>Saline lakes on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) affect the regional climate and water cycle through water loss (<span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span>, evaporation under ice-free conditions and sublimation under ice-covered conditions). Due to the obs...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/28/163/2024/hess-28-163-2024.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Saline lakes on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP) affect the regional climate and water cycle through water loss (<span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span>, evaporation under ice-free conditions and sublimation under ice-covered conditions). Due to the observational difficulty over lakes, <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> and its underlying driving forces are seldom studied when targeting saline lakes on the QTP, particularly during ice-covered periods (ICP). In this study, the <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> of Qinghai Lake (QHL) and its influencing factors during ice-free periods (IFP) and ICP were first quantified based on 6 years of observations. Subsequently, three models were calibrated and compared in simulating <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> during the IFP and ICP from 2003 to 2017. The annual <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> sum of QHL is <span class="inline-formula">768.58±28.73</span> mm, and the <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> sum during the ICP reaches <span class="inline-formula">175.22±45.98</span> mm, accounting for 23 % of the annual <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> sum. <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> is mainly controlled by the wind speed, vapor pressure difference, and air pressure during the IFP but is driven by the net radiation, the difference between the air and lake surface temperatures, the wind speed, and the ice coverage during the ICP. The mass transfer model simulates lake <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> well during the IFP, and the model based on energy achieves a good simulation during the ICP. Moreover, wind speed weakening resulted in an 7.56 % decrease in <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> during the ICP of 2003–2017. Our results highlight the importance of <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> in ICP, provide new insights into saline lake <span class="inline-formula"><i>E</i></span> in alpine regions, and can be used as a reference to further improve hydrological models of alpine lakes.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |