Impacts of frozen ground degradation and vegetation greening on upper Brahmaputra runoff during 1981–2019

Wang, Yuanwei; Bibi, Sadia; Zhou, Jing; Chai, Chenhao; Hu, Zhen; Zhao, Lin; Wang, Shengfeng; Fan, Mengtian

doi:10.1002/joc.8057

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 66 publications

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“…Over recent decades, the TP has been particularly sensitive to climate change 45,46 , exhibiting a warming rate more than double the global average 47 . Pronounced warming has resulted in the widespread degradation of permafrost [48][49][50][51] . Mean annual ground temperature has increased by 0.1-0.5 °C on the TP during the last three decades [52][53][54][55] .…”

Section: Vegetation Greening Amplifies Shallow Soil Temperature Warmi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation greening amplifies shallow soil temperature warming on the Tibetan Plateau

Li,

Wang,

Chen

2024

npj Clim Atmos Sci

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Vegetation changes are expected to alter soil thermal regimes, consequently modifying climate feedbacks related to frozen ground thawing and carbon cycling in cold regions. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) contains diverse alpine ecosystems and the largest area of frozen ground in low–mid latitude regions. Evidence suggests ongoing vegetation greening and permafrost degradation during the past several decades on the TP. However, the effect of vegetation changes on soil thermal regimes on the TP is not well understood. Here, we quantify the response of shallow soil temperature change to vegetation greening on the TP using remote–sensing data, in–situ observations, and physics–based modelling. Our results show that over the past 20 years, vegetation greening on the TP was accompanied a notable decrease in the area of bare land by approximately 0.7% (5000 km2). Annual mean soil temperature showed a significant warming trend of 0.57 °C decade–1 (p < 0.05) during the period 1983–2019, exceeding the warming rate of surface air temperature. Changes in vegetation resulted in a warming effect on annual shallow soil temperature of 0.15 ± 0.33 °C across the TP during the period 2000–2019. The warming effect varies with frozen soil types: 0.24 ± 0.48 °C in permafrost, 0.18 ± 0.36 °C in seasonally frozen ground, and 0.11 ± 0.32 °C in unfrozen ground. The net warming effect was caused by a decrease in albedo and increase in radiation penetrating the canopy, outweighing the cooling effect related to a limited increase in evapotranspiration.

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Section: Vegetation Greening Amplifies Shallow Soil Temperature Warmi...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Vegetation greening amplifies shallow soil temperature warming on the Tibetan Plateau

Li,

Wang,

Chen

2024

npj Clim Atmos Sci

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“…Since runoff generation in the permafrost region is controlled by multiple factors, including permafrost characteristics, soil temperature, thawing depth, precipitation frequency and amount, and antecedent soil moisture, predictions of the effects of thawing permafrost on the winter baseflow published by different research groups are often conflicting. The effects of permafrost on regional hydrology are extremely complex and require more detailed investigation [73].…”

Section: Simulation Of the Interaction Between Permafrost And The Env...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This likely stems from seasonal variation in the thawed active layer, which has a greater storage capacity and experiences less runoff in the summer but has a lower storage capacity in the spring and autumn [71]. Thawing permafrost leads to more water being routed through subsurface pathways, decreased summer peak flow (increase in infiltration), and increased winter baseflow (increase in groundwater recession) [72,73]. Since runoff generation in the permafrost region is controlled by multiple factors, including permafrost characteristics, soil temperature, thawing depth, precipitation frequency and amount, and antecedent soil moisture, predictions of the effects of thawing permafrost on the winter baseflow published by different research groups are often conflicting.…”

Section: Simulation Of the Interaction Between Permafrost And The Env...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Investigation, Monitoring, and Simulation of Permafrost on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau: A Review

Zhao,

Hu,

Liu

et al. 2024

Permafrost & Periglacial

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The Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is the largest permafrost region in the world at low and middle latitudes and high elevation. Permafrost is being degraded on the QTP due to global warming, which has a significant effect on regional climate, hydrological, and ecological processes. This paper provides a summary of recent progress in methods used in permafrost research, the permafrost distribution, and basic data relevant to permafrost research on the QTP. The area of permafrost was 1.32 × 106 km2 over the QTP, which accounts for approximately 46% of the QTP. Moreover, simulation studies of the hydrothermal process and permafrost change were reviewed and evaluated the effect of permafrost degradation on hydrological and ecological processes. The results revealed that the effects of permafrost on runoff were closely related to soil temperature, and the effect of permafrost degradation on the carbon cycle requires further study. Finally, current challenges in simulation of permafrost change processes on the QTP were discussed, emphasizing that permafrost degradation under climate change is a slow and non‐linear process. This review will aid future studies examining the mechanism underlying the interaction between permafrost and climate change, and environmental protection in permafrost regions on the QTP.

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“…The Upper Brahmaputra is one of the highest-altitude rivers in the world, with an average elevation greater than 4600 m (Sun and Su 2020). Compared with other major rivers originating from the TP, the UBB has a complex climate and rich water resources due to the undulating topography, large differences in elevation, wide east-west reach, and abundant summer precipitation (Wang et al 2021(Wang et al , 2023. This complex climate is characterized by a cold-temperate semiarid, temperate semiarid, subtropical humid, and tropical humid from the western source (annual precipitation of less than 300 mm) to the southeastern outlet Pasighat (annual precipitation greater than 3000 mm) (Liu et al 2021).…”

Section: Study Regionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal and spatial changes in hydrological wet extremes of the largest river basin on the Tibetan Plateau

Wang,

Wang

et al. 2023

Environ. Res. Lett.

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Global warming accelerates the rate of inter-regional hydrological cycles, leading to a significant increase in the frequency and intensity of hydrological wet extremes. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) has been experiencing a rapid warming and wetting trend for decades. This trend is especially strong for the upper Brahmaputra basin (UBB) in the southern TP. The UBB is the largest river on the TP, and these changes are likely to impact the water security of local and downstream inhabitants. This study explores the spatial-temporal variability of wet extremes in the UBB from 1981–2019 using a water- and energy-budget distributed hydrological model (WEB-DHM) to simulate river discharge. The simulated results were validated against observed discharge from the Ministry of Water Resources at a mid-stream location and our observations downstream. The major findings are as follows: (1) the WEB-DHM model adequately describes land-atmosphere interactions (slight underestimation of −0.26 K in simulated annual mean land surface temperature) and can accurately reproduce daily and monthly discharge (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency is 0.662 and 0.796 respectively for Nuxia station); (2) although extreme discharge generally occurs in July and is concentrated in the southeastern TP, extreme wet events in the UBB are becoming increasingly frequent (after 1998, the number of extreme days per year increased by 13% compared to before) and intense (maximum daily discharge increased with a significant trend of 444 (m3s−1) yr−1), and are occurring across a wider region; (3) Precipitation is more likely to affect the intensity and spatial distribution of wet extremes, while the air temperature is more correlated with the frequency. Our wet extreme analysis in the UBB provides valuable insight into strategies to manage regional water resources and prevent hydrological disasters.

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Impacts of frozen ground degradation and vegetation greening on upper Brahmaputra runoff during 1981–2019

Cited by 11 publications

References 66 publications

Vegetation greening amplifies shallow soil temperature warming on the Tibetan Plateau

Vegetation greening amplifies shallow soil temperature warming on the Tibetan Plateau

Investigation, Monitoring, and Simulation of Permafrost on the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau: A Review

Temporal and spatial changes in hydrological wet extremes of the largest river basin on the Tibetan Plateau

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