青藏高原地形起伏度及其地理意义

Relief degree of land surface and its geographical meanings in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China

地形起伏度是区域人居环境适宜性与资源环境承载力的关键评价指标之一。当前有关其最佳评价窗口、及其与海拔—相对高差的相互关系仍缺乏深入研究,进而影响该指标对区域地形起伏的有效表征。客观认识青藏高原地形起伏度有助于促进其国家生态安全屏障建设与区域绿色发展。以先进星载热发射和反射辐射仪全球数字高程模型(ASTER GDEM,30 m)地形数据(V2)为基础,本文利用均值变点分析法确定了青藏高原地形起伏度评价的最佳分析窗口,基于地形起伏度模型(RDLS)研制了青藏高原首套30 m地形起伏度专题图,据此分析了地形起伏度与海拔、相对高差的相互关系,并界定了地形起伏度对区域地形起伏状况的有效表征。主要结果/结论包括:①基于GDEM的青藏高原地形起伏度评价最佳窗口为41×41个像元的矩形邻域,对应面积约为1.51 km2,均值变点分析表明区域地形起伏度评价最佳窗口有其唯一性。②青藏高原地形起伏度均值约为5.06,超3/5区域地形起伏度介于4.5~5.7之间;整体上,青藏高原地形起伏程度由其东北部向西南部、西部递增,仅在柴达木盆地、藏南谷地以及河湟谷地出现低起伏地貌特征。且地表起伏在不同纬度剖面变化较为一致(沿山脉走向),但不同经度剖面起伏层次错落(横切山脉走向)。③相关性分析表明不同地形起伏度分别对应不同平均海拔、不同相对高差的地貌单元。青藏高原地形起伏度经纬向剖面分析表明,该区由东部的低山稳步爬升,山体经历骤然爬升(即地表起伏特征剧烈)后形成以极高山为主的有序错落起伏(喜马拉雅山脉)。

Relief degree of land surface(RDLS) is one of the key indicators in the fields of suitability assessment of human settlements(SAHS) as well as resources and environmental carrying capacity(RECC) evaluation at the regional scale. Currently, there is still a lack of indepth research on the determination of the optimal window size for the RDLS calculation and evaluation and its correlation analysis with two topographical parameters, e.g., elevation and relative height difference. These issues further affect the effective representation of the RDLS in the delineation of local to regional topographic relief. Therefore, an objective understanding of the RDLS in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China greatly contributes to promoting the construction of national ecological security barrier and regional green development. In this study, based on the 30 m Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer(ASTER) Global Digital Elevation Model(GDEM Version 2), the optimal window size for calculating and evaluating the RDLS in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was accurately determined using the average change-point method, and the first 30 m RDLS thematic map for the QinghaiTibet Plateau was generated accordingly. Next, the interrelation between the RDLS and elevation and relative height difference was quantitatively examined. Based on that, the effective representation or geographical meanings of the RDLS in the plateau were defined.The results/conclusions include:(1) The optimum window size for the RDLS calculation and evaluation in the study area based on the 30 m GDEM is a rectangular neighborhood of 41×41 pixels, equaling to an area of about 1.51 km2. The average change-point analysis approach shows that the optimum window size for regional RDLS analysis is unique.(2) The average RDLS of the study area is approximately 5.06, along with over 60% of the plateau ranging between 4.5 and 5.7. On the whole, the topographic relief increases from the northeast to the southwest and west parts. Gentle to small-relief landforms are mostly seen in the Qaidam Basin, the Southern Tibet Valley, and the Hehuang Valley(Yellow and Huangshui river valleys). Also, the differences in the local surface relief in varied latitudinal sections(along the mountain range) are small, while those at longitudinal level are big, showing hierarchical and regular fluctuations(crossing the mountain trending).(3) Correlation analyses showed that different values of the RDLS in the plateau correspond to geomorphic units with different elevations and relative height differences. The profile characteristics of the mountains in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau based on different terrain reliefs indicate that the height above sea level of low mountains steadily increases first, then experiences sudden rise and severe fluctuation in surface relief, and finally forms the orderly ups and downs of the extreme mountains, e.g., the Himalayas.