Changes in hydrological processes in the headwater area of Yellow River,China during 1956-2019 under the influences of climate change,permafrost thaw and dam

Discharge characteristics are crucial for detecting changes in hydrological processes.Recently,the river hydrology)in the Headwater Area of the Yellow River(HAYR)has exhibited erratic regimes(e.g.,monotonously declining/low/high hydrograph,even with normal precipitation)under the effects of climate change,permafrost thaw and changes in dam operation.This study integrates hydroclimatic variables(air temperature,precipitation,and potential evapotranspiration)with anthropogenic dam operation and permafrost degradation impact data to systematically examine the mechanisms of these hydrological process changes during 1956–2019.The results show the following:1)compared with the pre-dammed gauged flow,dam construction(January 1998–January 2000)and removal of dam(September 2018–August 2019)induced monotonously low(−17.2 m^(3) s^(−1);−61%)and high(+54.6 m^(3) s^(−1);+138%)hydrographs,respectively;2)hydroclimatic variables mainly controlled the summer–autumn hydrological processes in the HAYR;3)the monotonous decline of the hydrograph of Yellow River in the HAYR in some hydrological years(e.g.,1977,1979,1990 and 1995)was closely related with unusually high atmospheric demands of evaporation and low-intense rainfall during summer–autumn seasons;and 4)the lengthening of subsurface hydrological pathways and residence time,permafrost degradation reduced the recession coefficient(−0.002 per year)of winter flow and altered the hydrological regimes of seasonal rivers,which resulted in flattened hydrographs that reduced and delayed the peak flow(of 0.05 mm per year and 1.65 d per year,respectively)as well as boosted the winter baseflow(0.01 mm per year).This study can provide updated and systematic understanding of changing hydrological processes in typical alpine catchments on northeastern Qinghai–Tibet Plateau,China under a warming climate.

Non-climate environmental factors matter to Holocene dynamics of soil organic carbon and nitrogen in an alpine permafrost wetland,Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau

Studies on the responses of soil organic carbon(SOC)and nitrogen dynamics to Holocene climate and environment in permafrost peatlands and/or wetlands might serve as analogues for future scenarios,and they can help predict the fate of the frozen SOC and nitrogen under a warming climate.To date,little is known about these issues on the Qinghai‒Tibet Plateau(QTP).Here,we investigated the accumulations of SOC and nitrogen in a permafrost wetland on the northeastern QTP,and analyzed their links with Holocene climatic and environmental changes.In order to do so,we studied grain size,soil organic matter,SOC,and nitrogen contents,bulk density,geochemical parameters,and the accelerator mass spectrometry(AMS)^(14)C dating of the 216-cm-deep wetland profile.SOC and nitrogen contents revealed a general uptrend over last 7300 years.SOC stocks for depths of 0-100 and 0-200 cm were 50.1 and 79.0 kgC m^(-2),respectively,and nitrogen stocks for the same depths were 4.3 and 6.6 kgN m^(-2),respectively.Overall,a cooling and drying trend for regional climate over last 7300 years was inferred from the declining chemical weathering and humidity index.Meanwhile,SOC and nitrogen accumulated rapidly in 1110e720 BP,while apparent accumulation rates of SOC and nitrogen were much lower during the other periods of the last 7300 years.Consequently,we proposed a probable conceptual framework for the concordant development of syngenetic permafrost and SOC and nitrogen accumulations in alpine permafrost wetlands.This indicates that,apart from controls of climate,non-climate environmental factors,such as dust deposition and site hydrology,matter to SOC and nitrogen accumulations in permafrost wetlands.We emphasized that environmental changes driven by climate change have important impacts on SOC and nitrogen accumulations in alpine permafrost wetlands.This study could provide data support for regional and global estimates of SOC and nitrogen pools and for global models on carbon‒climate interactions that take into account of alpine permafrost wetlands on the northeastern QTP at mid-latitudes.

Evaluation and prediction of engineering construction suitability in the Chinae-Mongoliae-Russia economic corridor

It is proposed to build a high-speed railway through the China‒Mongolia‒Russia economic corridor(CMREC)which runs from Beijing to Moscow via Mongolia.However,the frozen ground in this corridor has great impacts on the infrastructure stability,especially under the background of climate warming and permafrost degradation.Based on the Bayesian Network Model(BNM),this study evaluates the suitability for engineering construction in the CMREC,by using 21 factors in five aspects of terrain,climate,ecology,soil,and frozen-ground thermal stability.The results showed that the corridor of Mongolia's Gobi and Inner Mongolia in China is suitable for engineering construction,and the corridor in Amur,Russia near the northern part of Northeast China is also suitable due to cold and stable permafrost overlaying by a thin active layer.However,the corridor near Petropavlovsk in Kazakhstan and Omsk in Russia is not suitable for engineering construction because of low freezing index and ecological vulnerability.Furthermore,the sensitivity analysis of influence factors indicates that the thermal stability of frozen ground has the greatest impact on the suitability of engineering construction.These conclusions can provide a reference basis for the future engineering planning,construction and risk assessment.

Changes in permafrost and snow cover in the Boreal and Arctic zones(BAZs)and their impacts

1.Introduction Amplified climate warming and wetting have been observed in the Boreal and Arctic zones(BAZs).Due to extensive and persistent warming of the climate and the increasing impacts of human activities,we are seeing degradation of the permafrost and rapid shrinkage of the snow cover in the BAZs.Much attention has been paid to the reconstruction of past permafrost and monitoring,mapping and evaluation of permafrost and snow cover,and the use of models to predict and evaluate future gradual permafrost changes.Little attention,however,has been given to the rapidly changing permafrost and the associated implications.This may have led to an underestimation of the rapid changes in the cryolithozone and their effects on the climate,ecosystems,and hydrology systems and on humans.In particular,natural resources and environmental management in northern countries requires better and more systematic understanding of the history,processes,mechanisms and trends of the northern cryosphere and their environmental and engineering impacts.

Water budgets in an arid and alpine permafrost basin:Observations from the High Mountain Asia

Ground freeze-thaw processes have significant impacts on infiltration,runoff and evapotranspiration.However,there are still critical knowledge gaps in understanding of hydrological processes in permafrost regions,especially of the interactions among permafrost,ecology,and hydrology.In this study,an alpine permafrost basin on the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was selected to conduct hydrological and meteorological observations.We analyzed the annual variations in runoff,precipitation,evapotranspiration,and changes in water storage,as well as the mechanisms for runoff gen-eration in the basin from May 2014 to December 2015.The annual flow curve in the basin exhibited peaks both in spring and autumn floods.The high ratio of evapotranspiration to annual precipitation(>1.O)in the investigated wetland is mainly due to the considerably underestimated‘observed'precipitation caused by the wind-induced instrumental error and the neglect of snow sublimation.The stream flow from early May to late October probably came from the lateral discharge of subsurface flow in alpine wetlands.This study can provide data support and validation for hydrological model simulation and prediction,as well as water resource assessment,in the upper Yellow River Basin,especially for the headwater area.The results also provide case support for permafrost hydrology modeling in ungauged or poorly gauged watersheds in the High Mountain Asia.

Viscous creep of ice-rich permafrost debris in a recently uncovered proglacial area in the Tianshan Mountains, China

Since the Little Ice Age and as a consequence of climate warming,many recently deglaciated forefields have become and will continue to evolve into large ice-debris complexes exposed to periglacial processes and environment.Such transitional processes have significant implications for geomorphologic shaping and water supply for the downstream communities,especially in arid regions,but our understanding of their evolutionary processes and their potential geomorphic and hydrological impacts is stil limited.A landform transition from partly debris-covered glaciers to ice-rich permafrost debris undergoing slow viscous creep was revealed in the Aerzailaikunai Valley in the eastern Tianshan Mountains in China based on the results of in-situ observations and measurements(boreholes,ground temperature monitoring,electrical resistivity tomography surveys,and continuous global positioning system measurements,among others).The internal structure of ice-tll mixture contains pure ice layers,supersaturated frozen sands with ice lenses,and ice-bearing blocks with maximum volumetric contents of heterogeneous ice at 35%-60%.Beneath an 1.5-m-thick active layer,permafrost reached far into the underlying bedrock with the mean annual ground temperature of-2.1℃ at the depth of 20 m.The higher surface velocities(with an accumulative displacement of 65 mm from October 2019 to May 2020)and extremely high electrical resistivity(several million Ω m)of the debris-covered glacier margin were in sharp contrast to those of the progressively stabilizing ground surface(up to 16 mm)and the lower zones with relatively smaler electrical resistivity(several thousand Ω m).Combined with the borehole stratigraphy(higher rock content),monitored ground temperatures(permafrost environment),lower electrical resistance(ice-rich moraine),and continuous global positioning system results(viscous creeping),this study documents a transition from glacial to periglacial conditions,materials and processes characteristic of cold-dry ice-clad mountains,and reinforces the theory of the transition from debris-covered glaciers into morainically originated rock glaciers.