Subjects: Other Disciplines >> Synthetic discipline submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《中国科学院院刊》
Abstract： The Tibetan Plateau is known as the “Asian Water Tower”. In the past 50 years, global warming has accelerated the water cycle over the Asian Water Tower. The current understanding on the key processes of water vapor transport over the Asian Water Tower and the behind mechanisms are reviewed in this paper, via the climatology, long-term trend, and interannual variability, respectively. This review further suggests that it is urgent to understand the tempo-spatial changes, mechanisms, and impact of water vapor transport processes over the Asian Water Tower. Therefore, future research should improve capabilities on observation, diagnosis, dynamical mechanism, detection and attribution, as well as numerical simulation.
Subjects: Other Disciplines >> Synthetic discipline submitted time 2023-03-28 Cooperative journals: 《中国科学院院刊》
Abstract： The Tibetan Plateau and surroundings, also known as the Third Pole, is widely acknowledged as the Asian Water Tower. It holds glaciers with an area about 100 000 km2, and lakes with an area about 50 000 km2. It gives birth to more than ten big rivers in Asia including the Yangtze River, Yellow River, Yarlung Tsangpo, Indus, Ganges, Mekong, Amu Darya, Tarim River, etc. Its environmental changes affect water resources utilization in China and water securities in many nations involved in the Belt and Road initiative. The Asian Water Tower is undergoing dramatic changes characterized with unbalance in a warming climate. Accelerated glacier retreats, permafrost degradation, lake expansion, as well as increase of glacial melt to runoff are all related to the unbalance change of the Asian Water Tower. These have put the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding regions at risk and caused many water-related hazards such as glacier collapse. Asian Water Tower change would even be amplified through the atmosphere and hydrosphere to affect global climate and water cycle, thus coupling and interacting with changes on the Arctic and Antarctica. The Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research program (STEP) and Pan-Third Pole Environment study for a Green Silk Road program (Pan-TPE) will focus on the study of Asian Water Tower change and its local to regional impacts in the past half century, conduct comprehensive field expeditions and research, and advise on science policy to confront Asian Water Tower change and impacts. The ultimate goal of the STEP and Pan-TPE is to provide scientific advice to China and nations around on water resources regulations and sustainable development, thus serving global ecological environment and a community with a shared future for mankind.
Subjects: Environmental Sciences, Resource Sciences >> Basic Disciplines of Environmental Science and Technology submitted time 2017-09-20 Cooperative journals: 《中国科学院院刊》
Abstract：西风与印度季风两大环流是控制青藏高原气候与环境变化的决定性因素。研究显示两大环流的影响范围和程度具有明显的空间分异：基于降水稳定同位素实测与模型模拟发现青藏高原现代西风与印度季风的相互作用特征表现为3种模态，即印度季风模态、西风模态和过渡模态。基于湖泊沉积记录的分析，发现3种模态主控范围在历史时期不断发生变化。3种模态对现代青藏高原环境产生连锁式环境效应，使得该区的冰川、湖泊、生态系统变化具有明显的区域特征，具体表现为印度季风模态的冰川强烈退缩，湖泊趋于萎缩；西风模态的冰川趋于稳定甚至部分出现前进，湖泊趋于扩张；过渡模态的冰川退缩程度减弱，湖泊变化不明显。西风模态的植被返青期提前，印度季风模态的植被返青期推后，而过渡模态的植被过程比较复杂。
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