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Arid Land Geography ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (7): 1097-1105.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2024.117

• The Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Preliminary report on scientific investigation of water resources on the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains

ZHU Chenggang1(), CHEN Yaning1(), ZHANG Mingjun2, CHE Yanjun3, SUN Meiping2, ZHAO Ruifeng2, WANG Yang4, LIU Yuting5   

  1. 1. State Key Laboratory of Desert and Oasis Ecology, Key Laboratory of Ecological Safety and Sustainable Development in Arid Lands, Xinjiang Institute of Ecology and Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Urumqi 830011, Xinjiang, China
    2. Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou 730070, Gansu, China
    3. Yichun University, Yichun 336000, Jiangxi, China
    4. Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, Xinjiang, China
    5. Kashi University, Kashi 844006, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2024-02-25 Revised:2024-04-15 Online:2024-07-25 Published:2024-07-30
  • Contact: CHEN Yaning E-mail:zhuchg@ms.xjb.ac.cn;chenyn@ms.xjb.ac.cn

Abstract:

The project titled “Scientific Investigation of Water Resources Development Potential and Utilization Pathways on the northern Slope of the Kunlun Mountains” was initiated in October 2021 as part of the initial set of projects for the Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition. This study integrates multi-source remote sensing data and field research conducted from 2022 to 2023 to examine hydrological changes, water resources dynamics, and water resource utilization patterns on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains. The findings reveal the following: (1) A temperature increase of 0.14 ℃·(10a)−1 and precipitation increase of 6.53 mm·(10a)−1 from 1990 to 2020 was observed on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains. (2) Glacier variations have remained relatively stable, with a slight expansion observed in snow cover area and depth. (3) Permanent water bodies have experienced a significant growth rate of 79.89%, while seasonal water bodies have expanded by an impressive margin of 144.49%. (4) Ayakkum Lake and Akikkule Lake, two major lakes within the Kumukuli Basin, witnessed increases in their water areas by approximately 68.91% and 58.22%, respectively, and several rivers within this basin exhibit potential for further development regarding water resources utilization. (5) Terrestrial water storage on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains generally exhibits an increasing trend, particularly more pronounced from west to east. (6) Average annual runoff of Hotan River, Keriya River, and Qarqan River, the main rivers on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains, increased by 20.24%, 27.85%, and 45.17%, respectively, during the period of 2010—2023 when compared with the period of 1957—2023. (7) Based on simulations considering different climate change scenarios, it is predicted that major river runoff will continue to increase throughout the middle-to-later stages of the 21st century, alongside regional augmentation in available water resources. The conditions of water resources on the northern slope of the Kunlun Mountains can provide favorable water resources for the green development of the region.

Key words: the northern slope of Kunlun Mountains, climate change, water resources, lake area, runoff