(TibetanReview.net, Apr18’22) – The total water volume of ten major lakes across the endorheic region of the Tibetan Plateau had increased by 58.5 cubic kilometres between 1979 and 2016, reported China’s official Xinhua news agency Apr 17, citing a recent research article. Endorheic lakes (also called terminal lakes) are bodies of water that do not flow into the sea.
Citing an article published in the journal Science Bulletin, the report said rainfall, glaciers and snow meltwater, lake surface evaporation, and soil freezing-thawing were the major contributors to the water increase.
The report said the endorheic area of the Tibetan Plateau contained more than 60% of the total water storage of lakes in the region.
The researchers were stated to have selected ten large lakes with an area of more than 500 square kilometers and quantitatively evaluated the variation of lake water storage and its driving factors in the endorheic region of the Tibetan Plateau, which provides important scientific support for analyzing the hydrological process of the lake basin and the role of the cryosphere in lake expansion.
The researchers were stated to have come from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the University of California.