Abstract
Abstract
Since the 20th century, due to global warming, permafrost areas have undergone significant changes. The degradation of permafrost has complicated water cycle processes. Taking the upper Yellow River basin (UYRB) as a demonstration, this study discusses the long-term (1960–2019) changes in frozen ground and their hydrological effects with a cryosphere-hydrology model, in particular a permafrost version of the water and energy budget-based distributed hydrological model. The permafrost at the UYRB, with thickening active layer and lengthening thawing duration, has degraded by 10.8%. The seasonally frozen ground has a more pronounced intra-annual regulation that replenishes surface runoff in the warm season, while the degradation of permafrost leads to a runoff increase. The occurrence of extreme events at the UYRB has gradually decreased with the degradation of frozen ground, but spring droughts and autumn floods become more serious. The results may help better understand the hydrological impacts of permafrost degradation in the Tibetan Plateau.
Funder
National Natural Science Foundation of China
the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program
Subject
Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health,General Environmental Science,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Cited by
4 articles.
订阅此论文施引文献
订阅此论文施引文献,注册后可以免费订阅5篇论文的施引文献,订阅后可以查看论文全部施引文献