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Based on the detection data obtained by the LMI (Lightning Mapping Imager)—China's first satellite-based lightning observation payload—from 2018–2022, combined with the ERA5 (ECMWF Reanalysis v5) reanalysis data of the same period, the temporal and spatial characteristics of lightning activities over the Tibetan Plateau and its response to the atmospheric circulation background are studied in detail in this paper. Based on the LMI data, we obtained consistent and continuous long-time-series lightning observation data for the whole region of the plateau for the first time, and the results show that the lightning density in the Tibetan Plateau is much smaller than that in the central and eastern land regions of China (CELR) at the same latitude. Lightning activity was unevenly distributed over the plateau and had obvious seasonal variation characteristics. The monthly amount of lightning and its ratio in the total amount of lightning for the whole year show the characteristics of "increasing first and then decreasing". Most lightning occurs in June and July, which is about a month earlier than that in the CELR. The amount of lightning fluctuated in May and decreased rapidly after August, which is consistent with the local convective thunderstorm season. The hourly lightning frequency at different altitudes over the Tibetan Plateau is consistent with local convections and unique topography, and it is closely related to the features of the local night rain. The results also reveal comparative features between lightning and the atmospheric circulation background on the plateau, such as the wind field, CAPE (convective available potential energy), temperature, and humidity at 500 hPa. In the context of global warming, the average temperature in the central and western regions of the plateau increased in the past five years. This shows that the Tibetan Plateau, as a summer heat source, has a gradual warming trend, and the corresponding convections and lightning activities are also increasing gradually. Lightning activities can be used as an indicator of DCSs (deep convective systems). This paper gives a more comprehensive understanding of the characteristics of lightning activities all over the Tibetan Plateau, especially in the western part of the plateau, which lacked ground-based lightning observation data before. In addition, it reveals the comparative features between the lightning activities and the circulation background over the plateau in the past five years, which is helpful for further understanding the contribution of lightning activities to the plateau's climate change. It can provide some reference for monitoring and researching the severe convective weather over the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeological investigations worldwide have focused on when and how humans permanently settled in high-altitude environments. Recent evidence from Xiada Co, Qusongguo, and Dingzhonghuzhuzi in western Tibet, where lithic artifacts and radiocarbon dates with original deposits were first accessed, provides new insights into human activities in this extreme environment during the early Holocene. This paper examines the mobility and land-use patterns of foragers in western Tibet from the perspectives of lithic analysis. Assemblages from three sites suggest homogenous technologies and raw material use, as well as potential interaction network of hunter-gatherers within the plateau during the early Holocene. It further argues that the material exponents and travel cost models of site location supported permanent occupation of the western Tibetan Plateau in this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The advancement of multi-source Earth observation technology has led to a substantial body of literature on inland water monitoring. This has resulted in the emergence of a distinct interdisciplinary field encompassing the application of multi-source Earth observation techniques in inland water monitoring. Despite this growth, few systematic reviews of this field exist. Therefore, in this paper, we offer a comprehensive analysis based on 30,212 publications spanning the years 1990 to 2022, providing valuable insights. We collected and analyzed fundamental information such as publication year, country, affiliation, journal, and author details. Through co-occurrence analysis, we identified country and author partnerships, while co-citation analysis revealed the influence of journals, authors, and documents. We employed keywords to explore the evolution of hydrological phenomena and study areas, using burst analysis to predict trends and frontiers. We discovered exponential growth in this field with a closer integration of hydrological phenomena and Earth observation techniques. The research focus has shifted from large glaciers to encompass large river basins and the Tibetan Plateau. Long-term research attention has been dedicated to optical properties, sea level, and satellite gravity. The adoption of automatic image recognition and processing, enabled by deep learning and artificial intelligence, has opened new interdisciplinary avenues. The results of the study emphasize the significance of long-term, stable, and accurate global observation and monitoring of inland water, particularly in the context of cloud computing and big data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current deformation and stable state of slopes with historical shatter signs is a concern for engineering construction. Suspected landslide scarps were discovered at the rear edge of the Genie slope on the Tibetan Plateau during a field investigation. To qualitatively determine the current status of the surface deformation of this slope, this study used high-resolution optical remote sensing, airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR), and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technologies for comprehensive analysis. The interpretation of high-resolution optical and airborne LiDAR data revealed that the rear edge of the slope exhibits three levels of scarps. However, no deformation was detected with differential InSAR (D-InSAR) analysis of ALOS-1 radar images from 2007 to 2008 or with Stacking-InSAR and small baseline subset InSAR (SBAS-InSAR) processing of Sentinel-1A radar images from 2017 to 2020. This study verified the credibility of the InSAR results using the standard deviation of the phase residuals, as well as in-borehole displacement monitoring data. A conceptual model of the slope was developed by combining field investigation, borehole coring, and horizontal exploratory tunnel data, and the results indicated that the slope is composed of steep anti-dip layered dolomite limestone and that the scarps at the trailing edges of the slope were caused by historical shallow toppling. Unlike previous remote sensing studies of deformed landslides, this paper argues that remote sensing results with reliable accuracy are also applicable to the study of undeformed slopes and can help make preliminary judgments about the stability of unexplored slopes. The study demonstrates that the long-term consistency of InSAR results in integrated remote sensing can serve as an indicator for assessing slope stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared to the southern Tibetan Plateau, the northern part has been regarded as relatively lacking geothermal resources. However, there is no lack of natural hot springs exposed in beads along large-scale fracture systems, and research on them is currently limited to individual hot springs or geothermal systems. This paper focuses on the Wahongshan-Wenquan Fracture Zone (WWFZ), analyzes the formation of five hydrothermal activity zones along the fracture zone in terms of differences in hot water hydrochemical and isotopic composition, and then explores the hot springs' hydrothermal control in the fracture zone. The results show that the main fractures of the WWFZ are the regional heat control structures, and its near-north–south- and near-east–west-oriented fractures form a fracture system that provides favorable channels for deep hydrothermal convection. Ice and snow meltwater from the Elashan Mountains, with an average elevation of more than 4,500 m above sea level, infiltrates along the fractures, and is heated by deep circulation to form deep geothermal reservoirs. There is no detectable mantle contribution source heat to the hot spring gases, and the heat source is mainly natural heat conduction warming, but the "low-velocity body (LVB)" in the middle and lower crust may be the primary heat source of the high geothermal background in the area. The hot springs' hydrochemical components show a certain regularity, and the main ionic components, TDS, and water temperature tend to increase away from the main rupture, reflecting the WWFZ controlling effect on hydrothermal transport. In the future, the geothermal research in this area should focus on the hydrothermal control properties of different levels, the nature of fractures, and the thermal contribution of the LVB in the middle and lower crust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The yak (Poephagus grunniens) has evolved unique adaptations to survive the harsh environment of the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau, while their gut microorganisms play a crucial role in maintaining the health of the animal. Gut microbes spread through the animal population not only by horizontal transmission but also vertically, which enhances microbial stability and inheritance between generations of the population. Homogenization of gut microbes in different animal species occurs in the same habitat, promoting interspecies coexistence. Using the yak as a model animal, this paper discusses the adaptive strategies under extreme environments, and how the gut microbes of the yak circulate throughout the Tibetan Plateau system, which not only affects other plateau animals such as plateau pikas, but can also have a profound impact on the health of people. By examining the relationships between yaks and their gut microbiota, this review offers new insights into the adaptation of yaks and their ecological niche on the Qinghai–Tibetan plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) vegetation plays an important role in the local ecosystem, which responds significantly to climate change and can affect local and large-scale weather and climate anomalies. However, little attention has been paid to its year-to-year variation. In this paper, using two NDVI datasets (GIMMS and MODIS) originated from satellite remote sensing, the variability characteristics of NDVI over the TP on the interannual time scale and associated local climatic factors were investigated. The results show that two primary patterns of NDVI governed TP during the main growing season (June–September, JJAS) for the period 1982–2020. The first one is a uniform pattern, with a consistent spatial variation over the entire TP, and the second is a dipole pattern, with an out-of-phase spatial variation of NDVI between the northern and southern TP. Interannual variations of the different climatic factors regulate the NDVI variability over the different regions of the TP. The interannual variability of the uniform NDVI pattern is mainly affected by the two local climatic factors, the preceding May–August precipitation and simultaneous JJAS sunshine duration. Specifically, NDVIs over the southern and eastern TP have a more significant response to the preceding precipitation and simultaneous sunshine duration, respectively. The variability of the dipole NDVI pattern is primarily modulated by the preceding May–August precipitation and simultaneous surface air temperature, ground surface temperature, and sunshine duration. However, NDVIs over the northern and southern TP have different degrees of response to the four climatic factors, with the most significant response being to preceding precipitation. The combined effect of these factors contributes to the formation of the interannual variability in the uniform and dipole patterns. This paper may shed light on deeply understanding the reasons for the inconsistency in variations of vegetation over the different regions of the TP under climate change. In addition to the effect of local climatic factors that this study focuses on, the influence of external climatic factors on the variability of the TP NDVI deserves further research in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Helanshan Mountain tectonic belt (HTB) is an intraplate deformation belt along the northwestern border of the Ordos Block in the North China Craton. When and why this intracontinental tectonic belt formed, its subsequent uplift and erosion, and the relationships between ranges and adjacent basins remain unclear. To better assess the connections between the temporal and structural activity in HTB, apatite fission-track (AFT) and zircon fission-track (ZFT) analyses were conducted in this study. The lack of adequate FT data from the HTB is a source of contention and dispute. This paper collected samples for AFT and ZFT techniques from the central and southern HTB, trying to improve the research. The ZFT and AFT ages could be divided into the following 7 groups: 279 Ma, 222–213 Ma, 193–169 Ma, 151–147 Ma, 130–109 Ma, 92–77 Ma, and 65–50 Ma. The inverse modeling results of AFT indicate 4 fast cooling episodes of 170–120 Ma, 120–95 Ma, 66–60 Ma, and ~10–8 Ma to the present. Combining the results of FT analysis with radial plot and inverse modeling of AFT, the following eight age groups are believed to reveal the distinct tectonic activities in HTB: the first age group of 279 Ma mainly represented the back-arc extension of the southern HTB; the age group of 222–213 Ma was bounded with NNE-SSE trending contraction between the South China block and North China Craton; the event of 193–169 Ma responded to the post-orogenic collapse followed after the second event; the 151–147 Ma group was interpreted as the eastward extrusion induced by the subduction between Qiangtang and Lhasa blocks; the Early Cretaceous (130–109 Ma) group was not only affected by the rollback of the Pacific Plate, but also denoted the collapse of the thickened lithosphere formed in the Late Jurassic; the Late Cretaceous (92–77 Ma) group was attributed to long-distance impact from the subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Eurasian Plate; the event during 65–50 Ma was a correspondence to far-field effect of the onset collision between the Eurasian and Indian Plates; and from 10–8 Ma to the present, the progressive collision of the Indian and Eurasian Plates have a significant impact on the HTB and the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermodynamic and liquid water profiles can be retrieved by a ground-based microwave radiometer (MWR) in nearly all weather conditions, which is useful for detecting mesoscale phenomena. This paper reviews the advances in remote sensing of atmospheric profiles and cloud properties by MWR in central China. Comparative studies indicate that MWR retrieval accuracy is different under various skies, especially those that decay under precipitation. The off-zenith method is proven to be capable of reducing the impact of precipitation and snow on MWR retrieval accuracy. Application studies demonstrate that MWR retrievals are helpful for early warning of rainstorms, hailstorms, and thunderstorms. Moreover, MWR retrievals provide a way to study cloud properties. The temporal variations of cloud occurrence frequency (COF) and liquid water path (LWP) are different for low, middle, and high clouds, and the vertical distribution of COF is also different in autumn and other seasons. Note that MWR can infer valid retrievals over the eastern Tibetan Plateau due to the weak precipitation over there. Also, cloud properties over the eastern Tibetan Plateau present differences from those over central China, and this is related to the different characteristics of atmospheric water vapor between these two regions. To bring more benefits for mechanism study and early warning of severe weather and numerical weather prediction, the decayed accuracy of MWR zenith retrievals under precipitation should be resolved. And combining MWR with other instruments is necessary for MWR application in detecting multi-layer clouds and ice clouds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Yaks are a major economic source for people in the Tibetan Plateau region. Yaks are rich in nutrients, but their low fat content is not conducive to the large-scale promotion of yak meat, so the study of the mechanism of yak lipid deposition is beneficial to the marketing of yak meat. In this paper, the results of transcriptome sequencing analysis of yak liver showed that it could be determined that the expression levels of genes associated with partial lipid deposition were significantly up-regulated during yak fattening. In addition, this study found that the tenderness of yak meat improved during this process. Fattening significantly affects fat deposition in yaks, which may be realized through its effects on lipid metabolic pathways. Therefore, studying the mechanism of lipid deposition in yaks and fattening yaks will improve the quality of yak meat. Yak meat is nutritionally superior to beef cattle but has a low fat content and is slow-growing. The liver plays a crucial role in lipid metabolism, and in order to determine whether different feeding modes affect lipid metabolism in yaks and how it is regulated, we employed RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) technology to analyze the genome-wide differential gene expression in the liver of yaks maintained under different raising systems. A total of 1663 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified (|log2FC| ≥ 0 and p-value ≤ 0.05), including 698 down-regulated and 965 up-regulated genes. According to gene ontology (GO) and KEGG enrichment analyses, these DEGs were significantly enriched in 13 GO terms and 26 pathways (p < 0.05). Some DEGs were enriched in fatty acid degradation, PPAR, PI3K-Akt, and ECM receptor pathways, which are associated with lipid metabolism. A total of 16 genes are well known to be related to lipid metabolism (e.g., APOA1, FABP1, EHHADH, FADS2, SLC27A5, ACADM, CPT1B, ACOX2, HMGCS2, PLIN5, ACAA1, IGF1, FGFR4, ALDH9A1, ECHS1, LAMA2). A total of 11 of the above genes were significantly enriched in the PPAR signaling pathway. The reliability of the transcriptomic data was verified using qRT-PCR. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms regulating yak meat quality. It shows that fattening improves the expression of genes that regulate lipid deposition in yaks and enhances meat quality. This finding will contribute to a better understanding of the various factors that determine yak meat quality and help develop strategies to improve yield and quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lakes are an important component of global water resources. In order to achieve accurate lake extractions on a large scale, this study takes the Tibetan Plateau as the study area and proposes an Automated Lake Extraction Workflow (ALEW) based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) and deep learning in response to the problems of a low lake identification accuracy and low efficiency in complex situations. It involves pre-processing massive images and creating a database of examples of lake extraction on the Tibetan Plateau. A lightweight convolutional neural network named LiteConvNet is constructed that makes it possible to obtain spatial–spectral features for accurate extractions while using less computational resources. We execute model training and online predictions using the Google Cloud platform, which leads to the rapid extraction of lakes over the whole Tibetan Plateau. We assess LiteConvNet, along with thresholding, traditional machine learning, and various open-source classification products, through both visual interpretation and quantitative analysis. The results demonstrate that the LiteConvNet model may greatly enhance the precision of lake extraction in intricate settings, achieving an overall accuracy of 97.44%. The method presented in this paper demonstrates promising capabilities in extracting lake information on a large scale, offering practical benefits for the remote sensing monitoring and management of water resources in cloudy and climate-differentiated regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate warming has profoundly affected terrestrial ecosystems. The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is an ecologically vulnerable region that emerged as an ideal place for investigating the mechanisms of vegetation response to climate change. In this study, we constructed an annual synthetic NDVI dataset with 500 m resolution based on MOD13A1 products from 2000 to 2021, which were extracted by the Google Earth Engine (GEE) and processed by the Kalman filter. Furthermore, considering topographic and climatic factors, a thorough analysis was conducted to ascertain the causes and effects of the NDVI's spatiotemporal variations on the TP. The main findings are: (1) The vegetation coverage on the TP has been growing slowly over the past 22 years at a rate of 0.0134/10a, with a notable heterogeneity due to its topography and climate conditions. (2) During the study period, the TP generally showed a "warming and humidification" trend. The influence of human activities on vegetation growth has exhibited a favorable trajectory, with a notable acceleration observed since 2011. (3) The primary factor influencing NDVI in the southeastern and western regions of the TP was the increasing temperature. Conversely, vegetation in the northeastern and central regions was mostly regulated by precipitation. (4) Combined with the principal component analysis, a PCA-CNN-LSTM (PCL) model demonstrated significant superiority in modeling NDVI sequences on the Tibetan Plateau. Understanding the results of this paper is important for the sustainable development and the formulation of ecological policies on the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, numerous ancient landslides initially triggered by historic earthquakes on the eastern Tibetan Plateau have been reactivated by fault activity and heavy rainfall, causing severe human and economic losses. Previous studies have indicated that short-term heavy rainfall plays a crucial role in the reactivation of ancient landslides. However, the deformation behavior and reactivation mechanisms of seasonal rainfall-induced ancient landslides remain poorly understood. In this paper, taking the Dandu ancient landslide as an example, field investigations, ring shear experiments, and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) deformation monitoring were performed. The cracks in the landslide, formed by fault creeping and seismic activity, provide pathways for rainwater infiltration, ultimately reducing the shear resistance of the slip zone and causing reactivation and deformation of the Dandu landslide. The deformation behavior of landslides is very responsive to seasonal rainfall, with sliding movements beginning to accelerate sharply during the rainy season and decelerating during the dry season. However, this response generally lags by several weeks, indicating that rainfall takes time to infiltrate into the slip zone. These research results could help us better understand the reactivation mechanism of ancient landslides triggered by seasonal rainfall. Furthermore, these findings explain why many slope failures take place in the dry season, which typically occurs approximately a month after the rainy season, rather than in the rainy season itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: In this study, we describe the well-preserved fossil seed cones of Nothotsuga found in the Mula Basin, Litang County, Sichuan Province, southwestern China. By detailed morphological comparisons, a new fossil species, Nothotsuga mulaensis Z. Li et J. L. Dong sp. nov. is named. This discovery suggests that Nothotsuga had a more northern distribution during the Miocene. In addition, it suggests that the Mula region had a humid and warm climate during this period. The ancient landform presents an intermountain lake basin, which would have been surrounded by higher mountains. After the Miocene, due to the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, Nothotsuga was either unable to adapt to the extinction of the local environmental or was able to migrate to several scattered places in southern China. In this paper, we describe a new fossil species, Nothotsuga mulaensis Z. Li & J.L. Dong sp. nov. The discovery of the fossil species was based on well-preserved fossil seed cones that were found in the Mula Basin in Xiamula village, Litang County, Sichuan Province, southwestern China. The shapes of these fossils were characterized by ovate seed cones, rhombic or suborbicular scales with auriculate bases, and the bracts were ligulate-spathulate in shape. This finding suggests that Nothotsuga once had a wide distribution range in China and that it also inhabited the eastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). Nothotsuga mulaensis was distributed in an intermountain lake basin, at altitudes from 2000 to 2300 m, in a warm and humid environment. This finding also suggests that the eastern TP may have provided good habitat for Nothotsuga during the Miocene. In addition, we propose that the uplift, accompanied by the severe cooling and aridification that occurred after the Miocene, caused the disappearance of this species of Nothotsuga in the eastern TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The East Kunlun Orogen on the northern margin of the Tethyan orogenic system records a history of Gondwana dispersal and Laurasian accretion. Uncertainties remain regarding the detailed histories of northern branches of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean in East Kunlun Orogen (Buqingshan Ocean). Based on a synthesis of sedimentary, structural, lithological, geochemical, and geochronological data from the East Kunlun Orogen and adjacent regions, this paper discusses the spreading and northward consumption of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean during Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic times. The main evolutionary stages are: (1) during Carboniferous to Middle Permian, the Paleo-Tethys Ocean (Buqingshan Ocean) was in an ocean spreading stage, as suggested by the occurrence of Carboniferous MORB-, and OIB-type oceanic units and Carboniferous to Middle Permian Passive continental margin deposits; (2) the Buqingshan Ocean subducted northward beneath the East Kunlun Terrane, leading to the development of a large continental magmatic arc (Burhan Budai arc) and forearc basin between ~270–240 Ma; (3) during the late Middle Triassic to early Late Triassic (ca. 240–230 Ma), the Qiangtang terrane collided with the East Kunlun–Qaidam terranes, leading to the final closure of the Buqingshan Ocean and occurrences of minor collision-type magmatism and potentially inception of the Bayan Har foreland basin; (4) finally, the East Kunlun Orogen evolved into a post-collisional stage and produced major magmatic flare-ups and polymetallic mineral deposits between Late Triassic to Early Jurassic (ca. 230–200 Ma), which is possibly related to asthenospheric mantle upwelling induced by delamination of thickened continental lithosphere and partial melting of the lower crust. In this paper, we propose that the Wilson cycle-like processes controlled the Late Paleozoic–Early Triassic tectonic evolution of East Kunlun, which provides significant implications for the evolution of the Paleo-Tethys Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the activity of gravity waves (GWs) over the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is of great significance for improving global climate models. Considering that the lower stratosphere is the main level of GWs activity, this paper first established a 14-year 2° × 2° longitude–latitude monthly mean GWs model in the lower stratosphere (18~20 km) of the TP by combining post-processed dry temperature profiles provided by the multi-Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) radio occultation (RO) missions: The Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC) and the Meteorological Operational (METOP) series polar-orbiting meteorological satellites (METOP-A, METOP-B, and METOP-C) from August 2006 to September 2020. Based on this model, this paper analyzed the characteristics of GWs activity around TP and the effects of topography, background wind, and zonal wind on GWs activity and summarized the general process of topographic wave excitation and upward propagation around TP. The spatial distribution of the lower stratospheric GW Ep is highly correlated with the spatial distribution of background wind and the topography of TP during GWs excitation. The GW Ep is obviously filtered by the zero-speed wind. The change in GW Ep is strongly correlated with the change in topography. These phenomena indicate that the GWs of TP are mainly topographic waves. Moreover, the lower stratospheric GW Ep of TP shows that periodic changes are mainly affected by the periodic background wind, and the GW Ep value is larger in February and smaller in August. The large GW Ep in the lower stratosphere of TP is not only related to the GWs strongly generated by the interaction between the strong background wind and the large elevation or large topographic changes but also related to the strong zonal westerly winds that promote the propagation of GWs upward. Multivariable linear regression models were used to reconstruct the lower stratospheric GW Ep over TP based on the background wind and the zonal wind and a goodness of fit of 81.1% was achieved. It indicates that the GW Ep is dominated by the topographic wave over TP in the lower stratosphere and the background wind has a greater influence on the GWs than the zonal wind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hierarchical structures and organizational models highly affect the sustainable operation of the spatial network of tourism destinations. This paper adopted the modified tourism gravity model and social network analysis method to reveal the spatial characteristics of the tourism network on the Tibetan Plateau based on tourism flow data in 2019. The results are as follows: (1) the spatial organization of tourism flows was unbalanced, showing the characteristics of "high in the east and low in the west"; (2) The county tourism flow formed a multidimensional system of spatial hierarchy with Chengguan District of Lhasa, Golmud City, and Pengzhou City as the top nodes, the spatial polarization characteristics, and zonal distribution differences were evident; (3) The inter-county tourism linkage conformed to the law of distance decay, and the multiple network structure hierarchy features highlighted the complex linkage pattern; (4) The tourism network had a more distinctive dominant flow and was influenced by county-level administrative divisions; (5) The tourism linkage network formed eight subgroups with significant geographical characteristics. This study provides recommendations for optimizing the spatial structure of the Tibetan Plateau county tourism network for the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to introduce a numerical technique for forecasting the hazard caused by the disaster chain of landslide blocking river-dam breach floods through an integration of the distinct element method (DEM) and a well-balanced finite volume type shallow water model (SFLOW). A toppling slope in a reservoir area, the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, was chosen for the study. Creep has been observed in the potential instability area, and a possible sliding surface was identified based on the data collected from adits and boreholes. Catastrophic rock avalanches may be triggered after reservoir impoundment, and the associated landslide disaster chain needed to be predicted. First, the landslide blocking river process was modeled by the DEM using the three-dimensional particle flow code (PFC 3D). The landslide duration, runout distance, and kinematic characteristics were obtained. In addition, the landslide dam and barrier lake were constructed. Then, the cascading dam breach flood propagation was simulated using the self-developed SFLOW. The flow velocity, inundation depth, and area were obtained. The hazard maps derived from the combined numerical technique provided a quantitative reference for risk mitigation. The influences of two involved parameters on the final hazard-affected area are discussed herein. It is expected that the presented model will be applied in more prediction cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau has a shallow depth, plaque distribution, and repeated ablation. The applicability of the snow parameterization scheme in the current land surface process model on the TP needs to be further tested using observational data. In this paper, using the land surface process model CLM4.5 and ten fresh snow density parameterization schemes characterized by temperature, wind speed, and relative humidity, three discontinuous snow processes in Maqu, Madoi, and Yakou and two continuous snow processes in Madoi and Yakou were simulated. By comparing the simulated snow depth with the observed, it was found that this model can clearly describe repeated snow accumulation and ablation processes for the discontinuous snow cover process. The KW scheme, compared with the original Anderson scheme, performed the best regarding snow depth simulation. However, all schemes overestimated the melting rate of snow, and were not able to simulate continuous snow accumulation. The simulation effect of the Schmucki scheme on radiation and energy flux under discontinuous snow cover was significantly improved compared with other scheme. None of schemes performed perfectly, so future studies that focus on the simulations of snow depth, radiation flux, and energy flux under continuous snow cover for accurate and wide applications are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibet Plateau of Qinghai supports complex vegetation types that are ecologically fragile and sensitive to climatic factors. Therefore, it is important to understand the changes in vegetation and the factors responsible for these changes and to maintain the ecosystem balance and promote sustainable development in the region. Therefore, this paper is based on annual SPOT/VEG NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) data, land use data, topographic data, temperature data, and precipitation data from 1999 to 2019. The spatiotemporal variation in the NDVI over the Tibetan Plateau in the last 21 years and its response to different driving factors were investigated by using the Theil–Sen slope method, Mann–Kendall test, partial correlation analysis, and geographical detector method. The results showed that (1) the vegetation coverage on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau showed an increasing trend from 1999 to 2019, with increases in approximately 67.00% of the plateau area. (2) The spatial differences in vegetation coverage were large; notably, low-density vegetation areas decreased obviously, moderate-density vegetation areas accounted for approximately 50% of the total area, high-density vegetation areas were the least common, and the overall growth rate was significant. (3) The NDVI was positively correlated with temperature and precipitation, and a positive correlation was observed in more than 66% of the region. (4) The order of the influence of single driving factors on the NDVI was as follows: precipitation > soil type > altitude > temperature > gradient > slope > population density > GDP. (5) The combined effect of the factors was significantly higher than that of single driving factors, with a notable nonlinear influence. The interactions between meteorological factors, such as precipitation, and topographic factors, such as altitude, were important, with a q-value over 0.79. The results of this study provide some methodological support for the ecological conservation of the Tibetan Plateau, and at the same time establish a scientific and reasonable strategy for vegetation restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Satellite observations show that carbon monoxide (CO) concentration centers exist in the tropopause region of the Tibetan Plateau, while their sources and formation mechanism still remain uncertain. In this paper, the 3-D chemical transport model GEOS-Chem is used to conduct sensitivity analysis in 2016. Combined with the analysis data and satellite data, the contribution of three important emission sources (South Asia, East Asia and Southeast Asia) and two important chemical reaction species (CH4 and nonmethane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs)) to CO in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere (UTLS) are studied. The results show that in the Asian monsoon region CO emissions originating from the surface are transported to the upper troposphere via a deep convection process and then enter the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) anticyclone. The strong ASM anticyclone isolates the mixing process of air inside and outside the anticyclone, upon entry of carbon monoxide-rich air. In the lower stratosphere, the intensity of the ASM anticyclone declines and the air within the anticyclone flows southwestward with monsoon circulation. We found that in the summer Asian monsoon region, South Asia exhibited the highest carbon monoxide concentration transported to the UTLS. CH4 imposed the greatest influence on the CO concentration in the UTLS region. According to the model simulation results, the CO concentrations in the Asian monsoon region at 100 hPa altitudes were higher than those in other regions at the same latitudes. Regarding effects, 43.18% originated from CH4 chemical reactions, 20.81% originated from NMVOC chemical reactions, and 63.33% originated from surface CO emissions, while sinks yielded a negative contribution of −27.32%. Regarding surface CO emissions, East Asia contributed 13.56%, South Asia contributed 39.27%, and Southeast Asia contributed 7.15%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tibetan Plateau (TP) plays a crucial role in the climate change of China as well as global climate change. It is therefore of great practical significance to study vegetation and its dynamic changes for regional ecological protection. The combination of a dry climate and notable temperature disparities can lead to intricate effects on the region's vegetation. However, there are few studies exploring the complex effects of diurnal temperature variations on vegetation growth that differ from the effects of mean temperature on the TP, especially under different frozen ground types. Based on the long-time series maximum temperature (Tmax), minimum temperature (Tmin), and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) of the TP, we conducted a comparative study of the warming effects on plant growth under different frozen types. The results exhibit that it warms up faster at night (0.223 °C de−1; p < 0.01) than during the day (0.06 °C de−1; p < 0.01), resulting in a significant decrease in the temperature difference between day and night (−0.078 °C de−1; p < 0.01) in the past few decades. The principal finding of this paper is that Tmin is the dominant temperature indicator for vegetation growth on the TP, which dominates 63.3% of the area for NDVI and 61.4% of the area for GPP, respectively. The results further identify a stronger correlation between air temperature and vegetation growth in seasonal frozen grounds (R = 0.68, p < 0.01) and permafrost regions (R = 0.7, p < 0.01) compared to unfrozen grounds (R = 0.58, p < 0.01). Moreover, the physiological mechanism underlying the asymmetric influence of Tmin and Tmax on vegetation growth is further elucidated in this study. Given that future climate changes are expected to exacerbate these changes, it is imperative to explore additional avenues in pursuit of potential mechanisms that can offer adaptive strategies for safeguarding the ecology of the TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Microbiota is closely related to animal health. Bangor Sewa sheep are an important biological resource that live on the Tibetan Plateau. In this paper, we compared the microbial composition and structure in the birth canal of Bangor Sewa sheep before and after delivery. A total of three phyla and 74 genera, including a variety of positive and negative health-associated factors, showed significant differences between pre- and post-parturition groups. This research offers a new approach to improving the well-being and productivity of the Bangor Sewa sheep. (1) Background: Bangor Sewa sheep are an economically significant livestock species on the plateau. The roles of microbiota in reproduction are complex and critical for animal health. But little is known currently about the microbiome of plateau Bangor Sewa sheep. The purpose of this study was to discover the changes in the genital tract microbiota of pre- and post-partum Bangor Sewa sheep. (2) Methods: Samples from the birth canal were obtained for 16S rRNA sequencing, three days before and after delivery, respectively. (3) Results: The results showed that there was a noticeable difference in three phyla and 74 genera between the pre- and post-parturition groups in the microbiota of Bangor Sewa sheep. The changes included a decrease in the abundance of genera related to health (unclassified_Cellulomonadaceae, Cellulomonas, Fibrobacti, Flavobacterium, Eubacterium_ventriosum_group, Acetitomaculum, Aeromicrobium, Dietzia, Romboutsia, Ruminococcus, etc.) and an increased abundance of negatively related genera (Nocardioides, unclassified_Clostridia, Sphingobacteriaceae, unclassified_Ruminococcaceae, Prevotellaceae_UCG_004, Micromonospora, Streptococcus, Facklamia, Bosea, etc.) spp. (4) Conclusions: Microbes can serve as indicators of the physical state of Bangor Sewa sheep. These findings laid the foundation for deciphering the effects of microbial changes during birth on the reproductive health of plateau Bangor Sewa sheep. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mêdog and Nagqu are two typical climate regions of the Tibetan Plateau, with different atmospheric conditions and local orography. This may lead to different diurnal variation patterns of clouds and precipitation. This paper investigates the diurnal variations of clouds and precipitation in Mêdog and Nagqu, using ground-based measurements from Ka-band cloud radar and a Particle Size and Velocity (PARSIVEL) disdrometer. High frequencies of cloud cover and precipitation occur from 23:00 local solar time (LST) to 05:00 LST in Mêdog, while low frequencies appear from 11:00 LST to 17:00 LST. The occurrence frequencies in Nagqu maintain high values from 13:00 LST to 21:00 LST. In terms of mean rain rate, heavier rainfall appears in the evening and at night in Mêdog, with peaks at 00:00 LST and 18:00 LST, respectively. In Nagqu, the heaviest rainfall occurs at 12:00 LST. In addition, the afternoon convective rainfall in Nagqu is characterized by a much higher concentration of large drops, which can be classified as continental-like. The morning rainfall has the lowest concentration of large drops and can be classified as maritime-like. Finally, the mechanisms of diurnal variations in the two regions are discussed. The diurnal cycle of clouds and precipitation in Mêdog may be associated with the nocturnal convergence of moisture flux and mountain–valley wind circulation. Diurnal variations in Nagqu have a high correlation with the diurnal cycle of solar radiation. The high nocturnal frequency of clouds and precipitation in the two regions at night is closely related to the convergence of moisture flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind gusts are sudden, brief increases in wind speed that have important implications for wind power generation, building design, aviation and marine safety. However, wind gusts in the Plateau and coastal plain are very different. In this paper, the gust characteristics are explored and compared at two sites in the same latitude—Xining, a city in the eastern Tibetan Plateau, and Qingdao, a city in the coast in China—using Doppler lidar data. The results indicate that the wind gusts in Xining are more intense and occur at a higher height than those in Qingdao. Though mean winds and turbulence significantly influence gusts, the turbulence intensity is responsible for the differences in gust, and high turbulence in the eastern part of the Tibetan Plateau is inferred. These results provide observational evidence for wind gusts over the complex terrain of the Tibetan Plateau and are useful for studying their impact on important aspects, such as flight safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northeastern margin is a natural experimental field for studying crustal extrusion and expansion mechanisms. The accurate crustal deformation pattern is a key point in the analysis of regional deformation mechanisms and seismic hazard research and judgment. In this paper, the present-day GPS velocity field on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau was obtained from encrypted GPS observations around the Haiyuan–Liupanshan fault zone, combined with GPS observations on the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau from 2010 to 2020. Firstly, we divided the study area into three relatively independent blocks: the ORDOS block, Alxa block, and Lanzhou block; secondly, the accurate fault distribution of the Haiyuan–Liupanshan fault zone was taken into account to obtain the optimal inversion model; finally, using the block and fault back-slip dislocation model, the inversion obtained the slip rate distribution, locking depth, and slip deficit rate of each fault. The results indicate that the Laohushan Fault and Haiyuan Fault are dominated by the left-lateral strike-slip, while the Liupanshan Fault is dominated by the thrust dip-slip, and the Guguan–Baoji Fault has both left-lateral strike-slip and thrust dip-slip components. The maximum locking depths of the Laohushan Fault, Haiyuan Fault, Liupanshan Fault, and Guguan–Baoji Fault are 5 km, 13 km, 15 km, and 10 km, respectively, and the locking of the Haiyuan Fault is strong in the middle section and weak in the eastern and western section. The Haiyuan Fault is still in the post-earthquake stress adjustment stage. The slip deficit rate decays from 3.6 mm/yr to 1.8 mm/yr from west to east along the fault zone. Combined with geological and historical seismic data, the results suggest that the mid-long-term seismic risk in the Liupanshan Fault is high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tuotuohe region is a highly prospective area for Pb and Zn mineral exploration. This paper contributes to our comprehension of the ore-controlling structures, fluid inclusions, and C–H–O–S–Pb isotope geochemistry of Pb–Zn deposits in this region. These deposits are generally hosted by carbonates and controlled by fractures. The principal homogenization temperatures of quart- and calcite-hosted inclusions ranged predominantly between 120 and 220 °C, with salinities varying from 6 to 16 wt.% NaCl equivalent. The Pb isotope compositions of the ore deposits are comparable to those of Cenozoic volcanic rocks in the region but differ significantly from those of the host rocks, indicating that the Pb within these deposits was derived from the mantle. The C, O, and S isotope compositions of samples exhibit a bimodal distribution based on whether they were derived from magma or host rocks, implying that magma-derived fluids underwent an isotopic exchange with the host rocks. The H-O isotope compositions of samples also indicate that ore-forming fluids were originally magmatic but were depleted by combining with meteoric water. These findings are also supported by variations in fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures and salinities. Taken together, these findings suggest that the Pb–Zn deposits of the Tuotuohe region developed from magma to hydrothermal fluids at medium–low temperatures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of climate element distribution models under complex terrain conditions is a popular topic in the field of GIS application in climatology, especially in plateau areas with a complex topography and scarce meteorological station information. In this paper, the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of temperature and precipitation at the northeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau was analyzed by taking the northeastern edge of the plateau as the study area and constructing a topographic spatial statistical model using 47 meteorological stations and digital elevation models from 1981 to 2010. The following conclusions were drawn from the study: (1) The ME of the temperature distribution model for each month is below 0.9 °C; the maximum ME of the precipitation distribution model for each month is −5.808 mm in July, and the precipitation distribution model has similar error characteristics with the temperature distribution model, which can reflect the horizontal zone distribution pattern of meteorological data and can clearly show the changes of temperature and precipitation as the altitude increases. (2) The spatial distribution pattern of temperature is as follows: the temperature in the study area gradually increases from the southwest to the northeast, with Zhouqu County in Linxia Prefecture and Gannan Prefecture as the main high-temperature areas; the spatial distribution of precipitation is as follows: the precipitation in the southwest of the study area is significantly higher than that in the north, and the precipitation in Linxia Prefecture is significantly lower than that in Gannan Prefecture. (3) The temporal distribution pattern of the temperature distribution model is as follows: the overall temperature in the study area is at its lowest level in January, and the maximum temperature is only 2.6 °C, until July, when the maximum temperature rises to 24.2 °C and then gradually starts to decline; the spatial distribution of precipitation is as follows: the precipitation in the study area gradually rises from January, and the maximum precipitation rises to July and then starts to decline, and in December the precipitation falls to the lowest level. The temporal distribution characteristics of the precipitation distribution model are similar to those of the air temperature model, with obvious hydrothermal synchronization characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current limited approaches to calculating hillslope erosion rate hamper the study of the relationships among the rates of hillslope erosion, river incision, and tectonic uplift and hence the discussion of steady-state landscape evolution. In this paper, we use remote sensing and geochronological methods to calculate the upper and lower bounding hillslope erosion rates in the Qilian Shan range, Tibet. Our analysis focuses on five convex landslide sediment units derived from the weathered hillslopes at Qingyang Mountain on the tectonically active northeastern Tibetan Plateau. These sediment units range in thickness from 5.5 to 12.8 m and in volume from 119 × 103 to 260 × 103 m3. Based on field observations, measurements extracted from high-resolution DEMs, and optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) ages on fluvial terraces, we obtain lower and upper bounding rates of 0.13 ± 0.03 and 0.21 ± 0.04 mm/yr, respectively. Finally, we calculate incision rates, ranging from 0.21 ± 0.02 to 0.39 ± 0.01 mm/yr, from heights of a dated fluvial terrace above the present river and the time of abandonment of the associated bedrock strath estimated from OSL ages. The rates of hillslope erosion and river incision at Qingyang Mountain and the tectonic uplift of the Qilian Mountains are estimated to be within a factor of two over the past 117 ka, suggesting that a state of dynamic equilibrium has likely existed on this timescale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase change materials are used in passive solar house construction with light steel structure walls, which can overcome the problems of weak heat storage capacity and poor utilization of solar heat and effectively solve the thermal defects of light steel structure walls. Based on this, on the basis of preliminary experimental research, this study further carried out theoretical analysis and simulation research on the thermal performance of a light steel structure passive solar house (Trombe form) with PCM walls. Through the heat balance analysis of heat transfer in the heat collecting partition wall, the theoretical calculation formula of the phase change temperature of the PCM was obtained, and it verified theoretically that the phase change temperature value should be 1–3 °C higher than the target indoor air temperature. The evaluation index "accumulated daily indoor temperature offset value" was proposed for evaluating the effect of phase change materials on the indoor temperature of the passive solar house, and "EnergyPlus" software was used to study the influence of the phase change temperature, the amount of material, and the thickness of the insulation layer on the indoor air temperature in a natural day. The results showed that there was a coupling relationship among the performance and between of the thickness of the PCM layer and the phase change temperature. Under typical diurnal climate conditions in the northern Tibetan Plateau of China, the optimal combination of the phase change temperature and the layer thickness was 17 °C and 15 mm, respectively. Especially at a certain temperature, excessive increases in the thickness of the phase transition layer could not improve the indoor thermal environment. For this transition temperature, there exists an optimal transition layer thickness. For a Trombe solar house, the thickness of the insulation layer has an independent impact on indoor temperature compared to other factors, which has an economic value, such as 50 mm in this case. In general, this paper studied the relationship between several important parameters of the phase change wall of a solar house by using numerical simulation methods and quantitatively calculated the optimal parameters under typical meteorological conditions, thus providing a feasible simulation design method for similar engineering applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wudaoliang–Changshagongma fault is one of the NW-trending faults located within the southern Bayan Har Block of the Tibetan Plateau in China. In this paper, we used high-resolution imagery and digital elevation model data to study the geomorphological and geological characteristics of the fault. Furthermore, the result also determined the fault trace and estimated the average horizontal slip rate of the fault since the late Quaternary to have been 2.6 ± 0.6 mm/a. This slip rate is approximately equivalent to that of the Awancang, Madoi–Garde, and Dari faults, which are also located within the block. Furthermore, the slip rates of these faults obtained by remote sensing and geological methods are consistent with GPS observations. It indicates that tectonic deformation within the block is continuous and diffuse. Using trenching study results and sedimentary radiocarbon dating, we identified four paleoearthquake events that occurred at 42,378–32,975, 33,935–20,663, 5052–4862, and after 673–628 cal BP, respectively. The recurrence intervals of large earthquakes on the faults within the block are much longer than those of the boundary faults, and the slip rates are also smaller, indicating that faults within the block play a regulatory role in the tectonic deformation of the Bayan Har Block. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The response of the stream geomorphic index to fault activity is important for assessing the regional seismic hazard. The data used in this paper are 12 m resolution TanDEM-X data. The Fill tool in the Hydrology toolset in ArcGIS 10.5 was used to first process the digital elevation model (DEM), then analyse the flow direction of the DEM after filling and finally extract streams with catchment areas of more than 9 km2. Based on the DEM spatial analysis, the stream geomorphic index of the Lianfeng–Ningnan segment (LNS) of the Lianfeng fault was extracted, including the stream length gradient (SL) and the hypsometric integral (HI). This information, combined with the analysis of typical field geomorphology and terrace profiles, was used to define the fault activity period. To analyse the activity characteristics of the LNS, the LNS was divided into northern (Lianfeng to Jinyang), middle (Jinyang to Duiping town) and southern segments (Duiping town to Ningnan). The stream geomorphic index showed spatial variations, with mean SL and HI values of 384 and 0.45, respectively, in the northern segment; 175 and 0.41, respectively, in the middle segment; and 378 and 0.45, respectively, in the southern segment. These results indicate that the northern and southern segments of the LNS are more active than the middle segment, that there is little difference between the northern and southern segments, and that the activity of the middle segment is relatively weak. By comprehensively analysing the lithology, climate and tectonics in the LNS region, we conclude that tectonics are the main factor controlling the stream geomorphology in the LNS region. Based on this information and the analysis and dating of field geomorphology and terrace profiles, we found that the Lianfeng fault was active in the Holocene, which is consistent with the latest research results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The growth history of the Tibetan Plateau provides a valuable natural laboratory to understand tectonic processes of the India–Asia collision and their impact on and interactions with Asian and global climate change. However, both Tibetan Plateau growth and Asian paleoenvironments are generally poorly documented in pre-Pliocene times and reflect limited temporal coverage for different parts of the plateau. In this paper, the 238 m thick Cenozoic sediments in the Hongzhuang section of the Xunhua Basin were tested and analyzed via paleomagnetic and environmental magnetic methods. The formation age was determined, and the evolution history of the regional climate environment was analyzed. The magnetostratigraphy study shows that the sediments record a continuous sequence of geomagnetic polarity changes from C5ACn to C10r, which spans an interval of approximately 30~14.3 Ma from the early Oligocene to the middle Miocene. The magnetic susceptibility of the Hongzhuang section is basically similar to the deep-sea oxygen isotope fluctuation, indicating that the monsoon climate change indicated by the magnetic susceptibility is affected by global temperature. It is worth noting that at ~27 Ma and ~15 Ma, there is a negative correlation between magnetic susceptibility and deep-sea oxygen isotope, and magnetic susceptibility lags behind the increase in deep-sea oxygen isotope. Combined with the change in the sedimentary rate curve, we explain the asynchrony between the magnetic susceptibility and the deep-sea oxygen isotope around ~27 Ma and ~15 Ma. As the uplift of the plateau leads to the enhancement of the East Asian summer monsoon, the soil formation in the region is strengthened, resulting in an increase in magnetic susceptibility. At the same time, the rapid uplift of the plateau caused the erosion of the surrounding mountains to strengthen, and the input of near-source materials may promote the increase in magnetic susceptibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Obtaining accurate precipitation data in mountainous regions is important but challenging. In ungauged areas, remotely sensed precipitation products are useful supplements and alternatives to measured precipitation products. However, their ability to detect solid precipitation and light precipitation in mountain areas is still unclear. The primary objective of this study is to evaluate two satellite precipitation products, Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) and Tropical Precipitation Measuring Mission (TRMM), in the headwaters of an inland river on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau (the Heihe river basin), with a specific focus on their performance regarding light precipitation and solid precipitation. The achieved results reveal that both GPM and TRMM perform poorly over the Heihe river basin, with low Correlation Coefficient value and Critical Success Index value, particularly in winter. Based on the coupled Time-Variant Gain Model-Degree Day Factor Model (TVGM-DDF) initiated in this paper, the GPM is more applicable in terms of running hydrological models. With the aim of detecting solid precipitation, the GPM is more capable of detecting solid precipitation but still unsatisfactory at two stations. In the case of light precipitation, both products underestimate light precipitation. In general, the performance of the two products in the Heihe river basin is not satisfactory and should be enhanced in upcoming explorations. This study provides a strong foundation for choosing alternate precipitation data for related research in the mountain basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As one of the critical indicators of the lake ecosystem, the lake surface water temperature is an important indicator for measuring lake ecological environment. However, there is a complex nonlinear relationship between lake surface water temperature and climate variables, making it difficult to accurately predict. Fortunately, satellite remote sensing provides a wealth of data to support further improvements in prediction accuracy. In this paper, we construct a new deep learning model for mining the nonlinear dynamics from climate variables to obtain more accurate prediction of lake surface water temperature. The proposed model consists of the variable correlation information module and the temporal correlation information module. The variable correlation information module based on the Self-Attention mechanism extracts key variable features that affect lake surface water temperature. Then, the features are input into the temporal correlation information module based on the Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) model to learn the temporal variation patterns. The proposed model, called Attention-GRU, is then applied to lake surface water temperature prediction in Qinghai Lake, the largest inland lake located in the Tibetan Plateau region in China. Compared with the seven baseline models, the Attention-GRU model achieved the most accurate prediction results; notably, it significantly outperformed the Air2water model which is the classic model for lake surface water temperature prediction based on the volume-integrated heat balance equation. Finally, we analyzed the factors influencing the surface water temperature of Qinghai Lake. There are different degrees of direct and indirect effects of climatic variables, among which air temperature is the dominant factor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Areal changes in alpine lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are reliable indicators of climate change and anthropogenic disturbance. This study used long-term Landsat images and meteorological records to monitor the temporal evolution patterns of lakes within the Changtang National Nature Reserve between 1972 and 2021 and examine the climatic and anthropogenic impacts on lake area changes. The results revealed that the area of Lake LongmuCo and Lake Jiezechaqia significantly expanded by 12.81% and 12.88% from 1972 to 2021, respectively. After 1999, Lake LongmuCo and Lake Jiezechaqia entered into a period of rapid expansion. During 1972–2021, the annual mean temperature significantly increased at a rate of 0.05 °C/a, while the change in annual precipitation was not significant. The temperature change was a major contributor to the observed changes of Lake LongmuCo and Lake Jiezechaqia between 1972 and 2021, while human intervention also played a vital role during 2013–2021. The glaciers around these two lakes decreased by 21.81%, and the increase in water supply from warming-triggered glacier melting was a reason of expansion of Lake LongmuCo and Lake Jiezechaqia. The areas of the two artificial salt lakes affiliated with Lake LongmuCo and Lake Jiezechaqia were 0.24 km2 and 2.67 km2 in 2013 and rose to 0.51 km2 and 9.80 km2 in 2021, respectively. In particular, the continuous exploitations of salt lakes to extract lithium resources have retarded the rate of expansion of Lake LongmuCo and Lake Jiezechaqia. The dams constructed by industrial enterprises have blocked the expansion of Lake LongmuCo to the south. This paper sheds new light on the influences of recent human intervention and climatic variation on alpine lakes within the TP. Due to the importance of alpine lakes in the TP, we need more comprehensive and in-depth efforts to protect the lake ecosystems within the national nature reserves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture is an important component of the soil–vegetation–atmosphere terrestrial hydrological cycle and is an important factor affecting terrestrial ecosystems. In the context of extensive vegetation greening on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), it is important to investigate the effect of vegetation greening on soil moisture to maintain ecosystem stability and protect the sustainability of ecological restoration projects. To evaluate the effect of vegetation greening on soil moisture on the TP, the spatial distribution and trends of soil moisture and vegetation on the TP were analyzed using GIMMS NDVI data and ERA5 soil moisture data from 1982 to 2015. The effects of grassland NDVI, precipitation, and temperature on SM were also explored using multiple regression apparent and SEM. The main results are as follows: from 1982 to 2015, both grassland NDVI and SM showed a stable increasing trend. Precipitation was the most important factor influencing SM changes on the TP. In the context that vegetation greening is mainly influenced by temperature increase, vegetation plays a dominant role in SM changes in soil drying and soil wetting zones. In this paper, the climate–vegetation–soil moisture coupling mechanism of grasslands on the TP is investigated, and the related results can provide some theoretical references and suggestions for global ecosystem conservation and the sustainable development of ecological restoration projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grassland is one of the most widely distributed ecosystems on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) accounting for about 60% of the total area. The grassland degradation has spread throughout the TP, and the scope and degree are increasing. The inconsistency of multi-source data poses a great challenge to accurately obtaining information about grassland degradation on the TP. This study used five land cover products and six vegetation indexes to analyze the spatial-temporal change in grassland area and quality at the pixel level across the TP from 2000 to 2020. Then, 279 observed grassland degradation points that were collected from 86 published papers were used to verify the grassland degradation information. The grassland fusion product demonstrated that the grassland area increased by 8.84% from 2000 to 2020, and the rate of grassland degradation exceeded the rate of grassland greening during 2010–2020. The superimposed six vegetation indexes showed that 25.88% of the grassland quality has been degraded on the TP from 2000 to 2020. In Changdu City, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Gannan Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Aba Tibetan and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture, Rikaze City, Shannan City and Nagqu City, the grassland quality degraded by more than in 20% and the degraded grassland area exceeded 2000 km2. The observed grassland degradation points were mainly distributed in the northeastern and central parts of the TP. The consistency of six vegetation indexes with the observed grassland degradation points on the TP was 56.63%, with solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) being more effective than other vegetation indexes for monitoring grassland degradation on the TP. In general, the degradation of grassland on the TP has been a looming problem in recent decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the Emeishan Large Igneous Province (ELIP) has been thoroughly researched, the role of the ELIP in the tectonics of the Songpan–Ganzi extensional basin in the eastern Tibetan Plateau has long been argued without any corroborated and robust evidence. We have investigated the basalt succession of the Dashibao Formation along Xindianzi and Xuecheng sections in the southeast margin of the Songpan–Ganzi Terrane (SGT). New SIMS zircon U-Pb ages and geochemical features of the Dashibao Formation are reported in this paper. Zircons of basalt sample XDZ02-1 yielded a weighted mean age of 259.1 ± 1.66 Ma, which is in alignment with the period when the main eruption of the ELIP occurred. Zircons from two tuff samples XDZ05-1 and XC05-2, overlying the basalt succession, were dated at 251.8 ± 1.57 Ma and 251.5 ± 0.27 Ma, respectively. These new dating results revealed a ~10 Ma eruption for the Dashibao basalts. The Dashibao basalts are geochemically classified into alkaline basalts (Group 1) and tholeiitic basalts (Group 2), which are a part of the Emeishan basalt. We thus propose that the Dashibao basalts erupted in a continental rift setting, located at the margin of the ELIP. The temporal and spatial coincidence of the Dashibao basalt, ELIP, and continental rifting in the western margin of the South China Block suggest that the continental breakup is a response to the Permian mantle plume that triggered the separation of the SGT in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The special geographical environment of the Tibetan Plateau makes ground observation of Ground Water Storage (GWS) changes difficult, and the data obtained from the GRACE gravity satellites can effectively solve this problem. However, it is difficult to investigate the detailed GWS changes because of the coarser spatial resolution of GRACE data. In this paper, we constructed a 0.1° resolution groundwater storage anomalies (GWSA) dataset on the Tibetan Plateau from 2002 to 2020 based on a phased statistical downscaling model and analyzed the spatiotemporal variation and driving factors of the GWSA in order to better study the changes of GWS on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. The results show that: (1) In the Tibetan Plateau and 12 sub-basins, the GWSA before and after downscaling show a very high correlation in time series and relatively good performance in spatial consistency, and the downscaled GWSA indicate a consistent trend with the measured groundwater level. (2) The GWSA on the Tibetan Plateau shows a downward trend (−0.45 mm/yr) from 2002 to 2020, and the variation trend of the GWSA in the Tibetan Plateau shows significant spatial heterogeneity. (3) The GWSA changes in the Tibetan Plateau are mainly dominated by natural factors, but the influence of human activities in individual sub-basins can not be ignored. Among the teleconnection factors, El Nino-Southern Oscillation Index (ENSO) has the greatest influence on the GWSA on the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The melting behavior of glaciers on and around the Tibetan Plateau is strongly influenced by their albedo. In this paper, we report continuous observations made on the Qiangtang (QT) No. 1 Glacier, located in the central Tibetan Plateau, during its 2013–2015 melting seasons. Surface snow on the QT No. 1 Glacier mainly had a dust content less than 600 ppm and a black carbon (BC) content less than 10 ppb. A strong negative correlation was observed between albedo and dust content up to a threshold concentration of 1000 ppm, although albedo remained constant when dust concentrations increased above this value. The radii of snow particles showed a log-normal distribution that had a mean value of ~500 μm, but maximum and minimum values of 2539 μm and 40 μm, respectively. Snow density showed a normal distribution with a total range of 193–555 kg/m3, although most snow had a density of 400 kg/m3. Snow, ice, and aerosol radiative (SNICAR) simulations showed that dust and BC in the surface snow of the QT No. 1 Glacier reduced the snow and ice albedo by 5.9% and 0.06%, respectively, during the ablation season in 2015; however, the simulated particle impact was greater than the albedo reduction measured from field data. We interpret that dust has played a significantly more important role in melting of the QT No. 1 Glacier than BC over the study period, which is mainly due to the scarcity of human activities in the region and the low concentration of BC being produced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The new species of Nelumbo reported in this paper is the first fossil record of lotus in Northwest China thus far, which can provide valuable information regarding the late Middle Miocene biocoenosis composition and the paleoenvironment of the Qaidam Basin on the northern Tibetan Plateau. The Neogene environment and paleovegetation of today's semi-arid and arid Central Asia remain elusive. Little is known about the effect of paleoclimatic change on the distribution and ecological response mechanisms of aquatic plants, especially on the Tibetan Plateau. Here, we report a new species of Nelumbo Adanson, including leaves, receptacles, and fruits, namely Nelumbo delinghaensis sp. nov., from the Upper Youshashan Formation of the upper Middle Miocene in the northern Qaidam Basin on the Tibetan Plateau. The new species comprises centrally peltate leaves with 12–15 actinodromous primary veins and a receptacle embedded with ca. 15–30 fruits, with an unlobed central disc. Megafossils of lotus from northwest China broaden the geographical and stratigraphic ranges of Nelumbo. Our findings suggest that a large freshwater lake body surrounded by temperate forests and grassland developed in the Qaidam Basin during the late Middle Miocene, in sharp contrast to the present desert vegetation. The climate used to be sufficiently warm and moist enough to support a forest-steppe ecosystem with abundant freshwater bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L-band passive microwave remote sensing (RS) is an important tool for monitoring global soil moisture (SM) and freeze/thaw state. In recent years, progress has been made in its in-depth application and development in the Tibetan Plateau (TP) which has a complex natural environment. This paper systematically reviews and summarizes the research progress and the main applications of L-band passive microwave RS observations and associated SM retrievals on the TP. The progress of observing and simulating L-band emission based on ground-, aircraft-based and spaceborne platforms, developing regional-scale SM observation networks, as well as validating satellite-based SM products and developing SM retrieval algorithms are reviewed. On this basis, current problems of L-band emission simulation and SM retrieval on the TP are outlined, such as the fact that current evaluations of SM products are limited to a short-term period, and evaluation and improvement of the forward land emission model and SM retrieval algorithm are limited to the site or grid scale. Accordingly, relevant suggestions and prospects for addressing the abovementioned existing problems are finally put forward. For future work, we suggest (i) sorting out the in situ observations and conducting long-term trend evaluation and analysis of current L-band SM products, (ii) extending current progress made at the site/grid scale to improve the L-band emission simulation and SM retrieval algorithms and products for both frozen and thawed ground at the plateau scale, and (iii) enhancing the application of L-band satellite-based SM products on the TP by implementing methods such as data assimilation to improve the understanding of plateau-scale water cycle and energy balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Palaeoglacier modelling is an important approach for reconstructing the palaeoclimate. The timing of glaciations in the central part of the Gangdise Mountains has been constrained previously, but the palaeoclimate remains unclear. In this paper, the palaeo-temperature and precipitation of the early marine isotope stage (MIS) 2, the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and the early Holocene were reconstructed using coupled mass balance and ice flow models. The results show that a series of temperature changes (ΔT) and precipitation factors (Fp) resulted in optimum palaeoglacial extents. The modelled palaeoglaciers during the early MIS 2, the LGM, and the early Holocene cover areas of ~18.1 km2, ~17.4 km2, and ~16.3 km2, respectively, with ice volumes of ~2.18 km3, ~1.99 km3, and ~1.95 km3, respectively. Previous studies on ice cores, pollen samples, and lake sediments were referenced to narrow the range of palaeo-temperatures and precipitations. The reconstructed temperatures during the early MIS 2, LGM, and early Holocene were constrained to 2.4–2.9 °C, 2.15–3.05 °C, and 0.95–1.5 °C lower than today, respectively. Their precipitation levels were 60–80%, 50–80%, and 100–150% of the present-day level, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Snow plays an important role in the water cycle and global climate change, and the accurate monitoring of changes in snow depth is an important task. However, monitoring snow properties is still challenging and unclear, particularly in the Tibetan Plateau, which has rough land and uneven terrain. The traditional monitoring methods have some limitations in monitoring snow depth changes, and the Global Navigation Satellite System-Reflectometry (GNSS-R) provides a new opportunity for snow monitoring. This paper employed data from the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) to discover the effect of snow properties. Firstly, the observations of CYGNSS were used to find the sensitive to snow properties, and the relationships between signal to noise ratio (SNR), leading edge slope (LES), surface reflectivity (SR), and snow depth were studied and analyzed, respectively. It is found that the correlation between the first two parameters and snow depth is poor, while SR can indicate the changes in snow depth, and is proposed as an indicator of SR change, namely, surface reflectivity–difference ratio factor (SR–DR factor). Furthermore, the long-time series data in the Tibetan Plateau (2018–2019) are used to analyze its effects on the time series of the SR–DR factor, while the influences of the soil freeze/thaw (F/T) process and soil moisture are excluded during the analysis. The results indicate that the SR–DR factor can be a good indicator and discriminator for snow depth. Our work shows that space-borne GNSS-R has the potential for the monitoring of snow properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper collects and analyzes the 1954–2017 monthly average reanalysis data from the U.S. National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR), the 1954–2017 haze days observation data from the National Meteorological Information Center/China Meteorological Administration (NMIC/CMA) and the PM2.5 daily average mass concentration data in 2013–2017 from the China Air Quality Online Monitoring Platform. The atmospheric apparent heat source Q1 (negative Q1 means cold source in winter) over the Tibetan Plateau in December of 1954–2017 is estimated based on thermodynamic equations, and the East Asian winter monsoon index (EAWMI) is calculated. In addition, the discrepancies of the air quality among China's five typical regions (Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei, Fen-Wei Plain, Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Sichuan-Chongqing regions) under the joint influence of the Q1 and EAWMI are studied. Results show that when it is a strong cold source year, abnormal downdrafts and "temperature inversion covers" occur in areas far from the high terrain, resulting in increased pollution, while the opposite is true in weak cold source years. In strong EAWMI years, there is an abnormal northerly sinking cold flow in the lower layers of mid-high latitudes, which increases the pollution in the area south of 30° N, and the opposite is true in weak EAWMI years. Affected by the combined activities of the Q1 and the EAWMI, the meteorological conditions of the five typical regions are different, and thus present different air pollution characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mêdog is located at the entrance of the water vapor channel in the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon (YGC). This area has the largest annual accumulated rainfall totals and precipitation frequency on the Tibetan Plateau (TP). This paper investigates the seasonal variation in raindrop size distribution (DSD) characteristics in Mêdog based on disdrometer observations from 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020. The DSD characteristics are examined under six rain rate classes and two rainfall types (stratiform and convective) in the winter, premonsoon, monsoon and postmonsoon periods. The highest (lowest) concentration of small raindrops is observed in monsoon (winter) precipitation, whereas large raindrops predominate in premonsoon precipitation. For stratiform rainfall, the mean mass-weighted mean diameter (Dm) exhibits overlooked differences in the four periods, while the mean normalized intercept parameter (Nw) is significantly higher in the monsoon period than in the other three periods. The convective rainfall in the monsoon and postmonsoon periods is characterized by a high concentration of limited-size drops and can be classified as maritime-like. This is probably attributed to abundant warm and humid airflow transported by the Indian Ocean monsoon into Mêdog. The westerly winds prevail over the TP during the premonsoon period, and thereby the premonsoon convective rainfall in Mêdog has a larger mean Dm and a lower mean Nw. In addition, the relationships of radar reflectivity Z and rain rate R for different precipitation types in different periods are also derived. A better understanding of the seasonal variation in the microphysical characteristics of precipitation in Mêdog is important for improving the microphysical parameterization scheme and the precipitation forecast of models on the TP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately assessing the dynamic changes of glaciers under the background of climate warming is of great significance for taking scientific countermeasures to cope with climate change. Aiming at the difficulties of glacier identification, such as mountain and cloud shadow, cloud cover and seasonal snow cover in high altitude areas, this paper proposes a reflectivity difference index for identifying glaciers in shadow and glacial lakes and a multi-temporal minimum band ratio index for reducing the influence of snow cover. It establishes a new large-scale glacier extraction method (so-called Double RF) based on the random forest algorithm of Google Earth Engine (GEE) and applies it to the Tibetan Plateau. The verification results based on 30% sample points show that overall accuracies of the first and second classification of 96.04% and 90.75%, respectively, and Kappa coefficients of 0.92 and 0.83, respectively. Compared with the real glacier dataset, the percentage of correctly extracted glacier area of the total area of glacier dataset (PGD) was 84.07%, and the percentage of correctly extracted glacier area of the total area of extracted glacier (PGE) was 89.06%; the harmonic mean (HM) of the two was 86.49%. The extraction results were superior to the commonly used glacier extraction methods: the band ratio method based on median composite image (Median_Band) (HM = 79.47%), the band ratio method based on minimum composite image (Min_Band) (HM = 81.19%), the normalized difference snow cover index method based on median composite image (Median_NDSI) (HM = 83.48%), the normalized difference snow cover index method based on minimum composite image (Min_NDSI) (HM = 84.08%), the random forest method based on median composite image (Median_RF) (HM = 83.87%) and the random forest method based on minimum composite image (Min_RF) (HM = 85.36%). The new glacier extraction method constructed in this study could significantly improve the identification accuracy of glaciers under the influences of shadow, snow cover, cloud cover and debris. This study provides technical support for obtaining long-term glacier distribution data on the Tibetan Plateau and revealing the impact of climate warming on glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through the observation and study of the raindrop spectrum, we can not only explore the evolution law of precipitation but also understand the microphysical characteristics of different types of precipitation clouds. This paper uses the raindrop spectrum data observed at Naqu Station, Yushu Station, Linzhi Station, and Emei Mount Station, as well as cloud radar data in the Yushu region in the Tibetan Plateau. Raindrop spectral characteristics are studied, and the raindrop size distribution (DSD) characteristics of the four stations are analyzed. The results are as follows: (1) The overall raindrop spectral concentration of the four stations decreases with the increase in particle size after the peak value. The downtrend is most gentle at the peak. (2) All rain intensity levels show the characteristics of multiple vertices. At Linzhi Station, Naqu Station and Yushu Station, the particles with a diameter of <1 mm contributed the most to the precipitation rate, while the particles with a diameter of <1 mm at Emei Mount Station contributed the least to the precipitation rate. (3) The precipitation in the central and eastern margins of the Tibetan Plateau is dominated by small and medium-sized particles, accounting for 95–99% of the precipitation particle number concentration. (4) The raindrop spectra of the three types of precipitation clouds at the four sites are all cumulonimbus precipitation Cumulonimbus in the uppermost layer, stratiform cloud precipitation stratiform cloud in the lowermost layer, and mixed cloud precipitation stratiform cloud in between. (5) Cloud radar analysis of precipitation structure shows that cumulonimbus and mixed clouds develop vigorously, and the highest cloud height can reach 13 km, but the average precipitation duration of mixed clouds is shorter than that of cumulonimbus; stratiform clouds develop relatively smoothly, with cloud heights of 6–7 km, the average precipitation duration is the shortest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spatiotemporal distribution of soil moisture over the Tibetan Plateau is important for understanding the regional water cycle and climate change. In this paper, the surface soil moisture in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau is estimated from time-series VV-polarized Sentinel-1A observations by coupling the water cloud model (WCM) and the advanced integral equation model (AIEM). The vegetation indicator in the WCM is represented by the leaf area index (LAI), which is smoothed and interpolated from Terra Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) LAI eight-day products. The AIEM requires accurate roughness parameters, which are parameterized by the effective roughness parameters. The first halves of the Sentinel-1A observations from October 2014 to May 2016 are adopted for the model calibration. The calibration results show that the backscattering coefficient (σº) simulated from the coupled model are consistent with those of the Sentinel-1A with integrated Pearson's correlation coefficients R of 0.80 and 0.92 for the ascending and descending data, respectively. The variability of soil moisture is correctly modeled by the coupled model. Based on the calibrated model, the soil moisture is retrieved using a look-up table method. The results show that the trends of the in situ soil moisture are effectively captured by the retrieved soil moisture with an integrated R of 0.60 and 0.82 for the ascending and descending data, respectively. The integrated bias, mean absolute error, and root mean square error are 0.006, 0.048, and 0.073 m3/m3 for the ascending data, and are 0.012, 0.026, and 0.055 m3/m3 for the descending data, respectively. Discussions of the effective roughness parameters and uncertainties in the LAI demonstrate the importance of accurate parameterizations of the surface roughness parameters and vegetation for the soil moisture retrieval. These results demonstrate the capability and reliability of Sentinel-1A data for estimating the soil moisture over the Tibetan Plateau. It is expected that our results can contribute to developing operational methods for soil moisture retrieval using the Sentinel-1A and Sentinel-1B satellites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]