Environ Earth Sci DOI 10.1007/s12665-012-1736-6 ORIGINAL ARTICLE Lake change and its implication in the vicinity of Mt. Qomolangma (Everest), central high Himalayas, 1970–2009 Yong Nie • Yili Zhang • Mingjun Ding • Linshan Liu • Zhaofeng Wang Received: 4 March 2011 / Accepted: 18 May 2012 Ó Springer-Verlag 2012 Abstract High-elevation inland lakes are a sensitive trend (correlation coefficients of 0.68–0.91), with larger indicator of climate change. The extents of lakes in lakes having smaller shrinkage rates, which implies a Mt. Qomolangma region have been extracted using the higher stability (in the order of Peiku [ Langqiang [ object-based image-processing method providing 6–24 Cuochuolong). Lake Peiku, the largest lake, decreased images during 1970–2009. Combined with data from five 10.38 km2 (3.69 % or 0.27 km2 year-1) during 1970– meteorological stations and three periods’ glacier data, the 2009. The changes in Lake Peiku indicate that precipitation inter-annual and intra-annual lake changes and responses to is its main source of supply with glacier melt water a key climate and glacier change have been analyzed. The results supplement. Meanwhile, Lake Como Chamling reduced show that the lakes have shrunk overall, with clear inter- by 13.12 km2 (19.79 %) during 1974–2007, with strong annual and intra-annual fluctuations during 1970–2009. In shrinkage–expansion–shrinkage–expansion fluctuations. general, there appeared a trend of slight shrinkage in the Overall, lakes in the vicinity of Mt. Qomolangma are a 1970s, distinct shrinkage around 1990, general expansion sensitive good indicator to climate change. in 2000 and accelerated decrease after 2000. Lake Peiku and neighboring lakes show a highly consistent change Keywords Lake change Á Everest Á Qomolangma Á Remote sensing Á Climate change Á Glacier Y. Nie Á Y. Zhang (&) Á L. Liu Á Z. Wang Introduction Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, A11 Datun Road, Mountain glaciers and inland lakes are sensitive indicators Anwai, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China of climate change (Shi and Ren 1990; Liu et al. 2009). e-mail: [email protected] Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau are highly sensitive to climate L. Liu change and very vulnerable to human activities (Ding et al. e-mail: [email protected] 2006). The extent and water level of lakes on the Tibetan Z. Wang Plateau reveal the water-balance processes and the coupled e-mail: [email protected] climate–environment relationships at the river basin scale Y. Nie (Liu et al. 2009, 2010; Zhang et al. 2011). Lake change Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, directly impacts on surrounding villages and pastures, and Chinese Academy of Sciences, 9-4 South Renmin Road, long-term time series monitoring can promote the interests Chengdu 610041, China e-mail: [email protected] of local people, provide reliable evidence of climate change, and further promote the understanding of water M. Ding resource changes and eco-environmental effects in the Key Laboratory of Poyang Lake Wetland and Watershed Tibetan Plateau. Recently, advances have been made in the Research, Ministry of Education, Jiangxi Normal University , Nanchang 330022, China field of in situ observations and biogeochemical analyses e-mail: [email protected] of highland lakes, such as major ionic composition of 123 Environ Earth Sci precipitation, heat and water exchanges, bathymetry and and intra-annual fluctuations of lake extent, which can lead water quality, lake core and stable isotope of Lake Nam Co to large uncertainties. To reduce the uncertainty in under- (Li et al. 2007; Lin et al. 2008;Mu¨gler et al. 2008; Haginoya standing the lake changes and promote understanding of the et al. 2009; Wang et al. 2009a, submarine topography, processes and mechanisms of lake change on the Tibetan physicochemical features and lake core of Lake Puma Yum Plateau, this paper used multi-source and multi-temporal Co (Murakami et al. 2007; Wang et al. 2009b; Zhu et al. RS data from 1970 to 2009, and adopted object-based 2010), heat and water balance as well as oxygen isotope of interpretation to build a database of 6–24 periods of lake Lake Yamdrok-tso (Gao et al. 2009; Xu et al. 2009), water data in the Mt. Qomolangma region. From this database, the cycle characteristics of Manasarovar Lake (Yao et al. 2009). inter-annual and intra-annual changes were analyzed and Overall, the long-term hydrological and meteorological the coupled relationships between lake, climate and glacier observation data of lakes in the Tibetan Plateau are very change were determined. limited and have high costs due to the remote location of the lakes. However, the characteristics of remote sensing, including real-time observation, large coverage, objectivity, Study area and low cost make it an optimal method for monitoring the dynamics of lake change over multiple periods and large The Mt. Qomolangma (Everest) National Nature Preserve areas in remote regions (Sheng et al. 2008). (QNNP) is the highest protected area in the world and is Remote sensing (RS) images such as MSS, TM, ETM, located on the Chinese side of Mt. Qomolangma, in the ASTER and hyperspectral data have been proven to suitable central high Himalayas (Cidanlunzhu 1997; Nie et al. for lake-change research (Nolan et al. 2002; Matthews et al. 2010). Its location makes it an ideal place to conduct 2008; Jones et al. 2009; Riaza and Mu¨eller 2010). The RS research on water and energy budgets, as well as difference results from the Tibetan Plateau show that total area and in ecosystem structure and function under a changing number of lakes increased from the 1970s to 2000 with an global environment (Zhang et al. 2007, 2012; Nie and increased overall area of 3,316.52 km2 (Wu et al. 2007a, Li 2011). The QNNP covers four administrative counties and evident regional differences in lake area and level (Tingri, Gyirong, Nyalam and Dinggye), and a total study changes (Wu et al. 2007a; Zhang et al. 2011). The regional area is 3.6 9 104 km2, including the entire QNNP and differences also have been confirmed by typical lake some surrounding unprotected area (Nie et al. 2010). There changes on the Tibetan Plateau between 1969 and 2001, are only two meteorological stations in the study area where lakes that are mainly supplied by glacier melt water, (in Tingri and Nyalam counties), so to determine climate such as Nam Co, Lake Selin and surrounding lakes change more accurately, data from three additional mete- expanded, but lakes in the source region of the Yellow orological stations (in Latse, Xigaze and Gyantse counties) River, mainly supplied by precipitation, shrank (Lu et al. near the QNNP have also been used. There are four major 2005). In Tibet, both expansion and shrinkage of lakes in river basins in the study area, Pengqu, Gyirong Zangbo, typical regions have been reported. For example, lakes in Poiqu and Yarlung Zangbo rivers, shown in Fig. 1 (Nie the Yamdrok-tso river basin shrank 35 km2 while the gla- et al. 2010; Nie and Li 2011). cier area decreased 1.5 % between 1980 and 2000 (Ye et al. Lake Peiku, the largest lake in the study area, is a typical 2007), and the total area of lakes in the Mapam Yumco river tectonic lake which is controlled by two east–west and basin also reduced from 1974 to 2003 (Ye et al. 2008), but north–south structures with an elevation of 4,590 m and a the maximum expansion rate of Lake Cuona and nearby current area of 270.71 km2 (RS data source October 2009). lakes reached 27.1 % from 1998 to 2005 (Liu et al. 2009), The lake basin is a closed drainage basin with an area of and Lake Nam Co has expanded by 51.84 km2 (an increase 2,397.40 km2. The ratio of Lake Peiku area to drainage of 2.7 %) from 1970 to 2006 (Liu et al. 2010). Against the area is 11.3 % in 2009. The Daerqiu and Woquma rivers, background of widespread glacier retreated, the shrinkage originating from Mt. Peikukangri in the southwest and the and expansion of lakes in corresponding river basins indi- Barixiong River originating from Mt. Dashishan in the east cates that the process of lake change in river basins supplied flow into Lake Peiku (Fig. 1). Glacier area accounts for by melt water is very complex (Ding et al. 2006; Kang et al. 5.6 % of the whole lake basin. Both precipitation and 2010). Thus, the relationships between lakes, climate and glacier melt water are the water supply for Lake Peiku and glaciers needs to be further explored (Wu and Zhu 2008; Langqiang. Lake Langqiang is located to the southeast of Kang et al. 2010), and research into lake change in the Lake Peiku where they are separated by secondary lacus- vicinity of Mt. Qomolangma has not yet been reported. trine terraces. The small lakes Helin and Cuochuolong The trend of lake change can only be roughly reflected by are located to the west and northwest, respectively, of two or three periods of RS data, so, a detailed understanding Lake Peiku (Cidanlunzhu 1997) and only supplied by of processes and features is very poor due to inter-annual precipitation. 123 Environ Earth Sci Fig. 1 Location of the study area and distribution of the water system Lake Como Chamling, the second largest lake in the maps at the 1:100,000 scale based on aerial photographs Mt. Qomolangma region, is a saline lake located in the east (acquired time of October) in the Lake Peiku region in of Dinggye County and only supplied by precipitation, and 1970 and Lake Como Chamling in 1974.