Abstract
On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, permafrost degradation and associated release of permafrost meltwater has undoubtedly modified the annual and seasonal streamflow patterns and influenced groundwater conditions. However, it is still unclear how extensively permafrost degradation has influenced surface and subsurface water systems due to very sparse observations. Isotope mass models combining tritium and 222Rn measurements are developed here to quantify the contributions of groundwater discharge and thawing permafrost to rivers and lakes in the Source Area of the Yellow River. Results demonstrate the spatial variability of permafrost thaw impacts and confirm significant influence on surface and subsurface runoff processes including effects on water yield capacity and water drainage connectivity. While results to date are conclusive, further work to refine the method and extend observations is warranted.
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Acknowledgements
This research was fully supported by the Postgraduate Research & Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. KYCX17_0418) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (Grant No. 2017B682X14), and partially funded by the State Key Program of National Natural Science of China (Grant No. 51539003), the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA2010010307). The authors would like to express special thanks to Miss. Qian Chen for her enormous assistance with sample finishing.
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Wan, C., Li, K., Shen, S. et al. Using tritium and 222Rn to estimate groundwater discharge and thawing permafrost contributing to surface water in permafrost regions on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. J Radioanal Nucl Chem 322, 561–578 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06720-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10967-019-06720-5