Characterization of lake area and number change in western Mongolia from 1992 to 2021

doi:10.7523/j.ucas.2023.083

Abstract

Abstract: Climate change and human activities have impacted greatly on many lakes in western Mongolia, whereas they were seldom studied. Using Landsat images as the data source, lakes with an area larger than 1 km² from 1992 to 2021 were extracted based on Google Earth Engine (GEE). Spatio-temporal changes of lake area were characterized, and causes were analyzed combining meteorological data and socioeconomic data. The results showed that: 1) The change of lake area could be divided into two phases, i.e., the expansion phase from 1992 to 1996 and the shrinking phase after 1996; 2) There are obvious spatial variations in lake area change. In Khovd Province and Gobi-Altai Provinces lake area shows a trend of decreasing first and then increasing, whereas the trend is opposite in Uvs Province and Zavkhan Provinces; 3) The causes are obvious different temporally and spatially. The increase of summer mean temperature and potential evapotranspiration had a negative impact on the decrease of lake area in Khovd Province and Gobi-Altai Provinces during 1992-2001. However, human activities, including agricultural irrigation and overgrazing, were the dominant negative drivers for the shrinkage of lakes in Uvs Province and Zavkhan Provinces from 1996 to 2019.

Key words: western Mongolia, lakes, arid regions, temporal and spatial changes, influencing factors, remote sensing

CLC Number:

P964

YANG Song, ZHOU Hongfei, YAN Yingjie. Characterization of lake area and number change in western Mongolia from 1992 to 2021[J]. Journal of University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2025, 42(2): 176-185.

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