Disappearing Lakes in Semiarid Northern China: Drivers and Environmental Impact

• Published in: Environmental science & technology Vol. 47; no. 21; pp. 12107 - 12114
• Main Authors: Liu, Hongyan, Yin, Yi, Piao, Shilong, Zhao, Fengjun, Engels, Mike, Ciais, Philippe
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Chemical Society 05.11.2013
• Subjects: Agriculture; Animals; Anseriformes; Arid zones; China; Climate; Continental interfaces, environment; Drought; Droughts; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Ecosystem; Endangered Species; Engineering and environment geology. Geothermics; Environment; Environmental impact; Environmental science; Exact sciences and technology; Fresh Water; Humans; Hydrology; Hydrology. Hydrogeology; Lakes; Ocean, Atmosphere; Pollution, environment geology; Precipitation; Sciences of the Universe; Shrinkage; Soil; Wetlands; Far East; Asia; China; Northern China; Gobi Desert; Mongolia, People's Rep., Gobi Desert; China, People's Rep; Space remote sensing; satellite measurements; vegetation; utilization; climate; human activity; desiccation; environment impact; salt marshes; drought; ecosystems; imagery; lakes; semi-arid environment

The widely distributed 241 lakes in the semiarid region of China bordering the Asian Gobi desert provide an irreplaceable environment for the region’s human inhabitants, livestock, and wildlife. Using satellite imagery, we tracked the changing areas of lake water and freshwater/salty marshes during...