Melting glaciers lead to expanding lakes in Tibet: scientists

China Plus/CCTV Published: 2017-08-21 07:14:52
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Melting glaciers lead to expanding lakes in Tibet: scientists

A file photo of Serling Tso Lake. [Photo: News.cn]

A scientific expedition has shown that the lakes in China's northwest Tibet Autonomous Region are expanding.

Scientists found out that Serling Tso Lake is the fastest expanding lake on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with the average annual runoff volume reaching 2.2 billion cubic meters.

The lake surface has reached over 2,300 square kilometers, with its total capacity reaching 63 billion cubic meters, almost double than what it was in 1976.

"As for the cause of the expansion, we used to think that rainfall might be the primary cause. Now, we find out that melting glaciers may play a more significant role. So the lake is steadily expanding, and will be larger and larger. In terms of protecting the entire ecology, we face new challenges. Building a national park is the best way and the guarantee to meet the challenge," said Yao Tandong, the director of the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research under Chinese Academy of Sciences.

During the expedition, scientists also collected lake sediment and ice core samples which record the climatic and environmental changes in the past thousands of years.


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