Proglacial river sediment fluxes in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Mingyong Glacier in the Upper Mekong River

Proglacial river sediment fluxes in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Mingyong Glacier in the Upper Mekong River

Glacial and proglacial erosion are important sediment sources in river basins. The retreat of many glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau has important implications on the supply of fresh water and sediment dynamics for downstream river basins. Despite the importance of water and sediment dynamics at these...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrological processes Vol. 36; no. 11
Main Authors: Lu, Xixi, Zhang, Ting, Hsia, Boey Lai, Li, Dongfeng, Fair, Heather, Niu, Hewen, Chua, Samuel D. X., Li, Li, Li, Shaojuan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-11-2022
Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
Subjects:
Annual variations
Catchment area
Catchments
China
Climate change
Environmental impact
Extreme weather
Fluvial sediments
Fluxes
Fresh water
Freshwater
Glacier retreat
Glaciers
Headwater catchments
Headwaters
Inland water environment
Mekong River
Plateaus
Precipitation patterns
proglacial river
River basins
River erosion
River sediments
Rivers
Sediment
Sediment concentration
Sediment dynamics
sediment fluxes
Sediment load
Sediment sources
Sediment yield
Sediments
Suspended sediments
Water discharge
Yunnan
Tibetan Plateau
Mekong River
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Summary:Glacial and proglacial erosion are important sediment sources in river basins. The retreat of many glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau has important implications on the supply of fresh water and sediment dynamics for downstream river basins. Despite the importance of water and sediment dynamics at these catchments, existing quantification of suspended sediment fluxes from glacial catchments on the Tibetan Plateau is limited due to poor accessibility and challenging environments. This study presents the results of in‐situ investigations of water discharge and suspended sediment fluxes from the Mingyong Glacier catchment in Yunnan, Southwest China, between August 2013 and July 2017. The results show that the variation in water discharge and suspended sediment was highly seasonal. The variation of average suspended sediment concentration was large—69 ± 45; 119 ± 104; and 94 ± 97 mg/L in 2013, 2015, and 2016, respectively. We estimate that the sediment yield from the Mingyong catchment was highly variable ranging from 1104 t/km2/year in 2013 to 2281 t/km2/year in 2016, with 65%–78% of the total annual sediment load occurring during the summer (June to August). These annual variations in sediment yield can be attributed largely to precipitation patterns and extreme melting events. This study has provided a benchmark dataset that can be used for further works that investigate the impact of climate change on sediment dynamics in glacierized catchments in the Tibetan Plateau. Subsequently, the study helps us to better understand the increasing sediment supply to the Upper Mekong River from glacierized headwater catchments. The water discharge and suspended sediment concentrations were measured over a three‐years period in the Mingyong Glacier catchment in Yunnan, Southwest China. The sediment yields from the Mingyong catchment were very high, ranging from 1,104 t/km2/year in 2013 to 2,281 t/ km2/year in 2016, with 65–78% of the total annual sediment load occurring during the summer (June to August).
ISSN:0885-6087
1099-1085
DOI:10.1002/hyp.14751