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Using tritium and 222Rn to estimate groundwater discharge and thawing permafrost contributing to surface water in permafrost regions on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

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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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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Hydrology - Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Chengwei Wan, Kaifang Ji, Peng Yi & Zhongbo Yu

  2. College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Chengwei Wan, Kai Li, Kaifang Ji, Peng Yi & Zhongbo Yu

  3. Department of Geography, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3060, STN CSC, Victoria, BC, V8W 2Y2, Canada

    Chengwei Wan & J. J. Gibson

  4. InnoTech Alberta, 3-4476 Markham Street, Victoria, BC, V8Z 7X8, Canada

    Chengwei Wan & J. J. Gibson

  5. College of Energy and Electrical Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Sichen Shen

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  1. Chengwei Wan
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Correspondence to Chengwei Wan.

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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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