Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost Thaw
Abstract The migration of rivers in permafrost landscapes has critical implications for riverine infrastructure, ecosystem stability, and carbon cycling, yet its magnitude and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we leverage four decadal satellite imagery, hydrological observations,...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Geophysical Research Letters |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111536 |
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| author | Anmeng Sha Dongfeng Li Des Walling Yi Zhao Shang Tian Dong Chen Shanshan Deng Junqiang Xia Jim Best |
| author_facet | Anmeng Sha Dongfeng Li Des Walling Yi Zhao Shang Tian Dong Chen Shanshan Deng Junqiang Xia Jim Best |
| author_sort | Anmeng Sha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract The migration of rivers in permafrost landscapes has critical implications for riverine infrastructure, ecosystem stability, and carbon cycling, yet its magnitude and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we leverage four decadal satellite imagery, hydrological observations, and permafrost modeling to investigate meander migration dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau. Our data show that the migration rates of permafrost rivers have increased by 34.6% from 1987 to 2022, in response to the combined effects of increased discharge, riverbank destabilization driven by ground ice melt and extended thawing days (increased by 35 days). In contrast, rivers flowing across seasonally frozen ground exhibited a decline in migration rate by 11.1%, driven by vegetation greening and riverbank stabilization. In a future warming climate for the Tibetan Plateau, the migration rates of permafrost rivers are anticipated to further accelerate, potentially threatening riverine infrastructure safety and aquatic ecosystems, and intensifying the permafrost carbon cycle. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-0964fcb2a3b943128c825d004b836718 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0094-8276 1944-8007 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Wiley |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Geophysical Research Letters |
| spelling | doaj-art-0964fcb2a3b943128c825d004b8367182025-01-20T13:05:57ZengWileyGeophysical Research Letters0094-82761944-80072025-01-01521n/an/a10.1029/2024GL111536Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost ThawAnmeng Sha0Dongfeng Li1Des Walling2Yi Zhao3Shang Tian4Dong Chen5Shanshan Deng6Junqiang Xia7Jim Best8Key Laboratory for Water and Sediment Sciences Ministry of Education College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Peking University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory for Water and Sediment Sciences Ministry of Education College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Peking University Beijing ChinaDepartment of Geography Faculty of Environment Science and Economy University of Exeter Exeter UKKey Laboratory for Water and Sediment Sciences Ministry of Education College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Peking University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory for Water and Sediment Sciences Ministry of Education College of Environmental Sciences and Engineering Peking University Beijing ChinaKey Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaState Key Laboratory of Water Resources and Hydropower Engineering Science Wuhan University Wuhan ChinaDepartments of Earth Science and Environmental Change, Geography and GIS and Mechanical Science and Engineering, and Ven Te Chow Hydrosystems Laboratory University of Illinois at Urbana‐Champaign Urbana IL USAAbstract The migration of rivers in permafrost landscapes has critical implications for riverine infrastructure, ecosystem stability, and carbon cycling, yet its magnitude and underlying mechanisms remain poorly understood. Here, we leverage four decadal satellite imagery, hydrological observations, and permafrost modeling to investigate meander migration dynamics on the Tibetan Plateau. Our data show that the migration rates of permafrost rivers have increased by 34.6% from 1987 to 2022, in response to the combined effects of increased discharge, riverbank destabilization driven by ground ice melt and extended thawing days (increased by 35 days). In contrast, rivers flowing across seasonally frozen ground exhibited a decline in migration rate by 11.1%, driven by vegetation greening and riverbank stabilization. In a future warming climate for the Tibetan Plateau, the migration rates of permafrost rivers are anticipated to further accelerate, potentially threatening riverine infrastructure safety and aquatic ecosystems, and intensifying the permafrost carbon cycle.https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111536meander migrationfluvial geomorphologyclimate changeremote sensingpermafrost degradationTibetan Plateau |
| spellingShingle | Anmeng Sha Dongfeng Li Des Walling Yi Zhao Shang Tian Dong Chen Shanshan Deng Junqiang Xia Jim Best Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost Thaw Geophysical Research Letters meander migration fluvial geomorphology climate change remote sensing permafrost degradation Tibetan Plateau |
| title | Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost Thaw |
| title_full | Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost Thaw |
| title_fullStr | Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost Thaw |
| title_full_unstemmed | Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost Thaw |
| title_short | Accelerated River Meander Migration on the Tibetan Plateau Caused by Permafrost Thaw |
| title_sort | accelerated river meander migration on the tibetan plateau caused by permafrost thaw |
| topic | meander migration fluvial geomorphology climate change remote sensing permafrost degradation Tibetan Plateau |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2024GL111536 |
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