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Assessment of dust emissions and their controlling factors in the Hoh Xil------north-central part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau
  • +3
  • Heqiang Du,
  • Yawei Fan,
  • Z Han,
  • Xiu Liu,
  • Liu Xinlei,
  • li zongxing
Heqiang Du
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Yawei Fan
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources
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Z Han
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources
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Xiu Liu
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources
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Liu Xinlei
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources
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li zongxing
Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources
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Abstract

Dust emissions can lead to a series of environmental hazards, such as soil degradation, dust storms, and air pollution, and are thus a global concern. As one of the most ecologically fragile and climate-sensitive regions in the world, the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) has great dust emission potential. However, the dust yield and its affecting factors are not fully understood. To reduce these uncertainties on the QTP, the Hoh Xil Plateau (HXP), a typical dust source on the QTP, was selected as the study area to analyze the dust emission processes and the associated influencing factors using a robust model. The results showed that dust emissions on the HXP occurred mainly in spring and winter. The land use on the HXP is the main reason for the high dust emissions, as the grasslands and bare lands that are extensively distributed in this region contain abundant erosive materials. The recession regions of the expansive lakes resulted in an increase in sandy lakeshores, which induced a potential increase in the dust emissions under strong-wind conditions. In addition, the effects of human activities on dust emissions were evident. The positive and negative effects on dust emission changes coexisted on the HXP and depended on the development of the county-level economy and the implementation of ecological engineering measures. We believe this study will clarify the dust yield of the QTP and provide valuable information for understanding the driving factors that cause variations in aeolian processes on the QTP.