New evidence for the links between the local water cycle and the underground wet sand layer of a mega-dune in the Badain Jaran Desert, China
Jun WEN1*, ZhongBo SU2, TangTang ZHANG1, Hui TIAN1, YiJian ZENG2, Rong LIU1, Yue KANG1, Rogier van der VELDE2
1 Key Laboratory of Land Surface Process and Climate Change in Cold and Arid Regions, Cold and Arid Regions
Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; 2 Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AA, Enschede, the Netherlands
New evidence for the links between the local water cycle and the underground wet sand layer of a mega-dune in the Badain Jaran Desert, China
Jun WEN1*, ZhongBo SU2, TangTang ZHANG1, Hui TIAN1, YiJian ZENG2, Rong LIU1, Yue KANG1, Rogier van der VELDE2
1 Key Laboratory of Land Surface Process and Climate Change in Cold and Arid Regions, Cold and Arid Regions
Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China; 2 Faculty of Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation (ITC), University of Twente, 7500 AA, Enschede, the Netherlands
摘要 Scientists and the local government have great concerns about the climate change and water resources in the Badain Jaran Desert of western China. A field study for the local water cycle of a lake-desert system was conducted near the Noertu Lake in the Badain Jaran Desert from 21 June to 26 August 2008. An underground wet sand layer was observed at a depth of 20–50 cm through analysis of datasets collected during the field experiment. Measurements unveiled that the near surface air humidity increased in the nighttime. The sensible and latent heat fluxes were equivalent at a site about 50 m away from the Noertu Lake during the daytime, with mean values of 134.4 and 105.9 W/m2 respectively. The sensible heat flux was dominant at a site about 500 m away from the Noertu Lake, with a mean of 187.7 W/m2, and a mean latent heat flux of only 26.7 W/m2. There were no apparent differences for the land surface energy budget at the two sites during the night time. The latent heat flux was always negative with a mean value of –12.7 W/m2, and the sensible heat flux was either positive or negative with a mean value of 5.10 W/m2. A portion of the local precipitation was evaporated into the air and the top-layer of sand dried quickly after every rainfall event, while another portion seeped deep and was trapped by the underground wet sand layer, and supplied water for surface psammophyte growth. With an increase of air humidity and the occurrence of negative latent heat flux or water vapor condensation around the Noertu Lake during the nighttime, we postulated that the vapor was transported and condensed at the lakeward sand surface, and provided supplemental underground sand pore water. There were links between the local water cycle, underground wet sand layer, psammophyte growth and landscape evolution of the mega-dunes surrounding the lakes in the Badain Jaran Desert of western China.
Abstract: Scientists and the local government have great concerns about the climate change and water resources in the Badain Jaran Desert of western China. A field study for the local water cycle of a lake-desert system was conducted near the Noertu Lake in the Badain Jaran Desert from 21 June to 26 August 2008. An underground wet sand layer was observed at a depth of 20–50 cm through analysis of datasets collected during the field experiment. Measurements unveiled that the near surface air humidity increased in the nighttime. The sensible and latent heat fluxes were equivalent at a site about 50 m away from the Noertu Lake during the daytime, with mean values of 134.4 and 105.9 W/m2 respectively. The sensible heat flux was dominant at a site about 500 m away from the Noertu Lake, with a mean of 187.7 W/m2, and a mean latent heat flux of only 26.7 W/m2. There were no apparent differences for the land surface energy budget at the two sites during the night time. The latent heat flux was always negative with a mean value of –12.7 W/m2, and the sensible heat flux was either positive or negative with a mean value of 5.10 W/m2. A portion of the local precipitation was evaporated into the air and the top-layer of sand dried quickly after every rainfall event, while another portion seeped deep and was trapped by the underground wet sand layer, and supplied water for surface psammophyte growth. With an increase of air humidity and the occurrence of negative latent heat flux or water vapor condensation around the Noertu Lake during the nighttime, we postulated that the vapor was transported and condensed at the lakeward sand surface, and provided supplemental underground sand pore water. There were links between the local water cycle, underground wet sand layer, psammophyte growth and landscape evolution of the mega-dunes surrounding the lakes in the Badain Jaran Desert of western China.
This research was supported by the European FP7 Programme: CORE-CLIMAX (313085), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41175027), the Key Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZZD-EW-13) and Chinese Academy of Sciences Fellowship for Young International Scientists (2012Y1ZA0013).
通讯作者:
Jun WEN
E-mail: jwen@lzb.ac.cn
引用本文:
Jun WEN, ZhongBo SU, TangTang ZHANG, Hui TIAN, YiJian ZENG, Rong LIU, Yue KANG, . New evidence for the links between the local water cycle and the underground wet sand layer of a mega-dune in the Badain Jaran Desert, China[J]. 干旱区科学, 2014, 6(4): 371-377.
Jun WEN, ZhongBo SU, TangTang ZHANG, Hui TIAN, YiJian ZENG, Rong LIU, Yue KANG, Rogier van der VELDE. New evidence for the links between the local water cycle and the underground wet sand layer of a mega-dune in the Badain Jaran Desert, China. Journal of Arid Land, 2014, 6(4): 371-377.
Agam N, Berliner P R. 2006. Dew formation and water vapor adsorption in semi-arid environments—a review. Journal of Arid Environments, 65(4): 572–590.Aoki T, Mikami M, Yamazaki A. 2005. Spectral albedo of desert surfaces measured in western and central China. Journal of the Meteorological Society of Japan, 83(A): 279–290. Breshears D D, Barnes F J. 1999. Interrelationships between plant functional types and soil moisture heterogeneity for semiarid landscapes within the grassland/forest continuum: a unified conceptual model. Landscape Ecology, 14(5): 465–478.Chen J S, Li L, Wang J Y, et al. 2004. Water resources: groundwater maintains dune landscape. Nature, 432(7016): 459–460.Chen J S, Zhao X, Sheng X F. 2005. Geochemical information indicating the water recharge to lakes and immovable megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert. Acta Geologica Sinica, 79(4): 540–546. Chen J S, Zhao X, Sheng X F. 2006. Formation mechanisms of megadunes and lakes in the Badain Jaran Desert, Inner Mongolia. Chinese Science Bulletin, 51(24): 3026–3034.Chen S Q, Wen L J, Zhang Y, et al. 2006. Numerical simulation of local circulation in jinta Jinta oasis in summer. Plateau Meteorology, 25(1): 66–73.Chen Y C, Lu S H, Gao Y H. 2004. Numerical simulation of circulation and boundary layer characteristics in oasis on different scales. Plateau Meteorology, 23(2), 177–183.Dong Z B, Wang T, Wang X M. 2004. Geomorphology of the megadunes in the Badain Jaran Desert. Geomorphology, 60(1–2): 191–203.Dong Z B, Qian G Q, Lv P, et al. 2013. Investigation of the sand sea with the tallest dunes on Earth: China’s Badain Jaran Sand Sea. Earth-Science Reviews, 120: 20–39.Gu W Z, Chen J S, Wang J Y, et al. 2004. Challenge from the appearance of vadose water within the surface layer of megadunes, Badain Jaran dune desert, Inner Mongolia. Advances in Water Science, 15(6): 695–699.Li J G, Ao Y H, Li Z G. 2012a. Comparative analysis of radiation and energy budget over Badain Jaran Desert on clear and cloudy days in summer. Progress in Geography, 31(11): 1443–1451.Li Z G, Lu S H, Ao Y H, et al. 2012b. Analysis of micrometeorology and CO2 flux characteristics over lake Ngoring lakeside region in summer. Progress in Geography, 31(5): 602–608.Ma D, Lu S H, Ao Y H, et al. 2012. Analyses on radiation balance and surface energy budget in the Badain Jaran Desert in summer. Plateau Meteorology, 31(3): 615–621.Xu A L, Zhao X H, Fu Z J, et al. 2011. Comparison of meteorological elements over water and land surfaces in the Erhai lake basin. Transactions of Atmospheric Sciences, 34(2): 225–231.Wang J, Mitsuta Y. 1992. Evaporation from the desert: some preliminary results of HEIFE. Boundary-Layer Meteorology, 59: 413–418.Wang N A, Ma N, Chen H B, et al. 2013. A preliminary study of precipitation characteristics in the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert. Advances in Water Science, 24(2): 153–160.Wang T. 1990. Formation and evolution of Badain Jaran Sandy Desert, China. Journal of Desert Research, 10(1): 29–40.Wang X, Wen J, Liu R, et al. 2011. Analysis of rainfall influence on solar radiation near land surface in the Badain-Jaran Desert. Arid Meteorology, 29(4): 615–621.Yan M C, Wang G Q, Li B S, et al. 2001. Formation and growth of high megadunes in Badain Jaran Desert. Acta Geographica Sinica, 56(1): 83–91.Zhang K C, Yao Z Y, An Z S, et al. 2012. Wind-blown sand environment and precipitation over the Badain Jaran Desert and its adjacent regions. Journal of Desert Research, 32(6): 1507–1511.Zhang Z Y, Wang N A, Wu Y, et al. 2013. Remote sensing on spatial changes of lake area in Badain Jaran Desert hinterland during 1973–2010. Scientia Limnologica Sinica, 25(4): 514–520.Zhao J B, Sao T J, Hou Y L, et al. 2011. Moisture content of sand layer and its origin in a mega-dune area in the Badain Jaran Desert. Journal of Natural Resources, 26(4): 694–702.Zhao X, Chen J S. 1999. Application of similarity priority ratio on resources of groundwater in Badain Jaran Desert and its surrounding areas. Scientia Limnologica Sinica, 18(4): 407–413.Zhu S J, Chang Z F. 2011. Temperature and precipitation trends in Minqin Desert during the period of 1961–2007. Journal of Arid Land, 3(3): 214–219.
2014, Vol. 6 
