Review of climate and cryospheric change in the Tibetan Plateau
Chinese Academy of Sciences · Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research · +3 more institutions
Abstract
The Tibetan Plateau (TP), with an average elevation of over 4000 m asl and an area of approximately 2.5 × 106 km2, is the highest and most extensive highland in the world and has been called the 'Third Pole'. The TP exerts a huge influence on regional and global climate through thermal and mechanical forcing mechanisms. Because the TP has the largest cryospheric extent outside the polar region and is the source region of all the large rivers in Asia, it is widely recognized to be the driving force for both regional environmental change and amplification of environmental changes on a global scale. Within China it is recognized as the 'Asian water tower'. In this letter, we summarize the recent changes observed…
Citation impact
- FWCI
- 17.69
- Percentile
- 100%
- References
- 71
Authors
6- SKShichang KangCorresponding
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research
- YXYanwei Xu
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research
- QYQinglong You
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
- WFWolfgang‐Albert Flügel
Friedrich Schiller University Jena
- NPNick Pepin
University of Portsmouth
Topics & keywords
- Glacier
- Permafrost
- Climate change
- Environmental science
- Cryosphere
- Plateau (mathematics)
- Climatology
- Snow
- Climate action