THE LAKE WATER LEVEL MONITORING IN CHINA FROM SATELLITE ALTIMETRIC MISSIONS

摘要

The inland lake water level variations could reveal and reflect the climatic processes, such asrnthe precipitation and evaporation, in the upper and lower reaches of the lake watershed. Thisrndynamic hydrologic variation is an important part of the global change monitoring. Thernsatellite radar altimetry provides an efficient space observation technology for long-term andrncontinual monitoring of the water levels of inland lakes. It has also improved ourrnunderstanding of hydrological changes, especially for the lakes located in the remote areas. Inrnthis study, several typical lakes (Yangtze River, Tibetan Plateau) are selected to investigate thernwater level change using T/P, JASON1/2，ENVISAT, SARAL and CRYOSAT mission data.rnThe results show that the lake water level changes in Yangtze River directly reflect the waterrnlevels of the Yangtze River, and contribute to the floods and their associated disasters thatrnusually occur in its middle and lower reaches. Since artificial activity has limit contribution,rnthe lake water levels over Tibetan Plateau should reflect primarily the climate change.