Researchers release eight-year dataset to reveal lake-atmosphere interaction over source region of the Yellow River

Lakes on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) play a critical role in the regional water cycle, weather, and climate. However, the characteristics of the lake-atmosphere interaction over the high-altitude lakes are still unclear.

Recently, a joint research team from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) and Chengdu University of Information Technology released a dataset of comparative observations for land surface processes over the alpine grasslands and lakes in the source region of the Yellow River (SRYR).

The study was published in Advances in Atmospheric Sciences on Feb. 23.

The dataset spans from 2012 to 2019 and has a high (half-hourly) temporal resolution. It comprises basic meteorological variables, surface radiation, sensible and latent heat flux, soil temperature, and moisture.

The researchers collected these data from three sites located on the lake surface, in adjacent grassland, and at the lakeside in the Ngoring Lake basin of SRYR, respectively.

The dataset can be used to improve models, promote scientific understanding of lake-atmosphere interactions, and provide support for studying the water cycle and climate change in the TP. It is available via the Science Data Bank.