Global Change Data Encyclopedia
Dongcaoalong Lake, Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, China
Gou, Z. J. Liu, F. G.*
Department of Geographic Sciences, Qinghai Normal University, Xining 810008, China
Keywords: Dongcaoalong Lake; Qinghai-Tibet Plateau; Qinghai province; fresh water lake; data encyclopedia
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Figure 1 Data map of Dongcaoalong Lake (.kmz format)
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Figure 2 Data map of Dongcaoalong Lake (.shp format)
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Dongcaoalong Lake is located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and belongs to Madoi county, Guoluo Tibetan autonomous prefecture, Qinghai province, China. It is separated from Ngoring Lake 81 km at its northwest, and from Donghu Lake 77 km at its north. Dongcaoalong Lake lies in the northern bank of the Yellow River, and it is an exorheic lake lake formed by the swinging of Yellow River bed. It is connected with the Yellow River, so it belongs to an exorheic plateau lake. Its geo-location of the lake is 98°42′40″N-
98°45′56″N, 34°28′55″E-34°31′2″E[1] (Figure, 1, Figure 2).
There are mountains on the east, west, and north sides of the Dongcaoalong Lake, while the terrain is flat in the south side, where Yellow River develops braided drainage. Due to the constant change of the drainage line of Yellow River, floodplains and wetlands interlaced with lakes and marshes are formed by the Yellow River[2]. Dongcaoalong Lake is 5 km wide in east-west direction, and 3.7 km long in north-south direction. The area of the Lake (2015) is 10.17 km2, and the shoreline is 33.37 km. There are two islands in the lake: the bigger one has an area of 2.04 km2 and the shoreline of 8.01 km; while the smaller one has an area of 0.01 km2 and the shoreline of 0.4 km[1]. There are migratory birds gathering on the islands.
The Dongcaoalong Lake is in a typical alpine semi-arid climate zone, with a long cold season and big temperature difference. The annual average temperature is -3.8 oC, the annual precipitation is about 321 mm, and the annual evaporation is about 1,367 mm (Table 1). Normally, the Dongcaoalong Lake could freeze at December and melt again in May of the following year.
The Dongcaoalong Lake belongs to the fresh water lake, and the water mainly depends on the precipitation and the Yellow River in the rainfall season, with no surface runoff flowing directly into the lake[5]. Dongcaoalong Lake and the lakeside belong to the Kobresia littledalei marsh wetland, with Kobresia littledalei dominated in the phytocoenosium in the surroundings of the water body. Dongcaoalong Lake is an important breeding place for birds such as anatidaes and gulls, and the transition station for migratory birds, such as red-crowned crane, teal, sea gull, and cormorant[6].
Table 1 Average monthly temperature and precipitation statistics of Madoi county[3–4]
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Month
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Jan.
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Feb.
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Mar.
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Apr.
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May
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Jun.
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Jul.
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Aug.
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Sep.
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Oct.
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Nov.
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Dec.
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Annual average
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Temperature (oC)
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-16.8
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-13.4
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-8.2
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-3.0
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1.7
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5.2
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7.5
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7.2
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3.3
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-2.9
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-11.0
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-15.7
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-3.8
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Precipitation (mm)
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3.6
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4.8
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5.7
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11.0
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31.2
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59.2
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72.7
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59.6
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46.8
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18.6
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2.9
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2.5
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321.6
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Evaporation
(mm)
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44.7
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59.9
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108.3
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144.7
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168.5
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172.4
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182.2
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169.6
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131.4
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87.2
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57.9
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42.8
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1,367.6
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The dataset was developed based on Google Earth images and related maps. It is consisted of 22 data files, and archived in both .shp[7] and .kmz formats with the data size of 530 KB (Compressed to 193 KB in two files).
References
[1] Gou, Z. J., Liu, F. G. Dongcaoalong Lake [DB/OL]. Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository, 2018. DOI: 10.3974/geodb.2018.08.13.V1.
[2] Editorial Office of Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China. Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China: Yellow River [M]. Beijing: China Water & Power Press, 2014.
[3] Editorial Office of County Annals of Madoi. County Annals of Madoi County [M]. Beijing: China County and Town Yearbook Publishing House, 2001: 59.
[4] Editorial Office of local chronicles of Madoi County. County Annals of Madoi County [M]. Xining: Qinghai Ethnic Publishing House, 2011: 34-35.
[5] Editorial Office of Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China. Encyclopedia of Rivers and Lakes in China: Section of River Basins in Northwest Region [M]. Beijing: China Water & Power Press, 2014.
[6] Zhao, K. Y. Mires of China [M]. Beijing: Science Press, 1999.
Data Computing Environment
[7] ESRI. ArcGIS campus license of Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
URL for Data Downloading
http://www.geodoi.ac.cn/WebEn/doi.aspx?Id=1103.
Or search through: http://www.geodoi.ac.cn.