The high-mountain Third Pole (TP) in Asia is undergoing rapid warming, profoundly impacting river discharge. Changes in precipitation and the degradation of glaciers and permafrost exert a substantial impact on TP rivers, affecting millions downstream. Nevertheless, conventional estimation methods that rely on in-situ observations and models face considerable challenges due to inconsistent data quality and availability, complex terrain, and difficulty in representing hydrological processes. Here, we harnessed the power of high-resolution (3 m) Dove/PlanetScope satellite images to meticulously measure river width and propose a novel formula for estimating discharge. This approach facilitates a coherent assessment of discharge at various river section shapes. Its efficacy is demonstrated through applying to thirteen high-mountain TP rivers, revealing an estimated total mountain discharge of 3786 billion m during 2017–2021, equaling water from approximately 167 Great Lakes. These findings have immediate implications for integrated water resources management at the poorly-gauged transboundary basins of Asia.

中文翻译：

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卫星图像显示的第三极河流总流量


亚洲高山第三极（TP）正在经历快速变暖，深刻影响河流流量。降水变化以及冰川和永久冻土的退化对青藏高原河流产生重大影响，影响下游数百万人。然而，由于数据质量和可用性不一致、地形复杂以及难以表示水文过程，依赖于现场观测和模型的传统估算方法面临着相当大的挑战。在这里，我们利用高分辨率 (3 m) Dove/PlanetScope 卫星图像的力量来仔细测量河流宽度，并提出了一种新的流量估算公式。这种方法有利于对不同河段形状的流量进行连贯评估。通过对 13 条高山高原河流的应用证明了其功效，显示 2017 年至 2021 年期间山区总流量估计为 37860 亿立方米，相当于约 167 个五大湖的水量。这些发现对亚洲测量不准确的跨界流域的综合水资源管理具有直接影响。