Identifying the changes in thermokarst lake dynamics has a significant contribution to landscape-scale hydrology, ecology, and assessment of carbon budgets in permafrost regions. Changes in the number and areal extent of thermokarst lakes and ponds were quantified in a representative permafrost area (150 km²) in the south-central Headwater Area of the Yellow River (HAYR). Water-body inventories were generated from Landsat satellite imageries using the supervised Maximum Likelihood Classification method for three periods: 1986, 2000, and 2015. From 1986 to 2015, the number of water bodies larger than 0.36 ha decreased by 40% (461–277), while the total surface area decreased by 25% (542–406 ha). The ponds category (smaller than 1 ha) recorded the most substantial change, as their number decreased by 44% and their water-surface area by 41%. Many lakes disintegrated, partially drained, and formed several remnant ponds, while the majority of the ponds did not drain completely, but shrank below 0.36 ha. These shrinking patterns are consistent with the warming climate in the HAYR, which suggests intense permafrost degradation. Future research will be focused on a better understanding of water–heat dynamics of thermokarst lakes and ponds in association with permafrost degradation at a landscape scale.

中文翻译：

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近 30 年来青藏高原东北部热岩溶湖泊和池塘不断缩小

识别热岩溶湖动力学的变化对景观尺度的水文、生态和多年冻土地区的碳收支评估有重大贡献。在一个代表性的永久冻土区（150 km ²) 位于黄河中南部源区 (HAYR)。水体清单是使用监督最大似然分类方法从三个时期的 Landsat 卫星图像生成的：1986、2000 和 2015。从 1986 年到 2015 年，大于 0.36 公顷的水体数量减少了 40%（461-277 )，而总表面积减少了 25%（542-406 公顷）。池塘类别（小于 1 公顷）的变化最为显着，其数量减少了 44%，水表面积减少了 41%。许多湖泊解体，部分排水，形成了几个残塘，而大部分池塘没有完全排水，而是缩小到0.36公顷以下。这些收缩模式与 HAYR 气候变暖一致，这表明永久冻土退化严重。