Shrinking lakes of rift valley system in southern Tibet: Is it the climate?

In the context of global warming, the plateau lakes generally expand, but some lakes in the southern Tibetan Plateau appear to shrinkage, such as Duoqing Co Lake. We analyzed Duoqing Co which is located on the Yadong-Gulu Rift zone and two surrounding lakes using satellite and meteorological data. Optical and radar images were used to construct a time series of these lakes from 1988 to 2021. By comparing the area changes of surrounding lakes, it is found that Como Chamling Lake has shrunk, while Puma Yum Co Lake has shown an expansion trend. The interference deformation results show that both sides of the Yadong-Gulu Rift zone where the Duoqing Co Lake is located have experienced strong uplift and subsidence, sinking in the east and uplifting in the west. Under the northward compression of the Indian plate, the blocks on both sides of the Yadong-Gulu Rift zone have been relatively displaced. The disappearance of Duoqing Co Lake could be attributed to the existence of leakage channels in the Yadong-Gulu Rift zone. The north-south rift zones of the Tibetan Plateau pass through the Qiangtang Basin, and some lakes in this basin are shrinking, which could be related to the leakage of these rift zones. This work provides a new perspective for studying lake changes on the Tibetan Plateau and is a good reference for studying the lake water cycle on the plateau.