Trend of salt lake change in the background of global warming and disaster prevention

Abstract: Salt lakes are a mirror of climatic change. According to a study of geological hazards in typical salt lake districts in China and other foreign countries, the authors explain how geological hazards in salt lake districts are caused by natural agents and how mankind can avoid hazards and reduce loss on the premise that people have monitored and mastered the trend of salt lake change in advance. The climate in western China is probably turning from warm-dry to warm-moist. The authors analyze the change trend of China’s salt lakes in such climatic conditions and distinguish three types of salt lake districts (i.e. lake water rising type, lake water falling type and lake water rising and unstable type) according to the characteristics of lake water rising and shrinking. In order to conform to the climatic and lake changes in China’s salt lake districts, the authors propose to add and improve hydrological and meteorological observation stations and integrate observations with remote sensing monitoring and set up multidisciplinary and interdepartmental basic projects to monitor and study climatic and environmental changes in salt lake districts of western China in the near future. Moreover, it is necessary to build additional flood-control and drought-preventing water conservancy facilities in key salt lake districts and work out measures for ecological protection in salt lake districts. Full consideration should be given to the influence of flooding when building saltfields and implementing capital projects.