%0 Dataset
%T High-space-coverage lake level change data sets on the Tibetan Plateau from 2002 to 2021 using multiple altimeter data
%J National Cryosphere Desert Data Center
%I National Cryosphere Desert Data Center(www.ncdc.ac.cn)
%U http://www.ncdc.ac.cn/portal/metadata/e25b4547-0cae-43c1-a545-f8d3259ebb1a
%W NCDC
%R 10.1594/PANGAEA.973443
%A Liao Jingjuan
%K Lake water level changes;satellite altimetry technology;Qinghai Tibet Plateau
%X The Qinghai Tibet Plateau is known as the Roof of the World and the Water Tower of Asia, with the largest number of lakes in the world. Due to its high altitude, there is almost no interference from human activities. The Qinghai Tibet Plateau has long been an important location for studying global climate change. It is not easy to establish hydrological stations in the region, and in-situ instrument data is not always publicly accessible. Satellite radar altimeter has become a very important alternative to in-situ observation as a data source. Estimating lake water levels using a given radar altimeter is often limited by spatial and temporal coverage, therefore multiple altimeter data are used to monitor lake water levels. Due to the limitations of waveform processing accuracy and the interval period between different height measurement tasks, the accuracy and sampling frequency of the water level series are relatively low. By processing and merging 8 different altimetry tasks, the developed dataset provides the water level changes of 361 lakes (over 10 km2) on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau from 2002 to 2021. In many lakes, the high-precision series of lake water level changes can have longer periods. This dataset and related methods are of great value for calculating changes in lake storage, analyzing trends in lake water levels, monitoring lake overflow, short-term monitoring of floods and waterlogging disasters on the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, and investigating the relationship between changes in lake ecosystems and water resources.