Qinghai-Tibet groundwater rising: report

LHASA - Groundwater in and around the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is on the rise thanks to increased runoff from glaciers, precipitation, and administrative actions to store more groundwater, according to a report by Chinese and Swedish researchers.

Groundwater has risen in the Jinsha River basin, Nujiang-Lancangjiang Rivers source region, the Yangtze River source region, Yellow River source region, Qaidam Basin and the Qiangtang Nature Reserve, said the report, published in the journal Earth and Planetary Science Letters.

Scientists with the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Swedish Land Survey Authority, and the University of Hong Kong's Department of Earth Sciences used satellites to monitor changes in groundwater storage in the plateau and its surroundings from 2003 to 2009.

"Understanding the changes in groundwater is key to the use and control of water resources in the plateau," said Wang Hansheng, a researcher with the Institute of Geodesy and Geophysics, under the CAS.

The government could use the research findings to plan farming, herding, engineering projects, prevent geological disasters and explore geothermal resources, Wang said.