Streamflow characteristics of the Eastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau

The eastern Qinghai-Xizang (Tibet) Plateau is the headwater area for many large Asian rivers. Permafrost occurs above 4,200 m a.s.l. and glaciers occupy the summits and high valleys of the east-west trending mountain chains. Annual runoff generally increases with precipitation which is augmented southward by the rise in topography. Rainfall, snow melt, glacier melt and groundwater are the primary sources of stream flow, and the presence of permafrost enhances the flashiness of runoff response to rainfall and snowmelt events. Peak flows are concentrated between June and September. And winter is low flow season. Three types of runoff patterns may be distinguished according to their primary sources of water supply: snowmelt and rainfall, glacier melt and snowmelt, and groundwater. Large rivers generally drain more than one environments and their runoff regime reflects an integration of the various flow patterns on the plateau.