Groundwater research in the Tibetan Plateau: Current understanding and key knowledge gaps

doi:10.13745/j.esf.sf.2025.10.16

Abstract

Abstract:

The Tibetan Plateau, known as the “Asian Water Tower”, harbors groundwater resources that are crucial for sustaining the flow of major Asian rivers, maintaining regional ecological balance, and ensuring water security for hundreds of millions of people. However, groundwater in this region remains poorly understood compared to surface water and glaciers-permafrost. Existing studies have primarily utilized GRACE satellite data to estimate groundwater storage changes and explored local groundwater dynamics under freeze-thaw conditions. This paper systematically reviews the types, distribution, and utilization of groundwater on the Tibetan Plateau, provides a preliminary assessment of groundwater storage and resources, and reveals the interactions between groundwater and surface water in glacial-permafrost environments. Key unresolved scientific challenges are identified, which include: (1) the mechanisms and fluxes of shallow solid-liquid water transformation, (2) the depth and patterns of groundwater circulation, and (3) the storage capacity and variation mechanisms of groundwater. Addressing these issues will deepen the theoretical understanding of groundwater storage, occurrence patterns, circulation characteristics, and water-heat coupling processes under unique meteorological, hydrological, topographic, geological, tectonic, and hydrogeological conditions, further enriching the theoretical framework of hydrogeology.

Key words: glacier, permafrost, water resources, aquifer, tectonic movement, geothermal water

CLC Number:

P641

GUO Huaming, GAO Zhipeng, HU Yalu, XING Shiping, LI Yao, JIANG Xiaowei, PENG Jianbing. Groundwater research in the Tibetan Plateau: Current understanding and key knowledge gaps[J]. Earth Science Frontiers, 2026, 33(1): 328-341.

Figures/Tables 5

Fig.1 Scope of the Tibetan Plateau and distribution of Major River Basins. Adapted from [3].

Fig.2 Main types of aquifers in the Tibetan Plateau. Modified after [17].

Fig.3 Total domestic water supply and groundwater supply in Tibet (a) and Qinghai (b) of China from 2008 to 2024. Modified after [52].

Fig.4 Geothermal zonation in Tibet. Modified after [67].

Fig.5 The important role of groundwater on the Tibetan Plateau in terrestrial water storage, total water resources, and river runoff

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