Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4263
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-4263
07 Oct 2025
 | 07 Oct 2025
Status: this preprint is open for discussion and under review for Hydrology and Earth System Sciences (HESS).

Groundwater Maintains Lake Clusters: Groundwater pattern of the Songnen Basin from a Multi-source Remote Sensing Perspective

Xiangmei Liu, Peng Shen, Jiaqi Chen, David Andrew Barry, Christian Massari, Jiansheng Chen, Mingming Feng, Xi Zhang, Fenyan Ma, Fei Yang, and Haixia Jin

Abstract. Large-scale lake clusters serve as important freshwater resources in arid and semi-arid regions, but the groundwater recharge patterns sustaining these clusters remain poorly researched. The Songnen Basin, a semi-arid region in northeastern China, contains numerous shallow lakes most of which are not connected to rivers, showing complex interconnections with the groundwater recharge and storage. Here, this paper investigates the role of groundwater in sustaining the freshwater in the lake clusters of the Songnen Basin using remote sensing and isotope analysis, especially during the winter of Chagan Lake, the largest lake in this basin. Our results suggest that deep groundwater upwelling through fault zones is a significant recharge source for Chagan Lake, contributing to the frequent occurrence of stable ice-free areas. Isotopic tracers indicate that this deep groundwater does not originate from local precipitation but likely originates from external sources, potentially the Tibetan Plateau. A deep-circulation groundwater pattern is proposed, suggesting that water-conduiting channels exist under the deep lithosphere in arid and semi-arid regions. When these channels are destroyed by earthquakes, deep-circulating groundwater would rises through faults and recharges lake clusters.

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Xiangmei Liu, Peng Shen, Jiaqi Chen, David Andrew Barry, Christian Massari, Jiansheng Chen, Mingming Feng, Xi Zhang, Fenyan Ma, Fei Yang, and Haixia Jin

Status: open (until 18 Nov 2025)

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Xiangmei Liu, Peng Shen, Jiaqi Chen, David Andrew Barry, Christian Massari, Jiansheng Chen, Mingming Feng, Xi Zhang, Fenyan Ma, Fei Yang, and Haixia Jin
Xiangmei Liu, Peng Shen, Jiaqi Chen, David Andrew Barry, Christian Massari, Jiansheng Chen, Mingming Feng, Xi Zhang, Fenyan Ma, Fei Yang, and Haixia Jin
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Latest update: 07 Oct 2025
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Short summary
Our research in the Songnen Basin of Northeast China has revealed why numerous lakes remain unfrozen during winter. By studying Lake Chagan, we discovered that deep groundwater sustains these lakes, likely flowing through subterranean channels from the Tibetan Plateau. When earthquakes disrupt these conduits, water rises along fault lines to replenish the lakes. This finding challenges the theory that graben lakes primarily depend on local precipitation.
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