the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
| 13 Jul 2026
Impact of aeolian sediments on the ice-covered lake surface temperature of Zonag Lake, Tibetan Plateau
Abstract. Aeolian sediments on ice-covered lakes can modify surface energy conditions and potentially influence the thermal environment of lake ice. However, the quantitative relationship between aeolian sediments and lake ice surface temperature remains insufficiently understood. This study investigates the relationship between aeolian sediments and ice-covered lake surface temperature (LST) in Zonag Lake on the Tibetan Plateau using multi-temporal Landsat 8 OLI imagery and MOD11A1 LST data from 2013 to 2018. The Normalized Difference Sandy Land Index (NDSLI) was applied to identify the distribution of aeolian sediments on lake ice. To quantify the sediment impact on LST, spatial regression analyses were conducted using ordinary least squares (OLS), geographically weighted regression (GWR) and multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR). The results show that NDSLI effectively captures the spatial distribution and migration patterns of aeolian sediments on lake ice. Sediment-covered areas (NDSLI < 0) consistently exhibit higher temperature than uncovered areas (NDSLI > 0), with observed temperature differences ranging from 0.83 to 2.36 °C. Finer-scale NDSLI classification indicates a progressive increase in surface temperature with increasing sediment accumulation. Spatial regression results reveal a significant positive relationship between sediment and LST, with MGWR providing the best model performance and explanatory capability among the tested models. This study provides quantitative evidence that aeolian sediment deposition can modify the thermal conditions of lake ice surfaces, offering new insights into cryosphere–aeolian interactions in arid-cold regions and improving the understanding of thermal variability in ice-covered lakes.
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Status: open (until 30 Aug 2026)
- CC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2026-2129', Lei Zheng, 24 Jul 2026 reply
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CC2: 'Comment on egusphere-2026-2129', Ke Zhang, 01 Aug 2026
reply
This is a well-conducted and timely study that provides quantitative evidence for the thermal perturbation of ice-covered lake surfaces by aeolian sediments on the Tibetan Plateau. The application of spatial regression models, particularly MGWR, to quantify sediment-induced thermal anomalies is appropriate and helps address an important knowledge gap regarding cryosphere–aeolian interactions. The results indicate that sediment-covered areas exhibit surface temperature increases of 0.83–2.36°C, highlighting the potential role of aeolian sediments as an important non-climatic driver of lake ice thermal heterogeneity. The manuscript is generally well organized, and the methodology appears robust. I have a few comments that I believe will further strengthen the manuscript.
Specific comments
1. The Landsat 8 and MODIS datasets are not always acquired on the same date. Given that aeolian sediment streaks can migrate rapidly under strong wind conditions, this temporal mismatch may introduce uncertainty into the spatial correlation analysis. The authors should discuss the likely migration rate or persistence of these sediment streaks and evaluate how such temporal offsets may affect the reported relationships. If available, daily meteorological observations from nearby weather stations could also be used to demonstrate that background thermal conditions remained relatively stable during the interval between the two satellite acquisitions, thereby helping to constrain this source of uncertainty.
2. The 2011 Zonag Lake outburst and the subsequent reorganization of the regional lake system, which resulted in extensive exposure of former lakebeds, represent a major environmental change in the study area. Although this event is briefly introduced in the study area description, its potential implications are not fully explored in the subsequent analysis. Since the newly exposed lakebed likely became the dominant source of aeolian sediments, it would be informative to examine whether the observed sediment–temperature relationship became stronger or more evident after 2011 compared with earlier periods. At a minimum, the authors should discuss this possibility in Section 5, as it would provide valuable environmental context for interpreting the results.
3. Line 77: A punctuation mark is needed between "conditions" and "Monitoring"because these are two independent sentences. The sentence should read:"...regional aeolian conditions. Monitoring data revealed..."
4. The first paragraph of Section 5.2 would fit better in the Introduction. It clearly outlines the scientific significance of the study and identifies the key research gap, providing a stronger rationale for the work at an earlier stage of the manuscript. Moving this paragraph to the Introduction would improve the overall flow and better frame the objectives of the study.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2129-CC2 -
CC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2026-2129', Ke Zhang, 01 Aug 2026
reply
This is a well-conducted and timely study that provides quantitative evidence for the thermal perturbation of ice-covered lake surfaces by aeolian sediments on the Tibetan Plateau. The application of spatial regression models, particularly MGWR, to quantify sediment-induced thermal anomalies is appropriate and helps address an important knowledge gap regarding cryosphere–aeolian interactions. The results indicate that sediment-covered areas exhibit surface temperature increases of 0.83–2.36°C, highlighting the potential role of aeolian sediments as an important non-climatic driver of lake ice thermal heterogeneity. The manuscript is generally well organized, and the methodology appears robust. I have a few comments that I believe will further strengthen the manuscript.
Specific comments
1. The Landsat 8 and MODIS datasets are not always acquired on the same date. Given that aeolian sediment streaks can migrate rapidly under strong wind conditions, this temporal mismatch may introduce uncertainty into the spatial correlation analysis. The authors should discuss the likely migration rate or persistence of these sediment streaks and evaluate how such temporal offsets may affect the reported relationships. If available, daily meteorological observations from nearby weather stations could also be used to demonstrate that background thermal conditions remained relatively stable during the interval between the two satellite acquisitions, thereby helping to constrain this source of uncertainty.
2. The 2011 Zonag Lake outburst and the subsequent reorganization of the regional lake system, which resulted in extensive exposure of former lakebeds, represent a major environmental change in the study area. Although this event is briefly introduced in the study area description, its potential implications are not fully explored in the subsequent analysis. Since the newly exposed lakebed likely became the dominant source of aeolian sediments, it would be informative to examine whether the observed sediment–temperature relationship became stronger or more evident after 2011 compared with earlier periods. At a minimum, the authors should discuss this possibility in Section 5, as it would provide valuable environmental context for interpreting the results.
3. Line 77: A punctuation mark is needed between "conditions" and "Monitoring"because these are two independent sentences. The sentence should read:"...regional aeolian conditions. Monitoring data revealed..."
4. The first paragraph of Section 5.2 would fit better in the Introduction. It clearly outlines the scientific significance of the study and identifies the key research gap, providing a stronger rationale for the work at an earlier stage of the manuscript. Moving this paragraph to the Introduction would improve the overall flow and better frame the objectives of the study.
Citation: https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2129-CC3
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This manuscript addresses a timely and important topic at the intersection of aeolian processes and ice-covered lake dynamics. The study’s focus on the Tibetan Plateau is particularly relevant given the region’s sensitivity to climate change and the significant sediment sources. I would like to offer a few comments on the current version.
1. The introduction provides a broad review of light-absorbing particles and snow/ice processes, but it remains largely descriptive. The manuscript would benefit from a sharper articulation of the specific knowledge gap this study addresses. What is currently known versus unknown about the thermal effects of aeolian sediments on lake ice, and how the present work fills that gap. Strengthening this framing would better justify the novelty and significance of the research.
2. Several methodological choices require clearer justification. It would be helpful to explain why MOD11A1 was selected over other available surface temperature products, and why Landsat 8 OLI was chosen for sediment mapping given that higher-resolution alternatives (e.g., Sentinel-2) exist. The thresholds for NDSLI are introduced without quantitative validation, providing accuracy metrics based on at least manual interpretation would strengthen the sediment extraction results.
3. The advantages over conventional GWR are not clearly demonstrated. Is the multiscale GWR framework truly necessary? Moreover, the broadband albedo is used as a key argument for the proposed radiative mechanism. If this analysis is essential, the corresponding data, methods, and results should be moved to the main body.