The Qinghai-Tibet Railway (QTR) is a huge project extending from the central-north to central-south of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP), serving as a main transportation in Tibet. However, strong sand hazards were found threatening the QTR in recent years due to climate change and human activities.  

Although many sand prevention measures have been taken since the QTR was constructed, wind erosion caused by sand hazard poses threats to the safety of trains and passengers. However, few studies were done to explore the QTP's aeolian desertification condition, and the desertification variation trend along the railways is still unknown and need to further explore. 

Recently, a research group led by GAO Yanhong from the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with their colleagues from Shaanxi Normal University, simulated the wind erosion along the railway using a coupled land-surface wind-erosion model (Noah-MPWE). 

They developed a coupled land-surface wind-erosion model for aeolian desertification simulations, analyzed the aeolian desertification in terms of its spatial distribution, annual variability and responses to the climate change in recent decades along the railway. 

The model evaluation results show that the coupled model simulates the wind erosion process well with modified forcing and land surface parameters. Research shows that strong wind erosion mainly occurs at the Qaidam Basin and the region from Wudaoliang to Tanggula along the railway. 

In addition, results also indicate wind erosion presented a decreasing trend along the railway with an average decline rate of -0.18 kg m^-2a^-1 in the past three decades. As the main contributors of the wind erosion reduction, decline wind speed and wetting trend are mainly caused by the climate change naturally. 

Besides the natural climate changes, anthropogenic activities in QTP should be pay attention for their impacts on wind erosion by changing vegetation cover through cultivation activities.

According to the research results, wind erosion is very sensitive to vegetation cover change especially when vegetation reduces more than 60%.  

Although the vegetation in QTP was getting better in recent decades, the negative effects of human activities on the grassland were intensified. Therefore, the anthropogenic influences need more attentions in the future if the climate gets drier and vegetation degenerate naturally. 

The study objectives were to explore the dominant factors affecting the aeolian desertification occurrence and variations along the QTR. Besides, this study reveals the long-term trend and mechanism of wind erosion along the QTR for the first time. 

This research has been published in the Aeolian Research in an article entitled "Simulations of wind erosion along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway in north-central Tibet". 

 Study area (cut from the Chinese Digital Elevation Model (DEM) Data Set of 1 km Revolution (Image by GAO Yanhong)