Town/City:
|
Ncengtzeshan
|
State/Province:
|
Manchuria
|
Country:
|
China
|
Latitude/Longitude:
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53N 46E
|
Information supplied by
Claire Watson
95watson@scar.utoronto.ca
1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, Ontario, Canada, M1C 1A4
(416) 751-9395
Dated Sun Dec 20 09:16:42 1998 |
Information Topics:
City Description:
This region is situated in northeast China at the south edge of the Eurasia
high-latitude permafrost zone. The region is adjacent to the Hingan Mountains
in the Manchuria province. Marshlands, peat or bryophyte (mosses) are cultivated
in these areas. Flood usually occur twice a year in the spring and the
fall. The fall flood is the most important flood for this region because
maximum groundwater recharge occurs at this time.
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Climate:
The climate is a subcontinental arid zone with long winters and short summers.
The mean annual temperature ranges from 0 to 5.8 C. The area experiences
a long period when the surface water is frozen for 210 to 240 days. The
annual precipitation is 40 cm to 50 cm. Most of this precipitation (70
to 90 %) occurs during warm periods. The annual evapo-transpiration is
140 cm to 180 cm. Annual snow accumulation is 20 to 50 cm.
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Basic Hydrogeology:
Approximately 22.3 % of China’s territory is covered in permafrost approximately
(1.76 million km2). Most of this is found in high elevation areas like
the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. In this region the elevation is between 100-1000
m. Elevation is an important factor in these areas creating colder climatic
conditions; however, an increasing southerly altitude also places a significant
role in creating a chilled environment. Surface water is frozen for more
than 200 days a year. North east China is an exoheric runoff region, the
river systems are generally well developed with extensive networks of tributaries
with a high discharge.
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Water Use:
Groundwater is very important to the people living in this region because
it provides their only source of water during the long cold months when
surface waters are frozen over. Groundwater is essential for a high level
of economic development and groundwater is also used for public supplies.
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Groundwater Issues:
Groundwater in permafrost areas is very difficult to understand compared
to other groundwater systems, as it is controlled by the distribution of
permafrost and melted areas which differ seasonally. The permafrost in
the area varies between permafrost frozen throughout the year and permafrost
seasonally melted. For this reason the subsurface in this area could be
characterized as an aquifer or aquifuge depending on the season. Permafrost
areas depend on geostructure and other local conditions. Each permafrost
island (frozen throughout the year) places its own limits on the development
of the groundwater in the local area.
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Groundwater Problems:
There are three types of development that occur in this area. All three
types experience point source contamination from surface waters.
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Stable Development. This occurs when the water withdrawn is smaller
than the recharge rate. Surface water quickly replenishes supplies. This
is most often found in island permafrost areas and rarely in areas with
only seasonal recharge during melt times.
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Regulated type. This is found in almost all permafrost areas because
both seasonal river flow and groundwater are available. During the melting
season the groundwater is replenished. In the winter there will be an adequate
groundwater supply which continues throughout the year.
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Consumed Type. In this situation there is more being pumped out
than being replenished annually and overall storage is being reduced.
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Solutions:
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Use surface water and ground water resources as alternatives for supplying
water. Lowering potentiometric levels during winter months allows space
for recharge in the following spring.
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Set up public education programs so that permafrost in the region can be
understood and why there needs to be careful management.
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Develop a network to monitor each area’s permafrost situation.
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Try to maximize the use of water during times of high seasonal demand.
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Centralize water supply, and unified management of this system.
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Since permafrost conditions of an area are determined by factors such as
soil and water content, each site should be studied to determine likely
hydrogeological conditions.
-
It is important to protect melt water recharge areas from contamination.
River beds should be considered sources of direct groundwater recharge.
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References and Other Author(s):
Peters, H.J., Groundwater in the Pacific Rim Countries: American Society
of Civil Engineers , New York, New York, U.S, 1991
Kosinski, L.A., Land and Water Management: Chinese and Canadian
Perspectives, Department of Geography, University of Alberta, Canada,
1988
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Contacts:
Chief
Hydrogeological/Engineering Team
Geological and Mineral Resources Bureau
Heilongjiang Province
Harbin
Peoples Republic of China
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