Analysis of groundwater system characteristic in the Badain Jaran Desert and its causes based on GF-2 satellite remote sensing data

Remote sensing, as a rapid and large-scale investigation and monitoring technology, widely used in the study of lake evolution and dynamic changes. In general, the evolution of lakes in the arid area is obviously controlled by the distribution of groundwater system. Based on high-resolution satellite data, this paper obtains, the elevations and boundaries of 124 lakes in a longtime series in the Badain Jaran Desert region, and summarizes the pattern of, lake evolution and shrinkage. Besides, the division of the groundwater system in this region has been achieved, by estimating the water volume changes in the two periods, and the analysis of the regional geological structure characteristics. The application results show that over the years, the average elevation of the lake has decreased by 8.79m, the cumulative shrinkage of areas have reached 64.81 km(2), and the total volume of lakes has been reduced by 465 million m(3). The spatial differentiation characteristics of the shrinking lakes are obvious, and the difference in the extent of lake shrinkage is significantly controlled by the regional tectonic basement, which indicates that the regional groundwater system may have a local nested structure. Based on remote sensing method, the groundwater system in Badain Jaran Desert is divided into two primary units in the north and south, and four secondary units in the south.