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Remotely sensed spatiotemporal dynamics of soluble salts and their natural and anthropogenic drivers in hyper-arid basins

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Abstract

Soil salinization, driven by the accumulation of soluble salts, poses a significant threat to ecosystem health and agricultural productivity in arid and semi-arid regions, representing a major environmental issue on a global scale. To address critical knowledge gaps regarding salt dynamics in hyper-arid basins, this study integrates Landsat 8 OLI/TIRS, Sentinel-2, and ASTER GDEM data with 128 surface soil samples collected from the Qaidam Basin between January and October 2024, systematically investigating the spatiotemporal distribution of soluble salts. The study further quantifies the relative contributions of natural and anthropogenic sources to ecological geochemical feedbacks, defined as the interactions among soil salinization, vegetation degradation, and groundwater dynamics. Results indicate that soluble salt minerals in the surface soil—primarily halite and gypsum—account for an average of 8.82%, while water-soluble ions—mainly Na⁺, Cl⁻, Ca²⁺, and SO₄²⁻—reach 9.76 wt%. Natural sources, such as salt lake evaporation, contribute approximately 85% of the salinity in the core lake areas, whereas anthropogenic sources, including irrigation, lead to a roughly 30% enrichment of NO₃⁻ in oasis regions. The study also reveals a radial salt distribution pattern driven by wind–water coupling: halite accumulates predominantly near the salt lakes, while gypsum dominates in distal Gobi areas, illustrating the spatial mechanisms of the salt cycle. This study advances understanding of salinity cycling mechanisms in arid regions and provides a scientific basis for the sustainable exploitation of salt lake resources and the development of targeted ecological restoration strategies.

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Data availability

The data used in this study are available upon reasonable request. The provided datasets include: water-soluble ion concentrations from 128 surface soil samples in the Qaidam Basin (CSV format); dust deposition monitoring data from seven observation points (CSV format); preprocessed remote sensing data, including Landsat 8, Sentinel-2, and ASTER GDEM (GeoTIFF format); and salinity distribution maps generated via Kriging interpolation (GeoTIFF format). Researchers can contact the corresponding author to access these datasets for result reproduction and further studies.Contact Person: Yongxing ZhangEmail: [email protected].

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by Geological survey project of China Geological Survey (DD20220958) and National Cryosphere Desert Data Center (2024NCDC007). The authors thank the editors and anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments to improve our manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the Geological Survey Project of China Geological Survey, entitled “Integrated Ecological Geological Survey of Salt Lakes in the Qaidam Basin” with project number DD20220958; And National Cryosphere Desert Data Center, with project number 2024NCDC007.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Xining Center of Natural Resources Comprehensive Survey, China Geological Survey, Xining, 810000, China

    Yingmei Xing, Yanhe Wang, Yongxing Zhang, Jingrong Zhao & Jinxiu Liu

  2. College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Yanhe Wang & Yongxing Zhang

  3. Observation Station of Subalpine Ecology Systems in the middle Qilian Mountains, Xining, 810000, China

    Yingmei Xing, Yanhe Wang & Yongxing Zhang

  4. National Cryosphere Desert Data Center, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jinxiu Liu

Authors

  1. Yingmei Xing
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  2. Yanhe Wang
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  3. Yongxing Zhang
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  4. Jingrong Zhao
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  5. Jinxiu Liu
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Contributions

Yingmei Xing: Writing – original draft, Conceptualization. Yanhe Wang: Methodology, Formal analysis, Funding acquisition, Data curation. Yongxing Zhang: Validation, Project adminis tration, Conceptualization. Jingrong Zhao: Resources, Methodology, Formal analysis, Validation, Supervision. Jinxiu Liu: Resources, Methodology, Formal analysis, Validation, Supervision.

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Correspondence to
Yongxing Zhang.

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Xing, Y., Wang, Y., Zhang, Y. et al. Remotely sensed spatiotemporal dynamics of soluble salts and their natural and anthropogenic drivers in hyper-arid basins.
Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34431-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-34431-3

Keywords

  • Multi-source remote sensing
  • Qaidam basin
  • Soluble salts
  • Spatiotemporal distribution
  • Atmospheric deposition

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