The area of China’s largest freshwater body, Poyang Lake, fluctuates more than threefold annually. This has been charted by Envisat ASAR Global Monitoring Mode. Congratulations to European Space Agency. The Mode has been employed as part of ESA’s Dragon Programme. Around 50 kilometers north of the city of Nanchang, the Poyang Lake is situated in the Jiangxi Province. The Lake’s basin is one of the People’s Republic of China’s most important rice-producing regions. Topped by regular severe floods, the local inhabitants must contend with massive seasonal changes in water level. As a contrast to a dry season of a normal year, when the area of the Lake shrinks to less than 1000 square kilometers, by the end of the rainy season its size can grow up to 3500 square kilometers. Understanding of the annual dynamism of Poyang Lake is needed to help mitigate flood as well as characterize improved ecology of the surrounding landscape.
Via: Eureka Alert
