A review of modern trends and historical stages of development of lake research in Mongolia

Abstract

There is the need to divide Mongolia's lake research into trends of development stages and to provide a detailed analysis of modern lake research. The aim of this study is to identify the development stages of lake research in Mongolia and to analyse lake research development. This study provides a comparative analysis of the development trends of lake research carried out in the country. The historical development of lake research in Mongolia was divided into 4 stages in chronological order, highlighting the current research direction, scope, and contribution to geography. Since 1990, researchers from many countries have been able to conduct extensive research in Mongolia, and especially since the 2000s, lake research intensified owing to global warming and environmental change. Studies, in particular, focus on paleogeography, paleoclimate changes, lake water regimes and water level fluctuation. Mongolian lake-based studies have tended to identify environmental evolution from the Pleistocene to the Holocene. The investigated areas were primarily Khuvsgul Lake and Darkhad Basin, Lakes Valley and Gobi Lakes, the Great Lake Depression, Mongolian Altai and Khangai Mountain lakes. Since 1990, scientists from Russia, Mongolia, Germany, China, Japan, USA and South Korea have been increasingly focusing on research into lakes in Mongolia. Paleogeographic and paleoclimatic reconstruction, based on the lakes of Central Asia, is being conducted in an innovative manner. Dividing Mongolia's lake research into development stages and identifying research trends will help determine which areas of research can be developed in the future.