Introduction: As a vital component of the ecosystem of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, alpine wetlands coexist with their vulnerability, sensitivity, and abundant biodiversity, propelling the material cycle and energy flux of the entire plateau ecosystem. In recent decades, climate change and human activities have significantly altered the regional landscape. Monitoring and assessing changes in the alpine wetlands on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau requires the efficient and accurate collection of long-term information.Methods: Here, we interpreted the remote sensing data of the first meander of the Yellow River of alpine wetlands from 1990 to 2020 based on Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, using geographic information system (GIS) and landscape pattern index to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of wetland landscape patterns, and the primary drivers of changes in wetland area were explored by GeoDetector.Results: Our result showed that most wetland areas were found in regions with gradients less than 12° and elevations between 3315 and 3600 m. From 1990 to 2010, the area of alpine wetland in the study area decreased by 25.43%. During the period between 2010 and 2020 to the 1990s, the wetland area decreased by 322.9 km². Conversion to and from grassland was the primary form of wetland transfer out and in, respectively. The overall migration of the wetland centroid in the study area was to the southwest between 1990 and 2010 and to the north between 2010 and 2020. The geometry of the wetland landscape was relatively simple, the landscape was relatively intact, and patches retained a high level of agglomeration and connectivity. However, their level of agglomeration and connectivity was disrupted. A quantitative analysis of the factor detector in GeoDetector revealed that the DEM, slope, and evaporation were the most important driving factors influencing the change of wetland area, with socioeconomic development also influencing changes in the wetland area to a lesser extent.Discussion: Using interaction detectors, it was discovered that the interaction of various driving factors could better explain the long-term variations in wetland areas, with a greater degree of explanation than that of each driving factor alone.

Because of global warming, the water cycle has intensified and precipitation has changed, with monsoons evolving to become more complex, particularly in monsoon fringe areas. Therefore, it is important to use stable isotopes to trace moisture sources in monsoon fringe areas, such as semiarid areas. In this study, in situ measurements of water vapor isotopes were obtained in the monsoon fringe areas of Lanzhou (36.1° N, 103.7° E), between May and November 2019 with the aim of analyzing the stable isotope composition and atmospheric water vapor variation to improve our understanding of moisture transport. The following results were obtained: stable isotopic variation of atmospheric water vapor shows an alternation between west and southwest moisture with wind directions and sources of water vapor, with δ¹⁸O and δ²H varying from high to low. In the Lanzhou valley, water vapor isotopes show a distinct daily cycle of δ¹⁷O, δ¹⁸O, and δ²H and are consistent with temperature changes. Water vapor isotopes, particularly d-excess, are correlated with temperature and absolute humidity. With regard to the local atmospheric water vapor line (LAVL), we show that the slope and intercept of the LAVL are affected by sub-cloud secondary evaporation and topography.