Suli Lake lies in the Bieletan subbasin[4] at the western edge of the Qarhan Playa at an elevation of 2,675.6m (8,778ft).[1] It is located north of South Suli Lake and northwest of Dabiele Lake.[5] Its area varies from 69–85km2 (27–33sqmi).[1] It is fed from the west by the Urt Moron or Utumeiren[6]( t烏圖美仁河,s乌图美仁河,Wūtúměirén Hé).[7] Its depth usually does not exceed 1m (3ft 3in).[2]
Geology
Suli's position at the western end of the playa means that its waters are relatively less influenced by the concentrated mineral springs along the playa's northern boundary.[8] Its waters are also less saturated with potassium-rich carnallite than other southern lakes,such as Tuanjie.[9] However,the Bieletan subbasin as a whole—inclusive of S. Suli,Dabiele,and Xiaobiele—is the richest source of brinelithium in China,with an estimated store of 7.74million metric tons (8.53million short tons) of lithium chloride.[10] The lithium derives from hot springs located near Mount Buka Daban which now feed the Narin Gol River or Hongshui River[11]( t紅水河,s红水河,HóngshuǐHé) that flows into East Taijinar Lake.[12] In the past,however,the springs lay within the "Kunlun" paleolake which until about 30,000 years ago produced a river which flowed north into a broad alluvial fan feeding the "Qarhan" paleolake in the Sanhu area.[13] Bieletan's lithium came both from deposits directly flowing into the area at the time and continuing contributions from the Urt Moron and other rivers arising in and flowing through the former alluvial plain.[14]
North of Suli Lake,the Sebei-1 and Sebei-2 gas fields form China's 4th-largest onshore reserve of natural gas,with production capacity of 4.95 billion cubic meters (175 billion cubic feet) per year. A pipeline connects it directly to Xining and Lanzhou.[15]
Huang Qi; etal. (1997), "Stable Isotopes Distribution in Core Ck6 and Variations of Paleoclimate over Qarhan Lake Region in Qaidam Basin, China", Chinese Journal of Oceanology and Limnology, vol.15, Beijing: Science Press, pp.271–278, doi:10.1007/BF02850884, S2CID129491899 .
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