The disappearance of the ancient Loulan city in Xinjiang has been regarded as a riddle. Through the application of satellite remote sensing technology and the interpretation of the distribution characteristics of the old river in Loulan area from TM image, the authors have found that there are two landslide sites and barrier lakes located in the upper reaches of the river. Based on this discovery, it is thought that the abandoning and final disappearance of Loulan might be attributed to landslides which cut off its water source and broke off its water supply.
何宇华, 孙永军. 应用卫星遥感探索楼兰古城消亡之谜[J]. 国土资源遥感, 2002, 14(2): 64-67.
HE Yu-hua, SUN Yong-jun . THE APPLICATION OF SATELLITE REMOTE SENSING TO ANSWERING THE RIDDLE OF LOULAN'S DISAPPEARANCE. REMOTE SENSING FOR LAND & RESOURCES, 2002, 14(2): 64-67.