Divergent trends of water bodies and their driving factors in a high-latitude water tower, Changbai Mountain

•A significantly divergent trend in water bodies was firstly found in this high-latitude water tower.•The snowpack had an important influence on the change of water storage in a high-latitude water tower.•Enhanced interaction of driving factors as a deep-seated cause of water heterogeneity was innovatively discovered.•The reduced water conservation capacity and altered snowmelt processes may be two important underlying driving factors.