The mass-balance characteristics and sensitivities to climate variables of Laohugou Glacier No. 12, western Qilian Mountains, China

Due to global warming, glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau(TP) are experiencing widespread shrinkage; however, the mechanisms controlling glacier variations across the TP are still rather unclear, especially on the northeastern TP. In this study, a physically based, distributed surface-energy and mass-balance model was used to simulate glacier mass balance forced by meteorological data. The model was applied to Laohugou No. 12 Glacier, western Qilian Mountains, China, during2010~2012. The simulated albedo and mass balance were validated and calibrated by in situ measurements. The simulated annual glacier-wide mass balances were-385 mm water equivalent(w.e.) in 2010/2011 and-232 mm w.e. in 2011/2012,respectively. The mean equilibrium-line altitude(ELA) was 5,015 m a.s.l., during 2010~2012, which ascended by 215 m compared to that in the 1970 s. The mean accumulation area ratio(AAR) was 39% during the two years. Climatic-sensitivity experiments indicated that the change of glacier mass balance resulting from a 1.5 °C increase in air temperature could be offset by a 30% increase in annual precipitation. The glacier mass balance varied linearly with precipitation, at a rate of130 mm w.e. per 10% change in total precipitation.     

中国冰川研究进展

Glacier inventory compilation during the past 20 years and modifications of that for the Eastern Pamir and Banggong Lake indicate that there are 46,342 modern glaciers with a total area and volume of 59415 km^2 and 5601 km^3 respectively in China. These glaciers can be classified into maritime and continental (including sub-continental and extremely continental) types. Researches show that glaciers in China have been retreating since the Little Ice Age and the mass wastage was accelerated during the past 30 to 40 years. Being an important part of glaciological studies in China,ice core climatic and environmental studies on Tibetan Plateau and in the Antarctica have provided abundant, high resolution information about past climatic and environmental evolution over the Tibetan Plateau and Antarctica. Except for different parameters recorded in ice cores relating to climate and environment changes on Tibetan Plateau, records from ice cores extracted from different glaciers show that the discrepancies in climatic and environmental changes on the north and south parts of the plateau may be the consequence of different influencing effects from terrestrial and solar sources.Glaciological and meteorological phenomena imply that Lambert Glacier valley is an important boundary of climate in the east Antarctica, which is thought to be connected with cyclonic activities and Circum-polar Waves over the Antarctica.     

The movement features analysis of Laohugou Glacier No. 12 in Qilian Mountains

The Laohugou Glacier No. 12 is the largest valley glacier in Qilian Mountains, which is located in northern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Movement is the basic characteristic of glaciers, and is also an important distinction from other terrestrial natural ice. Glacier changes not only reflect climate change, but also play an important role in humanity society. In the arid regions of western China, glaciers are becoming an important water source. We use the GPS receiver (South-Lingrui S82) as data platform with the aid of RTK measurement technology to observe the surface velocity of Laohugou Glacier No. 12. Surface velocity data shows that the maximum value appears at an altitude of 4,750–4,850 m during the period of 2008–2009. During this period, the west branch surface velocity reached 32.6 m per year at an altitude near 4,830 m, the east branch surface velocity reached 32.4 m per year at the altitude near 4,770 m. Comparing the surface velocity data during 2008–2009 with observation results in 1959, the glacier velocity slowed down about 11%.     

Mass balance and near-surface ice temperature structure of Baishui Glacier No.1 in Mt. Yulong

The accumulation and ablation of a glacier directly reflect its mass income and wastage, and ice temperature indicates glacier＇s climatic and dynamic conditions. Glaciological studies at Baishui Glacier No.1 in Mt. Yulong are important for estimating recent changes of the cryosphere in Hengduan Mountains. Increased glacier ablation and higher ice temperatures can cause the incidents of icefall. Therefore, it is important to conduct the study of glacier mass balance and ice temperature, but there are few studies in relation to glacier＇s mass balance and active-layer temperature in China＇s monsoonal temperate glacier region. Based on the field observations of mass balance and glacier temperature at Baishui Glacier No.1, its accumulation, ablation, net balance and near-surface ice temperature structure were analyzed and studied in this paper. Results showed that the accumulation period was ranged from October to the following mid-May, and the ablation period occurred from mid-May to October, suggesting that the ablation period of temperate glacier began about 15 days earlier than that of continental glaciers, while the accumulation period began about 15 days later. The glacier ablation rate was 6.47 cm d 1 at an elevation of 4600 m between June 23 and August 30, and it was 7.4 cm d 1 at 4800 m between June 26 and July 11 in 1982, moreover, they respectively increased to 9.2 cm d 1 and 10.8 cm d 1 in the corresponding period and altitude in 2009, indicating that glacier ablation has greatly intensified in the past years. The temperature of the main glacier body was close to melting point in summer, and it dropped from the glacier surface and reached a minimum value at a depth of 4-6 m in the ablation zone. The temperature then rose to around melting point with the depth increment. In winter, the ice temperature rose gradually with the increasing depth, and close to melting point at the depth of 10 m. Compared with the data from 1982, the glacier temperature has risen in the ablation zone in recent decades.     

氢氧同位素和水化学特征反映的祁连山老虎沟冰川径流过程（英文）

Stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope has important implication on water and moisture transportation tracing research. Based on stable hydrogen(δD) and oxygen(δ~(18)O) isotope using a Picarro L1102-i and water chemistry(e.g. major ions, p H, EC and TDS) measurement, this study discussed the temporal variation and characteristics of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope, chemistry(e.g. TDS, p H, EC, Ca~(2+), Mg~(2+), Na+ and Cl-) in various water bodies including glacier meltwater runoff, ice and snow, and precipitation at the Laohugou glacier basin during June 2012 to September 2013. Results showed that δD and δ~(18)O in the meltwater runoff varied obviously with the temporal change from June to September, showing firstly increasing trend and then decreasing trend, with the highest values in July with high air temperature and strong glacier melting, which could indicate the temporal change of glacier melting process and extent. Variations of δD and δ~(18)O in the runoff were similar with that of snow and ice on the glacier, and the values were also above the GMWL, which probably implied that the glacier runoff was mainly originated from glacier melting and precipitation supply. The glacier meltwater chemical type at the Laohugou glacier basin were mainly composed by Ca-Na-HCO_3-SO_4 and Ca-Mg-HCO_3-SO_4, which also varied evidently with the glacier melting process in summer. By analyzing the temporal change of stable hydrogen and oxygen isotope and chemistry in the melting period, we find it is easy to separate the components of the snow and ice, atmospheric precipitation and melt-runoff in the river, which could reflect the change process of glacier melting during the melting period, and thus this work can contribute to the glacier runoff change study of large-scale region by stable isotope and geochemical method in future.     

Source and environmental significance of oxalate in Laohugou Glacier No. 12, Qilian Mountains,Western China

Retrieval of oxalate from snow and ice provides information on past environmental changes. In recent years, records of organic acids in middle-and low-latitude glaciers have attracted the attention of researchers globally. In this study, we analyzed oxalates in an ice core from Laohugou Glacier No. 12 on the Qilian Mountains at an elevation of 5,040 m a.s.l. in2006. Average oxalate concentration was 18.5±2.4 ng/g over the prior 46 years. Oxalate values showed a significantly increasing trend since 1985. From 1985 to 1995, oxalate concentrations had large fluctuations, peaking in about 1987 and exhibiting a slightly decreasing trend since 1995. The result shows that the abrupt increase of oxalate concentration in the ice core since the mid-1980 s reflects atmospheric environmental pollution by human and industrial activities.     

喜马拉雅地区纳木那尼的化学离子特征

A 6-m ice core was recovered in 2004 from the Naimona＇Nyi Glacier, the middle Himalayas. Empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis on the major ion reveals that EOF1 represents the variations of majority of ions which may be originated from crustal aerosols. Comparing the calcium concentrations from the Naimona＇Nyi with these from Dasuopu, East Rongbuk and Guliya ice cores, it is observed that calcium, a good indicator of the input of crustal aerosol in snow, concentrates mostly in the Guliya ice core located on the northern Tibetan Plateau, and gradually decreases from west to east in the Himalayas.     

近50年来祁连山冰川变化——基于中国第一、二次冰川编目数据（英文）

Glaciers are the most important fresh-water resources in arid and semi-arid regions of western China. According to the Second Chinese Glacier Inventory(SCGI), primarily compiled from Landsat TM/ETM+ images, the Qilian Mountains had 2684 glaciers covering an area of 1597.81±70.30 km~2 and an ice volume of ~84.48 km~3 from 2005 to 2010. While most glaciers are small(85.66% are 1.0 km~2), some larger ones(12.74% in the range 1.0–5.0 km~2) cover 42.44% of the total glacier area. The Laohugou Glacier No.12(20.42 km~2) located on the north slope of the Daxue Range is the only glacier 20 km~2 in the Qilian Mountains. Median glacier elevation was 4972.7 m and gradually increased from east to west. Glaciers in the Qilian Mountains are distributed in Gansu and Qinghai provinces, which have 1492 glaciers(760.96 km~2) and 1192 glaciers(836.85 km~2), respectively. The Shule River basin contains the most glaciers in both area and volume. However, the Heihe River, the second largest inland river in China, has the minimum average glacier area. A comparison of glaciers from the SCGI and revised glacier inventory based on topographic maps and aerial photos taken from 1956 to 1983 indicate that all glaciers have receded, which is consistent with other mountain and plateau areas in western China. In the past half-century, the area and volume of glaciers decreased by 420.81 km~2(–20.88%) and 21.63 km~3(–20.26%), respectively. Glaciers with areas 1.0 km~2 decreased the most in number and area recession. Due to glacier shrinkage, glaciers below 4000 m completely disappeared. Glacier changes in the Qilian Mountains presented a clear longitudinal zonality, i.e., the glaciers rapidly shrank in the east but slowly in the central-west. The primary cause of glacier recession was warming temperatures, which was slightly mitigated with increased precipitation.     

Variability of atmospheric freezing level height derived from radiosonde data in China during 1958–2005 and its impact to cryosphere changes

Atmospheric air temperature data from 92 stations in China’s radiosonde network were used to analyze changes in the freezing level height (FLH), glacier snow line, and ice edge from 1958–2005 (48 years) and to examine the impact of these changes on the cryosphere. In general, the FLH, glacier snow line, and ice edge exhibited latitudinal zonation, declining from south to north. Trends in the FLH, glacier snow line, and ice edge showed spatial heterogeneity during the study period, with prevailing upward trends. Temporally, the FLH, glacier snow line, and ice edge trends differed on various time scales.     

The impacts of climate change on hydrology in a typical glacier region—A case study in Hailuo Creek watershed of Mt. Gongga in China

The glaciers of the Hengduan Mountains play an important role in the hydrology processes of this region. In this study, the HBV Light model, which relies on a degree-day model to simulate glacier melting, was employed to simulate both glacier runoff and total runoff. The daily temperature and precipitation at the Hailuo Creek No. 1 Glacier from 1952 to 2009 were obtained from daily meteorological observed data at the glacier and from six national meteorological stations near the Hailuo Creek Basin. The daily air temperature, precipitation, runoff depth, and monthly potential evaporation in 1995, 1996, and 2002 were used to obtain a set of optimal parameters, and the annual total runoff and glacier runoff of the Hailuo Creek Glacier(1952–2009) were calculated using the HBV Light model. Results showed the average annual runoff in the Hailuo Creek Basin was 2,114 mm from 1952 to 2009, of which glacial melting accounted for about 1,078 mm. The river runoff in the Hailuo Creek catchment increased as a result of increased glacier runoff. Glacier runoff accounted for 51.1% of the Hailuo Creek stream flow in 1994 and increased to 72.6% in 2006. About 95% of the increased stream flow derived from the increased glacier runoff.     

天山东段乌鲁木齐河源区冰雪消融与产汇流水文过程（英文）

Hydrological processes were compared,with and without the influence of precipitation on discharge,to identify the differences between glacierized and non-glacierized catchments in the Urumqi River source region,on the northern slope of the eastern Tianshan Mountains,during the melting season(May-September) in 2011.The study was based on hydrological data observed at 10-min intervals,meteorological data observed at 15-min intervals,and glacier melting and snow observations from the Empty Cirque,Zongkong,and Urumqi Glacier No.1 gauging stations.The results indicated that the discharge differed markedly among the three gauging stations.The daily discharge was more than the nightly discharge at the Glacier No.1 gauging station,which contrasted with the patterns observed at the Zongkong and Empty Cirque gauging stations.There was a clear daily variation in the discharge at the three gauging stations,with differences in the magnitude and duration of the peak discharge.When precipitation was not considered,the time-lags between the maximum discharge and the highest temperature were 1-3 h,10-16 h,and 5-11 h at the Glacier No.1,Empty Cirque,and Zongkong gauging stations,respectively.When precipitation was taken into consideration,the corresponding time-lags were 0-1 h,13 h,and 6-7 h,respectively.Therefore,the duration from the generation of discharge to confluence was the shortest in the glacierized catchment and the longest in the catchment where was mainly covered by snow.It was also shown that the hydrological process from the generation of discharge to confluence shortened when precipitation was considered.The factors influencing changes in the discharge among the three gauging stations were different.For Glacier No.1 station,the discharge was mainly controlled by heat conditions in the glacierized region,and the discharge displayed an accelerated growth when the temperature exceeded 5℃ in the melt season.It was found that the englacial and subglacial drainage channel of Glacier No.1 had become simpler during the past 20 years.Its weaker retardance and storage of glacier melting water resulted in rapid discharge confluence.It was also shown that the discharge curve and the time-lag between the maximum discharge and the highest temperature could be used to reveal the evolution of the drainage system and the process of glacier and snow melting at different levels of glacier coverage.     

近600年来北极与中国气候变化的对比

A compilation of paleoclimate records from lake sediments, trees, ice cores, and historical documents provide a view of China and Arctic environmental changes in the last 600 years. Many of these changes have also been identified in sedimentary and geochemical signatures in deep-sea sediment cores from the North Atlantic Ocean, Arctic and Greenland and ice cores from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, confirming the linkage of environmental changes of different time scales between the Arctic and China. It is shown that the changes of precipitation, temperature and sea ice cover in Arctic were correlated with climate changes in China. This paper also developed a comparative research on the climate changes between Arctic and China both during the Little Ice Age (LIA) and the instrumental observation period. Cycles and trend of temperature variations during LIA and temperature and precipitation during the instrumental observation period are performed. We found some similarities and differences of environmental changes between Arctic and China.     

近50年气候变化背景下中国西部冰川面积状况分析(英文)

Based on the glacier area variation records in the typical regions of China moni-tored by remote sensing, as well as the meteorological data of air temperature and precipitation from 139 stations and the 0℃ isotherm height from 28 stations, the glacier area shrinkage in China and its climatic background in the past half century was discussed. The initial glacier area calculated in this study was 23,982 km2 in the 1960s/1970s, but the present area was only 21,893 km2 in the 2000s. The area-weighted shrinking rate of glacier was 10.1%, and the interpolated annual percentage of area changes (APAC) of glacier was 0.3% a-1 since 1960. The high APAC was found at the Ili River Basin and the Junggar Interior Basin around the Tianshan Mountains, the Ob River Basin around the Altay Mountains, the Hexi Interior Basin around the Qilian Mountains, etc. The retreat of glacier was affected by the climatic background, and the influence on glacier of the slight-increased precipitation was counteracted by the significant warming in summer.     

Glacier area shrinkage in China and its climatic background during the past half century

Based on the glacier area variation records in the typical regions of China monitored by remote sensing, as well as the meteorological data of air temperature and precipitation from 139 stations and the 0℃ isotherm height from 28 stations, the glacier area shrinkage in China and its climatic background in the past half century was discussed. The initial glacier area calculated in this study was 23,982 km2 in the 1960s/1970s, but the present area was only 21,893 km2 in the 2000s. The area-weighted shrinking rate of glacier was 10.1%, and the interpolated annual percentage of area changes (APAC) of glacier was 0.3% a-1 since 1960. The high APAC was found at the Ili River Basin and the Junggar Interior Basin around the Tianshan Mountains, the Ob River Basin around the Altay Mountains, the Hexi Interior Basin around the Qilian Mountains, etc. The retreat of glacier was affected by the climatic background, and the influence on glacier of the slight-increased precipitation was counteracted by the significant warming in summer.     

1975-2016年天山中段阿克苏河流域冰川变化分析（英文）

In this study, we analyzed glacier changes in the Aksu River Basin during the period 1975–2016, based on Landsat MSS/TM/ETM+/OLI imagery analysis and the Chinese Glacier Inventory(CGI). The results showed that the total number, area, and volume of the studied glaciers in the Aksu River Basin decreased by 202(7.65%), 965.7 km~2(25.88%), and 74.85–78.52 km~3(23.72%–24.3%), respectively. The rate of glacier retreat in the basin was slower in the north, northwest and west, but reached the highest in the east(measuring 0.86% yr~(-1)). Furthermore, there were significant regional differences in the distribution and change of glaciers, the Kumalak River Basin had the largest glacier number and area, about 63.15% and 76.47% of the studied basin, and the rate of glacier retreat in the Kumalak River Basin was 0.65% yr~(-1), it was higher than the Toxkan River Basin which reached 0.57% yr~(-1). We found the shrinkage rate of glacier for different periods in the past 41 years, during 1975–1990 the glaciers showed the greatest retreat, while the rate of glacier area retreat slowed down significantly from 1990 to 2000. In recent 16 years since 2000, the rate of glacier retreat in the Toxkan River Basin was higher compared with 1990–2000. The RGI50~(-1)3.04920 glacier of Kumalak River Basin had been in a state of retreat since 1990. Over the past 41 years, the temperature and precipitation in the Aksu River Basin increased obviously, and the warming temperatures were clearly the main reason for glacier retreat in the region, while the increased precipitation in the mountain area may have a direct relation with the retreating rate of glaciers.     

Glaciochemical records from Naimona’Nyi ice core in the Himalayas

Chemical records in ice and snow from polar ice sheets or mountain glacier can provide information about atmospheric composition, climate and environmental changes. Using glaciochemical records, the source of dust and moisture, and changes of atmospheric …     

NCEP/NCAR 再分析资料在喜马拉雅山-青藏高原气象研究中的可行性分析

Due to the difficult logistics in the extreme high elevation regions over the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau, the observational meteorological data are very few. In 2003, an automatic weather station was deployed at the northeastern saddle of Mt. Nyainqentanglha (NQ) (30°24′44.3″ N, 90°34′13.1″ E, 5850 m a.s.l.), the southern Tibetan Plateau. In 2005, another station was operated at the East Rongbuk Glacier Col (28°01′0.95″ N, 86°57′48.4″ E, 6523 m a.s.l.) of Mt. Qomolangma. Observational data from the two sites have been compared with the reanalysis data from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR), reliability of NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data has been investigated in the Himalayas/Tibetan Plateau region. The reanalysis data can capture much of the synoptic-scale variability in temperature and pressure, although the reanalysis values are systematically lower than the observation. Furthermore, most of the variability magnitude is, to some degree, underestimated. In addition, the weather event extracted from the NCEP/NCAR reanalyzed pressure and temperature prominently appears one day ahead of the observational data on Mt. Qomolangma, while on Mt. NQ it occurs basically in the same day.     

Climatic changes have led to significant expansion of endorheic lakes in Xizang (Tibet) since 1995

Robust climate warming has led to significant expansion of lakes in the central Tibetan Plateau. Using remote sensing data, our quantitative analysis indicates that Siling Co, a saline lake in a characteristic endorheic basin in the central region of the Plateau, has expanded more than 600 km² in area since 1976. Particularly since 1995, the lake has significantly expanded in response to increasing precipitation, decreasing water surface evaporation caused by weaker winds and less solar radiation, and increased glacier meltwater draining to the lake. Glacier–lake interactions are important in governing lake expansion and are also part of a feedback loop that influences the local climate. Worsening climatic conditions (decreased precipitation and increased temperatures) that could have caused the lake to shrink during 1976–1994 were offset by increasing glacier meltwater feeding the lake, which made the lake nearly stable. We demonstrate that this pattern changed during 1995–2009, when glacier meltwater actually decreased but participation runoff increased and evaporation decreased, leading to expansion of the lake. If climatic conditions became suitable for further lake development, which would be indicated by expansion in lake area, glacier meltwater could be saved in a stable reservoir.     

中国冰川系统对气候变化响应的敏感性分析

Data of 44 glacier systems in China used in this paper were obtained from Chinese Glacier Inventories and the meteorological data were got from Meteorological Atlas of Plateau of west China. Based on the statistical analysis and functional model simulation results of the 44 glacier systems in China, the glacier systems were divided into extremely-sensitive glacier system, semi-sensitive glacier system, extremely-steady glacier system and semi-steady glacier system in terms of glacier system＇s level of water-energy exchange, rising gradient of the equilibrium line altitudes and retreating rate of area to climate warming, their median size and vertical span distribution, and their runoff characteristics to climate warming. Furthermore the functional model of glacier system to climate warming was applied in this paper to predict the average variation trends of the 4 types of glacier systems, which indicate that different sensitivity types of glacier systems respond to the climate warming differently.     

Movement and variation of four typical glaciers in the Qilian Mountains, northwestern China

We selected four typical glaciers in the Qilian Mountains and investigated their movements and variation using advanced technologies such as remote sensing,photographic measurements,and global positioning systems.The velocity of glacier movements in the Qilian Mountains is relatively low,and there has been no significant variation during the past 50 years.Glacier motion has maintained a normal style.The movement velocity of Laohugou Glacier No.12 presented a decreasing trend(by 48%) from 1960 to 2012.The movement velocity of the Qiyi Glacier also presented a decreasing trend(by 48.1%) from 1958 to 2012; it decreased by 29.4% from 1958 to 1977 and by 26.5% from 1977 to 2012.Therefore,the Qiyi Glacier's movement velocity varied greatly over the earlier 20 years(1958–1977),but presented a small decreasing trend during the latter 30 years(1977–2012).By comparing the movement velocity variation of these typical glaciers,we determined that the extent of variation was consistent among large glaciers(such as Laohugou Glacier No.12) and small glaciers(such as the Qiyi Glacier and Yanglonghe Glacier No.5),despite their different sizes.