斯瓦尔巴群岛冰川学研究进展与我国北极冰川监测系统建设

北极斯瓦尔巴群岛冰川大多数属于亚极地型(sub-polar)或多热型(polythermal)。Austre Br(?)ggerbreen和Midre Lovénbreen冰川(＜10km~2)长时间系列物质平衡研究显示,自小冰期结束以来几乎所有的观测年中夏季消融比冬季积累更大,导致冰体稳定地减小;而面积更大、海拔高度更高的冰川如Kongsvegen冰川(105km~2)则更加接近稳定态的平衡。斯瓦尔巴群岛冰川流动速率一般较低,但跃动相当频繁,控制跃动型冰川空间分布的因素包括冰川长度、基底岩性和多热场。可通过冰川水文特征、钻孔温度测量和无线电回波探测获取斯瓦尔巴群岛冰川热场的信息。斯瓦尔巴群岛冰川的低流速和多热性结构对冰川上的排水系统相当重要,整个群岛淡水径流的四个主要来源分别是冰川消融、雪融化、夏季降雨和冰崩解,经验回归方法和模式方法用于计算淡水径流量。因夏季融水渗浸作用、采样分辨率低和化学成分分析有限,早期斯瓦尔巴群岛冰芯的准确定年受到严重影响,但最近的研究显示,来自斯瓦尔巴群岛冰帽的冰芯数据仍然能够提供重要的气候和环境信息。通过我国北极黄河站2005年度科学考察,我们已初步建立了Austre Lovénbreen冰川和Pedersenbreen冰川监测系统,并计划在Austre Lovénbreen冰川进行钻孔温度测量、冰川气象要素观测、冰川前缘水文观测以及冰川厚度和内部结构测量,重点开展斯瓦尔巴群岛冰川基本特征和发育条件、冰川表面能量和物质平衡、冰川波动与气候变化关系、淡水径流年际和季节性变化和气/雪/冰界面过程等方面的研究。     

The thermal structure of Hansbreen, a tidewater glacier in southern Spitsbergen, Svalbard

Ice temperature measurements were taken from three shallow and five deep (to bedrock) boreholes on Hansbreen, Svalbard, in selected years between 1988 and 1994. In general, results show a subpolar, polythermal structure. The glacier accumulation zone is of warm ice within the entire vertical profile except the uppermost layer of seasonal temperature fluctuations where there is an upper cold ice layer in the ablation zone which varies in thickness and may even be absent in the western lateral part. The upper layer of cold ice thins along the glacier centre-line from the equilibrium line altitude down to the glacier front. The depth of the pressure melting, indicating the base of the cold ice layer, was defined at the borehole measurement sites but was not manifested as an internal reflection horizon using multi-frequency radar methods. The isotherm lies about 20 m above a radar internal reflecting horizon near the equilibrium line altitude and about 40 m above it in the frontal part of the glacier. The internal reflection horizon almost certainly reflects the high water content within temperate ice and not the cold/temperate ice interface. At 10 m depth, the temperatures are 2–3°C higher than the calculated mean annual air temperatures, demonstrating the importance of meltwater refreezing on the release of latent heat.     

Englacial hydrological characteristics of a typical continental-type glacier in China as detected by ground-penetrating radar

The englacial structures and ice thickness of the Laohugou No. 12 (L12) Glacier in the Qilian Mountains, China, were retrieved from ground-penetrating radar (GPR) profile data acquired in August of 2007. Here the interpretation of a typical GPR image is validated using two-dimensional, Finite-Difference Time-Domain (FDTD) numerical modeling. Data analyses revealed many englacial characteristics, such as temperate ice, crevasses, and cavities at the position of convergence between the eastern and western glacial branches of L12, and at an altitude between 4,600 and 4,750 m a.s.l. on the east branch. Combining ice thickness, englacial structures, subglacial topography, and surface flow velocities of this glacier, we analyzed the reasons for the distribution of temperate ice. The results show that greater englacial water content is associated with englacial crevassing and surface moulins, which allow water to be channeled to the temperate ice aquifer beneath the surface cold ice layer. Analysis of air temperature data shows that as more meltwater imports into the ice body, this has a great effect on water conservation and dynamics conditions. With climate warming, and under the influence of crevasses, subglacial structures, and ice thickness, ice thickness reduction on the L12 east branch is more rapid than that on the west branch.     

The Characteristics and Formation of A High-Arctic Proglacial Icing

Well‐known from permafrost hydrology, icings (naled or Aufeis) are also frequently encountered at the margins of high‐latitude glaciers. The morphology of a proglacial icing at Scott Turnerbreen in the Norwegian Arctic archipelago of Svalbard is described, and the process of formation is considered in detail. Ground thermal‐regime modelling indicates an equilibrium permafrost depth of at least 200 m in the studied catchment, and it appears unlikely that groundwater contributes to icing formation. Meltwater flow through ice‐marginal drainage channels is accompanied by estimated heat fluxes of up to about 190 W m^?2, suggesting that stored meltwater may continue to percolate through thawed sub‐channel sediments when surface runoff is absent during winter. A hydraulic conductivity of 6.9 × 10^?3 m s^?1 is implied, which is consistent with other studies of glacier drainage systems. The long residence time of winter‐draining meltwater, and solute rejection by refreezing water, account for high observed concentrations of solute in interstitial water in the icing. It has often been asserted that the presence of a proglacial icing indicates that a glacier is polythermal. However, as Scott Turnerbeen is entirely non‐temperate, the presence of an icing cannot always be treated as a reliable guide to the thermal regime of a glacier.     

Seasonal evolution of the englacial and subglacial drainage systems of a temperate glacier revealed by hydrological analysis

Englacial and subglacial drainage systems of temperate glaciers have a strong influence on glacier dynamics, glacier-induced floods, glacier-weathering processes, and runoff from glacierized drainage basins. Proglacial discharge is partly controlled by the geometry of the glacial drainage network and by the process of producing meltwater. The glacial-drainage system of some alpine glaciers has been characterized using a model based on proglacial discharge analysis. In this paper, we apply cross-correlation analysis to hourly hydro-climatic data collected from China＇s Hailuogou Glacier, a typical temperate glacier in Mt. Gongga, to study the seasonal status changes of the englacial and subglacial drainage systems by discharge-temperature （Q-T） time lag analy-sis. During early ablation season （April-May） of 2003, 2004 and 2005, the change of englacial and subglacial drainage system usually leads several outburst flood events, which are also substantiated by observing the leakage of supraglacial pond and cre-vasses pond water during field works in April, 2008. At the end of ablation season （October-December）, the glacial-drainage net-works become less hydro-efficient. Those events are evidenced by hourly hydro-process near the terminus of Hailuogou Glacier, and the analysis of Q-T time lags also can be a good indicator of those changes. However, more detailed observations or experi-ments, e.g. dye-tracing experiment and recording borehole water level variations, are necessary to describe the evolutionary status and processes of englacial and subglacial drainage systems evolution during ablation season.     

ICE‐MARGINAL SEDIMENT DELIVERY TO THE SURFACE OF A HIGH‐ARCTIC GLACIER: AUSTRE BRØGGERBREEN,SVALBARD

Enhanced delivery of water‐saturated, ice‐marginal sediments to the glacier surface is a response to glacier thinning that has the potential to increase both levels of sediment transfer through the glacier hydrological system and total basin sediment yields. Preliminary observations made during summer 2007 at Austre Brøggerbreen, Svalbard, confirm that ice‐marginal debris flows in the upper reaches of the glacier are actively delivering sediments to the glacier surface, which may then be flushed into the glacier's hydrological system. During a four‐day observation period, several stochastic pulses in water turbidity were observed at a single portal where solely supra‐ and englacial drainage emerge at the glacier margin. The erratic suspended sediment fluxes were hypothesized to originate from ice‐marginal sources. Quantitative analysis of continuous turbidity and discharge data confirm that discharge is not driving these turbidity pulses and, combined with observational data, that the most likely origin is the delivery of water‐saturated sediments to the glacier surface from ice‐marginal, debris flows with subsequent transfer to the portal via the glacial drainage system. These observations illustrate the potential importance of the paraglacial component to the overall sediment cascade of deglaciating basins and highlight the need for careful interpretation of turbidity records, where stochastic pulses in turbidity may be attributed to sources and processes other than ice‐marginal sediment inputs.     

Erosion and sediment transport in High Arctic rivers, Svalbard

This paper discusses sediment yield, sediment delivery and processes of erosion in rivers subject to High Arctic conditions in Svalbard. Long-term measurements reveal large variations between rivers and from year to year in each individual river. In the unglacierized catchment of Londonelva, annual sediment transport varied between 28 and 93 t/yr, with a mean sediment yield of 82.5 t/km²/yr. In the glacier-fed rivers Bayelva and Endalselva, the suspended sediment transport varied in the range of 5126 t/yr to 22797 t/yr during a 12-year period. A mean of 11 104 t/yr gave rise to a mean sediment yield of 359 t/km²/yr for the whole Bayelva catchment area. The sediment yield of the glacier and the moraine area was estimated at 586 t/km²/yr. A conceptual model used to interpret the long- and short-term patterns of sediment concentration in the meltwater from the glacier and erosion of the neoglacial moraines is proposed. Evidence is found that a proportion of the sediments are delivered by a network of englacial and subglacial channels that exist even in cold ice. Regression analyses of water discharge versus suspended sediment concentration gave significant correlations found to be associated with the stability of ice tunnels in cold ice. Large floods have been found to flush the waterways and exhaust the sediment sources. A long-term change in the exponent of regression lines is attributed to changes in sediment availability caused by flushing and expansion of tunnels and waterways by large floods and a subsequent slow deformation of them caused by the ice overburden and the glacier movement. A comparison of sediment yields from a number of polythermal and temperate glaciers in various areas showed large differences that were attributed primarily to bedrock susceptibility to erosion and, secondarily, to glaciological parameters.     

冰川冰储量计算方法及发展趋势

冰川冰储量不仅是冰川的重要属性,而且是核算冰川水资源及预测冰川变化的基础数据,因此准确计算冰川冰储量及其变化具有重要的理论与现实意义。目前冰川储量估算的主要方法有经验公式法、冰厚模型估算法、探地雷达法;冰川储量相对变化计算方法有实地测量法和遥感监测法。通过系统分析和讨论各计算方法的原理、现状及存在的问题,以期为冰川储量估算提供方法参考。研究表明：对于冰川冰储量计算而言,经验公式法适用于区域性或全球性的冰川储量估算;模型估算法适用于个体或小范围冰川储量估算;探地雷达法适用于人类易到达区域冰川储量的估算。对于冰川冰储量相对变化计算,实地测量法适用于对精度要求高且满足实地测量条件的单条或中小型冰川,遥感监测法适用于全球性冰储量变化估算,但需改进算法和提高数据空间分辨率。目前,随着无人机技术的逐步应用,以及冰川流速等理论模型的提出,为冰川冰储量估算方法的发展提供了新契机。     

Analysis of flute forming conditions using ice sheet reconstructions and field techniques

Basal shear stress and sediment strength associated with the development of glacial flutes exposed during the 20th century in the Saskatchewan Glacier Valley Alberta, Canada, were determined by comparing reconstructed ice thicknesses, basal shear stresses, and field properties of sediments with the morphologically similar Kiwa Glacier Valley, British Columbia, Canada, where flutes are absent. Reconstructed subglacial conditions in these two valleys were compared to understand why flutes were developed in the former and not the latter. Using an existing topographic map of each glacier, equations for a series of longitudinal profile lines were determined to represent the existing ice surface. A previous ice surface, identified by trimlines along the valley walls, was reconstructed by applying the equations of longitudinal profile lines from the existing ice surface to a previous terminus between 5 and 10 km downvalley. After subtracting the elevation of the land surface (determined from topographic maps) from the reconstructed glacier surface, and calculating former ice surface slope, ice thickness and basal shear stress distributions were determined. Sediment texture and the location of flutes on a morainal topographic high, downglacier from a proglacial lake basin, allowed high porewater pressures to develop as glaciers extended to terminus positions in the Saskatchewan Glacier Valley. Sediment strength was reduced sufficiently below values of reconstructed shear stress plots to allow deformation creating flutes. The absence of a similar topographic high and different sediment textural characteristics in the Kiwa Glacier Valley resulted in lower porewater pressures and consequently less reduction in sediment strength preventing the development of glacial flutes despite higher shear stress values here. Results indicate that the degree to which sediment characteristics and porewater pressure allow reduction of subglacial sediment strength relative to basal shear stress is important in determining conditions when flutes may develop.     

西藏枪勇冰川冰下富碎屑化学沉淀特征与冰下过程

西藏枪勇冰川是我国现代大陆性冰川之一,在其外缘冰床背冰面的基岩表面和节理裂隙中发现了富碎屑化学沉淀,为研究冰岩界面的物理、化学过程提供了良好载体。对该区富碎屑化学沉淀理化特征的研究表明：枪勇冰川冰下存在压力融水,冰下碎屑,特别是陆源气溶胶粉尘来源的碎屑,能与融水及其中溶解的CO₂发生化学反应,释放出Ca⁺⁺;Ca⁺⁺随融水向下游方向迁移,在冰床背冰面,由于上覆压力减小,融水中的CO₂逸出并发生复冰作用,使融水中的Ca⁺⁺重新富集,形成CaCO₃沉淀,并将融水中的粉砂粘粒碎屑胶结,形成富碎屑化学沉淀;枪勇冰川冰下融水的存在,证明其冰下存在温度接近融点的融区,有类似于温性冰川的滑动过程。     

Glacier characteristics and sediment transfer system of Longyearbreen and Larsbreen,western Spitsbergen

Two small high-Arctic glaciers (Longyearbreen and Larsbreen) on Svalbard (78°N 15°E) were studied with respect to glaciological and hydrological characteristics. Fieldwork during the melting season of 1993 and 1994 was coupled with digital map analysis based on high-resolution digital elevation models (DEM) to reveal the dynamics and temperature regime of small glaciers in a high-Arctic environment, and its relationship to the material transport and sedimentation of these glaciers. The study showed Longyearbreen and Larsbreen to be low activity glaciers, cold-based with temperate patches, and thus having a low potential of basal erosion. The transport of ions and suspended solids in the glacial meltwater implies storage of material in and around the glacier which comes into contact with the meltwater. The study suggests that small Arctic glaciers couple the slope system with the fluvial system and therefore build a highly effective denudation system. Small polythermal glaciers are therefore important in understanding Pleistocene and Holocene landform development in cold regions.     

天山1号冰川厚度和冰下地形探测与冰储量分析

通过对天山乌鲁木齐河源 1号冰川的雷达回波探测 ,清晰地揭示出冰川底部冰 /岩界面的位置及其起伏变化特征 ,显示出雷达波对山地冰川良好的穿透能力和对冰下地形的高分辨能力 ,冰川雷达测厚的误差小于 1 .2 %。研究结果显示 ,1号冰川东支冰川平均厚度为 5 8.77m ,西支冰川平均厚度为 44.84m ,冰体厚度最大值发育于冰川中部趋于主流线位置。冰川冰储量计算表明 ,东支冰储量为 0 .0 5 1 868km3,西支冰储量为 0 .0 2 0 2 1 0km3。表面和底部地形有明显差异 ,主要因冰川动力过程对基岩强烈的地貌作用所致 ,意味着冰床的起伏地形对冰川浅层冰体的运动过程影响不显著。     

Accumulation in Svalbard glaciers deduced from ice cores with nuclear tests and Chernobyl reference layers

Mean net annual balance and the related spatio-temporal variations have been determined on the basis of well-dated artificial layers in shallow ice cores (Chernobyl, 1986, and atmospheric thermonuclear tests, mainly in 1961-62 in Novaya Zemlya). Seventy ice cores from 13 Svalbard glaciers have been analysed. On each glacier, in its accumulation area and at the highest elevation, one ice core was recovered down to about 40 m and sampled for radioactivity measurements to determine the 1986 and 1962-63 layer (1954 was the initial date of the nuclear tests). For each glacier, at least five complementary ice cores from the accumulation area were analysed to determine the Chernobyl reference layer. Six ice cores exhibit both the Chernobyl and nuclear tests layers and are of special interest in this study.
This work provides new data on the deposition rates of natural and artificial radioisotopes. Using ice cores samples from the Arctic glaciers, even with superimposed ice accumulation, it is possible to distinguish between the Chernobyl and the nuclear tests fallouts. This work also shows that the mean annual net balance did not significantly change for at least five ice core locations in the Svalbard glaciers for the two periods extending from 1963 to 1986 to the recent date of drilling.     

东帕米尔高原昆盖山跃动冰川遥感监测研究

冰川跃动是冰川周期性地快速运动,给下游生命财产安全带来巨大威胁。对已经发现的跃动冰川进行监测不仅有助于提高对冰川跃动机理的认识,而且对冰川跃动灾害预警预报和风险评估都具有重要的意义。在中国第二次冰川编目中发现,1963-2009年东帕米尔高原昆盖山的5Y663L0023冰川末端发生大幅前进。本文利用Landsat影像、ASTER立体像对等数据对该冰川前进过程进行监测研究。结果表明：该冰川于1990-1992年和2007-2013年分别前进81±30 m和811±30 m,其中2007-2013年的前进属于跃动引发的前进。其中跃动最高峰在2007年8月21日-2008年10月26日,期间32.7×10⁶ m³的冰体发生卸载,导致末端前进了704±30 m,面积扩张了0.34 km²。针对东帕米尔地区跃动冰川周期研究的空白,本文认为该冰川跃动周期中跃动期为4 a,平静期最短为15 a左右。该冰川属于多温型冰川,跃动受热力学机制影响的可能性较大,但液态降水、冰雪融水的增加也是影响因素。     

RECENT GLACIER CHANGES IN THE WIND RIVER RANGE,WYOMING

Parallax measurements on matching aerial photograph stereopairs from 1958 and 1983 were used to calculate the ice lost from Dinwoody Glacier in the Wind River Range of Wyoming. The ice remaining in Dinwoody Glacier was measured using a portable radio echo-sounder. Isopach maps of lost ice thickness and remaining ice thickness in the glacier were constructed from these point measurements. Calculations of lost and remaining ice volumes, converted to water-equivalent values, were derived from planimetric measurements from these isopach maps. The water equivalent remaining in Dinwoody Glacier is approximately equal to that lost between 1958 and 1983. Should this rate of downwasting and retreat continue, Dinwoody Glacier will disappear in 27 years, with significant adverse impacts on late summer and early fall water supplies for downstream irrigators and instream flow needs. [Key words: glaciers, glacier runoff, radio echo-sounding, Wind River Range, Wyoming.]     

Radio-echo soundings of sub-polar glaciers with low-frequency radar

Air-borne radio-echo soundings of sub-polar glaciers in Svalbard have previously been carried out by Soviet scientists using high frequency radar units of 620 and 440 MHz. Later a British/Norwegian group made soundings with 60 MHz equipment. The high frequency radar units seemed to underestimate the ice thicknesses. The 60 MHz radar unit seemed to give more accurate results when compared to areas with gravity surveyed bed. However, both the Soviet and the British equipment seldom recorded bed-echoes in accumulation areas where firn soaking during summer and thus zero temperatures are likely to occur. A low-frequency impulse radar unit of 8 MHz, however, recorded bed echoes in these areas too. In the accumulation area of Kongsvegen depths down to 440 m were recorded. The glacier bed is thus close to sea level at approximately 12 km from the calving front. Soundings were carried out on Brøggerbreen. Lovenbreen and Kongsvegen. Subglacial maps were generated from the data. Internal reflections that were probably caused by englacial drainage channels could be observed. Frequent internal reflections close to the bed could be interpreted as an indication of temperate ice. However, we could not find any distinct upper level of these reflections.     

A surge of Skobreen, Svalbard

Surging glaciers are common in Svalbard yet relatively few glaciers have been observed during a surge. This paper presents observations of the currently surging glacier Skobreen, in southern Spitsbergen. The study is based on examinations of new and archival photographs and maps. Skobreen, an 18 km² valley glacier terminating into the lower part of the glacier Paulabreen, has not been registered previously as a surging glacier. Skobreen experienced a build-up in its upper part, while there has been a lowering of the surface in the terminal region. Photographs from 1990 show incipient crevassing in the upper part. Photographs from 2003 show a slight advance of the terminus and marginal crevassing, indicating an initiation period of about 15 years for a surge of this glacier. In June 2005 transverse crevassing appeared in the upper part of the glacier, while the middle section moved as a block with strong shear margins and a pronounced drawdown of the ice surface. No traces of a surge front could be seen in the crevasse pattern. However, the crevasse pattern indicates an initiation area in the transition zone between the transverse crevassing in the upper part and the block of ice in the middle region.