Glacier fluctuations in the Alps and in the tropical Andes

This paper reports on glacier variations in two mountainous regions of the world, the Alps and the tropical Andes. Available records of snout position and glacier mass balance are compared and interpreted on a climatological basis. In both regions, there is a long-term decreasing trend over the 20th century. The yield of this trend is different from one glacier to the other, depending on geographic and geometric characteristics. Analysing the surface energy balance, net all wave radiation is the main energy flux at the glacier surface. The turbulent fluxes represent an important term with strong positive sensible heat flux in the Alps and strong negative latent heat flux (sublimation) in the Andes. Tropical glaciers are sensitive to inter-annual variations in solid precipitation that affects the albedo, whereas Alpine glaciers are strongly influenced by air temperature changes in the Alps. To cite this article: C. Vincent et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

祁连山区雪冰反照率变化及其对冰川物质平衡的影响

雪冰反照率能够改变冰川表面能量收支平衡,是影响冰川消融的重要因素之一。利用祁连山地区冰川面积矢量数据、MODIS逐日积雪反照率、气温和降水以及冰川物质平衡等数据,探讨了祁连山典型冰川区雪冰反照率特征及其对冰川物质平衡的影响。结果表明：祁连山地区冰川多年平均反照率为0.532,冰川区面积大小与其多年平均反照率之间呈显著正相关（R²=0.16,P<0.05,N=91）,即冰川面积缩减1 km²,对应的平均反照率下降0.0025。祁连山老虎沟12号冰川反照率在夏季有明显的海拔效应,且强于其他时段,达到0.047?（100m）^-1。典型冰川年均物质平衡量与冰川表面夏季（6—8月）平均反照率之间存在显著的正相关关系,老虎沟12号冰川和七一冰川决定系数R²分别达到了0.48（P<0.05）和0.66（P <0.05）。冰川表面夏季平均反照率这一指标能够较好地衡量青藏高原北部祁连山地区冰川物质平衡的变化。     

Dating of Little Ice Age glacier fluctuations in the tropical Andes: Charquini glaciers,Bolivia, 16°S

Fluctuations of the Charquini glaciers (Cordillera Real, Bolivia) have been reconstructed for the Little Ice Age (LIA) from a set of 10 moraines extending below the present glacier termini. A lichenometric method using the Rhizocarpon geographicum was used to date the moraines and reconstruct the main glacier fluctuations over the period. The maximum glacier extent occurred in the second half of the 17th century, followed by nearly continuous retreat with three interruptions during the 18th and the 19th centuries, marked by stabilisation or minor advances. Results obtained in the Charquini area are first compared with other dating performed in the Peruvian Cordillera Blanca and then with the fluctuations of documented glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere. Glacier fluctuations along the tropical Andes (Bolivia and Peru) were in phase during the LIA and the solar forcing appears to be important during the period of glacier advance. Compared with the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes, the major advance observed on these glaciers during the first half of the 19th century is not present in the tropical Andes. This discrepancy may be due to regional scale climate variations. To cite this article: A. Rabatel et al., C. R. Geoscience 337 (2005).     

A chronology of the Little Ice Age in the tropical Andes of Bolivia (16°S) and its implications for climate reconstruction

Dating moraines by lichenometry enabled us to reconstruct glacier recession in the Bolivian Andes since the Little Ice Age maximum. On the 15 proglacial margins studied, we identified a system of ten principal moraines that marks the successive positions of glaciers over the last four centuries. Moraines were dated by performing statistical analysis of lichen measurements based on the extreme values theory. Like glaciers in many mid-latitude mountain areas, Bolivian glaciers reached their maximal extent during the second half of the 17th century. This glacier maximum coincides with the Maunder minimum of solar irradiance. By reconstructing the equilibrium-line altitude and changes in mass-balance, we think the glacier maximum may be due to a 20 to 30% increase in precipitation and a 1.1 to 1.2 °C decrease in temperature compared with present conditions. In the early 18th century, glaciers started to retreat at varying rates until the late 19th to early 20th century; this trend was generally associated with decreasing accumulation rates. By contrast, glacier recession in the 20th century was mainly the consequence of an increase in temperature and humidity. These results are consistent with observations made in the study region based on other proxies.     

大陆型冰川与海洋型冰川物质平衡对比研究——以天山和阿尔卑斯山典型冰川为例

物质平衡是冰川对气候变化最直接的响应,是冰川变化的重要参数.大陆型冰川与海洋型冰川发育在不同的水热环境下,它们对气候变化的响应程度、过程和机理存在很大差异,因此在全球变暖背景下对这两类不同性质冰川物质平衡变化特征及其机理做一全面的对比研究意义重大.以东、西天山的乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川和图尤克苏冰川以及阿尔卑斯山东、中、西部的欣特雷斯冰川、Caresèr冰川和Sarennes冰川为参照冰川,在对比分析这五条参照冰川近60 a来物质平衡变化幅度差异和阶段性差异基础上,对大陆型冰川与海洋型冰川物质平衡变化特征及其机理进行了对比研究.结果表明:在物质平衡阶段性变化上,阿尔卑斯山参照冰川物质平衡变化具有相似的阶段性,而天山和阿尔卑斯山参照冰川之间以及天山内部两条参照冰川之间物质平衡阶段性变化存在很大的差异,可见,无论不同性质冰川还是同一性质的不同冰川,其物质平衡的阶段性变化都可能存在差异,这与不同冰川所处环境水热变化的时间差异有关,而与冰川性质无关;在物质平衡变化幅度上,海洋型冰川变化幅度明显大于大陆型冰川,原因是不同性质冰川发育的水热环境及其对气候变化敏感性差异;在前人对冰川加速消融机理的研究基础上,本文也讨论了大陆型冰川与海洋型冰川物质平衡变化的机理及其异同.     

Sensitivities of the equilibrium line altitude to temperature and precipitation changes along the Andes

Equilibrium line altitudes (ELAs) of alpine glaciers are sensitive indicators of climate change and have been commonly used to reconstruct paleoclimates at different temporal and spatial scales. However, accurate interpretations of ELA fluctuations rely on a quantitative understanding of the sensitivity of ELAs to changes in climate. We applied a full surface energy- and mass-balance model to quantify ELA sensitivity to temperature and precipitation changes across the range of climate conditions found in the Andes. Model results show that ELA response has a strong spatial variability across the glaciated regions of South America. This spatial variability correlates with the distribution of the present-day mean climate conditions observed along the Andes. We find that ELAs respond linearly to changes in temperature, with the magnitude of the response being prescribed by the local lapse rates. ELA sensitivities to precipitation changes are nearly linear and are inversely correlated with the emissivity of the atmosphere. Temperature sensitivities are greatest in the inner tropics; precipitation becomes more important in the subtropics and northernmost mid-latitudes. These results can be considered an important step towards developing a framework for understanding past episodes of glacial fluctuations and ultimately for predicting glacier response to future climate changes.     

近30 a来雅鲁藏布江流域冰川系统特征遥感研究及典型冰川变化分析

综合运用RS和GIS手段, 利用卫星遥感影像, 结合中国第一次冰川编目数据及数字高程模型(DEM), 获取了雅鲁藏布江流域不同朝向上冰川面积分布、 冰川面积随高度带分布状况统计结果, 及3个冰川聚集区21条大型海洋性冰川在1976、 1988、 2005年的冰川面积、 厚度、 冰储量及物质平衡线等基本参数, 丰富了该研究区相关冰川信息, 并统计分析了21条大型冰川面积变化状况及与气候变化的响应关系. 研究表明: 3个区域冰川在1976-1988年和1988-2005年时间段内随着气温、 降水的变化出现了相应的波动, 但总的来说在1976-2005年间, 这21条大型海洋性冰川并没有出现明显的前进或退缩现象, 这可能是由于降水的增加抵消了气温升高给冰川积累带来的不利影响, 也可能是由于大型冰川在高海拔地区有较大的积累区补给造成的, 进一步的研究亦在进展中.     

青藏高原冰川对气候变化的响应及趋势预测

青藏高原是世界上中低纬度地区最大的现代冰川分布区,这里冰川末端在近百年来总的进退变化趋势是退缩,但在本世纪初至20～30年代和70～80年代间多数冰川曾出现过稳定甚至前进。对比近百年来气候变化,冰川变化虽然滞后于温度变化,但它们之间存在着很好的对应关系,多数冰川对温度变化滞后时间在10～20年间。根据80年代以来平均物质净平衡值,大致将青藏高原划分为:内部为平衡或正平衡区;向外为负平衡区;边缘为强负平衡区。以冰川对气候响应滞后关系预测,在今后10～20年间,青藏高原边缘冰川末端仍继续处于后退,而高原内部冰川末端位置变化不大。     

Late local glacial maximum in the Central Altiplano triggered by cold and locally-wet conditions during the paleolake Tauca episode (17–15 ka,Heinrich 1)

The timing and causes of the last deglaciation in the southern tropical Andes is poorly known. In the Central Altiplano, recent studies have focused on whether this tropical highland was deglaciated before, synchronously or after the global last glacial maximum (～21 ka BP). In this study we present a new chronology based on cosmogenic ³He (³He_c) dating of moraines on Cerro Tunupa, a volcano that is located in the centre of the now vanished Lake Tauca (19.9°S, 67.6°W). These new ³He_c ages suggest that the Tunupa glaciers remained close to their maximum extent until 15 ka BP, synchronous with the Lake Tauca highstand (17–15 ka BP). Glacial retreat and the demise of Lake Tauca seem to have occurred rapidly and synchronously, within dating uncertainties, at ～15 ka BP. We took advantage of the synchronism of these events to combine a glacier model with a lake model in order to reconstruct precipitation and temperature during the Lake Tauca highstand. This new approach indicates that, during the Tauca highstand (17–15 ka BP), the centre of the Altiplano was characterized by temperature ～6.5 °C cooler and average precipitation higher by a factor ranging between ×1.6 and ×3 compared to the present. Cold and wet conditions thus persisted in a significant part of the southern tropical Andes during the Heinrich 1 event (17–15 ka BP). This study also demonstrates the extent to which the snowline of glaciers can be affected by local climatic conditions and emphasizes that efforts to draw global climate inferences from glacial extents must also consider local moisture conditions.     

中国西部冰川对近期气候变暖的响应*

中国冰川主要分布在青藏高原及周边地区,在这一广大的区域内分布有冰川46377条。研究表明,中国西部变暖显著,1950年代以来平均气温上升0.2℃/10a,其中1990年代是近千年中最暖的10年;同时,1950s以来西北各省的降水量增加了约18 ％ 。为认识这一气候变化对中国西部冰川的影响,利用遥感和地理信息系统方法,获取了近50a来5000多条冰川的变化状况。结果表明,中国西部82.2 ％ 的冰川处于退缩状态,冰川面积减少了4.5 ％ ,同时也有一些冰川处于前进状态。此外,近数十年中国西部冰川变化表现出明显的区域差异,青藏高原中部和西北部地区的冰川相对稳定,而高原周边山区的冰川物质亏损严重,处于加速退缩状态。     

基于TM/ETM+影像反演祁连山七一冰川反照率精度比较研究

冰川反照率是联系冰川与气候、 寒区水文过程的纽带, 也是制约分布式冰川能量-物质平衡模型发展的重要因子.冰雪反照率的变化会改变整个地气系统的能量收支平衡, 亦可引起局地以至全球的气候变化.利用Landsat TM/ETM+数据, 运用不同学者提出的窄波段转换宽波段的方程, 反演了祁连山七一冰川总短波段的反照率.把不同的转换方程得到反演值与实测值进行比较, 选择绝对误差最小的反演公式.结果表明: Duguay1992模型提出的方程能保证4景影像反演值与实测值的绝对误差在0.05范围内, 而气候模式输入的反照率产品要求绝对误差在0.05以内.运用该方程反演的反照率结果, 较其他方程要准确, 可为分布式冰川物质-能量平衡模型的构建提供更准确的参数数据.     

Reconstruction of specific mass balance for glaciers in Western Himalaya using seasonal sensitivity characteristic(s)

Seasonal sensitivity characteristics (SSCs) were developed for Naradu, Shaune Garang, Gor Garang and Gara glaciers, Western Himalaya to quantify the changes in mean specific mass balance using monthly temperature and precipitation perturbations. The temperature sensitivities were observed high during summer (April–October) and precipitation sensitivities during winter months (November–March), respectively. The reconstructed mass balance correlates well with the field and remote sensing measurements, available between 1980 and 2014. Further, SSCs were used with the monthly mean temperatures and precipitation estimates of ERA 20CM ensemble climate reanalysis datasets to reconstruct the specific mass balance for a period of 110 years, between 1900 and 2010. Mass balance estimates suggest that the Shaune Garang, Gor-Garang and Gara glaciers have experienced both positive and negative mass balance, whereas the Naradu glacier has experienced only negative mass balance since 1900 AD. Further, a cumulative loss of \(-133 \pm 21.5\) m.w.e was estimated for four glaciers during the observation period. This study is the first record from Indian Himalaya in evaluating the mass balance characteristics over a century scale.     

Cryospheric hazards

Glaciers are an important element of the Earth system. Glaciers provide numerous, though poorly appreciated, ecological and economic benefits. However, glacial processes can also be hazards. Local glacial hazards include catastrophic floods from lakes impounded by glaciers and their moraines, landslides and debris flows induced by glacier thinning and retreat and permafrost thaw, and enhanced seismicity and volcanism due to large‐scale deglaciation. Regionally, rivers can be affected by changes in sediment supply from glacier forefields. Perhaps the greatest hazard that glaciers pose on a global scale of coastal erosion and flooding caused by sea‐level rise. If Earth's climate continues to warm, as scientists forecast, the rate of sea‐level rise will increase and some low‐lying coastal areas will be flooded by the end of this century.     

Multivariate models for predicting glacier termini

Concerns over the rapid retreat rates of mountain glaciers have been rising as global temperatures have continued to increase. The extent of variation in the retreat of mountain glaciers can provide information about changes to different climatic conditions. Assessing the retreat rates of glaciers is crucial to assess the continuing existence of mountain glaciers and the ramifications of those retreats on water security for human societies. Therefore, mathematical and statistical models for the quantification of glacier dynamics in response to climate change are in high demand. In this research, we propose a multivariate regression model that estimates glacier change and predicts the location of glacier terminus over time, based on observed climate factors. The proposed method is applied to temporal sequences of ground observations for a number of glaciers around the globe. This model can potentially be used for monitoring glacier systems using climatic factors.     

Mountain glaciers under a changing climate

Mountain glaciers are found around the world in ranges such as the Himalaya, the Andes and the European Alps. The majority of mountain glaciers world‐wide are shrinking. However, the rugged alpine topography through which these glaciers flow governs their dynamics and impacts on the regional climate systems that modify glacier mass balance. As a result, the response of mountain glaciers to climate change is difficult to predict, and highly spatially variable even across one mountain range, particularly where orography controls precipitation distributions. To understand how mountain glaciers behave and change, geologists combine many different techniques based on direct observations and dating of glacial geology, measurements of present‐day glaciers, and predictive numerical (computer) models. Recent advances in these techniques and their applications to glacial environments have demonstrated that the glacial geological record is a rich archive of information about how climate has changed in the past, and gives greater confidence in predictions of glacier change in the future, which is required if populations living in glacerised catchments are able to adapt to the rapid response of glaciers to a changing climate.     

1980-2015年青藏高原东南部岗日嘎布山冰川变化的遥感监测

基于地形图、航空摄影相片和Landsat OLI遥感影像,对青藏高原东南部岗日嘎布山1980-2015年间的冰川变化进行了研究。结果表明： 1980-2015年,岗日嘎布山冰川面积减少679.50 km²（-24.91%）,年平均面积退缩率为0.71%·a^-1,末端海拔平均抬升了111 m。研究区范围内有10条冰川处于前进状态,冰川长度平均增加566.17 m;其余冰川均处于退缩状态,冰川长度平均减少823.49 m。与中国其他山系冰川相比,岗日嘎布山冰川面积年平均退缩速率较大,冰川长度变化速率最大,是冰川退缩最强烈的地区之一。岗日嘎布山冰川变化与气候变化关系密切,对研究区附近三个气象站5-9月平均气温和降水变化分析表明,自1980年以来,岗日嘎布山5-9月平均气温显著上升,降水变化不明显,是导致该区域冰川呈现快速退缩的主要原因。     

Latest Pleistocene glacial chronology of the Uinta Mountains: support for moisture-driven asynchrony of the last deglaciation

Recent estimates of the timing of the last glaciation in the southern and western Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah suggest that the start of ice retreat and the climate-driven regression of pluvial Lake Bonneville both occurred at approximately 16 cal. ka. To further explore the possible climatic relationship of Uinta Mountain glaciers and the lake, and to add to the glacial chronology of the Rocky Mountains, we assembled a range-wide chronology of latest Pleistocene terminal moraines based on seventy-four cosmogenic ¹⁰Be surface-exposure ages from seven glacial valleys. New cosmogenic-exposure ages from moraines in three northern and eastern valleys of the Uinta Mountains indicate that glaciers in these parts of the range began retreating at 22–20 ka, whereas previously reported cosmogenic-exposure ages from four southern and western valleys indicate that ice retreat began there between 18 and 16.5 ka. This spatial asynchrony in the start of the last deglaciation was accompanied by a 400-m east-to-west decline in glacier equilibrium-line altitudes across the Uinta Mountains. When considered together, these two lines of evidence support the hypothesis that Lake Bonneville influenced the mass balance of glaciers in southern and western valleys of the range, but had a lesser impact on glaciers located farther east. Regional-scale variability in the timing of latest Pleistocene deglaciation in the Rocky Mountains may also reflect changing precipitation patterns, thereby highlighting the importance of precipitation controls on the mass balance of Pleistocene mountain glaciers.     

1980-2011年全球不同地区冰川物质平衡变化分析

在气候变暖背景下,全球大多数冰川加速退缩,冰川物质亏损严重,呈负平衡增长趋势。利用世界冰川监测服务处（WGMS）最新刊布的物质平衡资料,对全球重点监测冰川的物质平衡现状及结果进行扼要的总结和比较,分析了1980-2011年全球不同地区冰川物质平衡的区域特征、变化过程及总体变化趋势,评估了冰川物质平衡对海平面变化的贡献。结果表明：1980-2011年,全球冰川物质亏损严重,加速退缩,平均减薄了14 m,其中阿尔卑斯山脉及太平洋海岸山脉的退缩尤为明显,平均减薄了30 m左右;各地区冰川的平均物质平衡变化趋势与全球平均趋势基本保持一致,具有典型的纬度地带性分布特征;物质平衡变化过程分为正平衡波动型、负平衡波动型及负平衡持续增长型三类,但总体上处于负平衡持续增长趋势;在全球继续增温的未来,冰川将会继续退缩,物质亏损强度不断增大,负平衡趋势不断增强。冰川物质平衡对海平面上升的贡献呈增大趋势,且与全球气温上升基本上是同步的。     

1968-2009年叶尔羌河流域冰川变化——基于第一、二次中国冰川编目数据

利用"中国冰川资源及其变化调查"项目最新冰川编目成果和中国第一次冰川编目结果, 对中国叶尔羌河流域1968-2009年冰川变化进行了分析. 结果表明:叶尔羌河流域冰川总体上处于退缩状态, 面积减少了927 km², 年平均面积减少23.2 km², 年均面积缩小比例为0.36%·a^-1, 与中国其他地区冰川退缩程度相比属于中等水平. 叶尔羌河流域不同规模冰川的退缩幅度存在差异, 小冰川大幅萎缩, 甚至消失; 规模较大的冰川相对变化幅度较小, 一些冰川出现过跃动. 从朝向分布来看, 位于南坡的冰川退缩最为严重, 而西坡较小. 冰川集中分布在海拔5 100~5 500 m和5 500~5 900 m区间, 海拔4 700~5 100 m区间的冰川面积减少最为显著. 消失冰川大多数为面积在0.2~0.5 km²的小冰川, 且朝向东北坡的冰川消失数量最多. 研究区有冰川分裂现象, 也出现了支冰川前进超覆现象, 统计表明该流域有13条冰川在前进后形成6条冰川. 1968-2009年研究区气温升高、降水增加, 总体上看, 降水增加缓解了因升温而导致的冰川退缩.