Development of tongue-shaped and multilobate rock glaciers in alpine environments – Interpretations from ground penetrating radar surveys

Rock glaciers occur as lobate or tongue-shaped landforms composed of mixtures of poorly sorted, angular to blocky rock debris and ice. These landforms serve as primary sinks for ice and water storage in mountainous areas and represent transitional forms in the debris transport system, accounting for ~ 60% of all mass transport in some alpine regions. Observations of active (flowing) alpine rock glaciers indicate a common association between the debris that originates from cirque headwalls and the depositional lobes that comprise them. The delivery of this debris to the rock glacier is regulated primarily by the rate of headwall erosion and the point of origin of debris along the headwall. These factors control the relative movement of individual depositional lobes as well as the overall rate of propagation of a rock glacier. In recent geophysical studies, a number of alpine rock glaciers on Prins Karls Forland and Nordenskiöldland, Svalbard, Norway, and the San Juan Mountains of southwest Colorado, USA, have been imaged using ground penetrating radar (GPR) to determine if a relationship exists between the internal structure and surface morphology. Results indicate that the overall morphologic expression of alpine rock glaciers is related to lobate deposition during catastrophic episodes of rockfall that originated from associated cirque headwalls. Longitudinal GPR profiles from alpine rock glaciers examined in this study suggests that the difference in gross morphology between the lobate and tongue-shaped rock glaciers can be attributed primarily (but not exclusively) to cirque geometry, frequency and locations of debris discharge within the cirque, and the trend and magnitude of valley gradient in relation to cirque orientation. Collectively, these factors determine the manner in which high magnitude debris discharges, which seem to be the primary mechanism of formation, accumulate to form these rock glaciers.     

典型季风海洋型冰川流域水循环过程变化对气候变暖的响应(英文)

Studying the response to warming of hydrological systems in China’s temperate glacier region is essential in order to provide information required for sustainable development.The results indicated the warming climate has had an impact on the hydrological cycle.As the glacier area subject to melting has increased and the ablation season has become longer,the contribution of meltwater to annual river discharge has increased.The earlier onset of ablation at higher elevation glaciers has resulted in the period of minimum discharge occurring earlier in the year.Seasonal runoff variations are dominated by snow and glacier melt,and an increase of meltwater has resulted in changes of the annual water cycle in the Lijiang Basin and Hailuogou Basin.The increase amplitude of runoff in the downstream region of the glacial area is much stronger than that of precipitation,resulting from the prominent increase of meltwater from glacier region in two basins.Continued observations in the glacierized basins should be undertaken in order to monitor changes,to reveal the relationships between climate,glaciers,hydrology and water supplies,and to assist in maintaining sustainable regional development.     

中亚天山山区冰雪变化及其对区域水资源的影响

冰川和积雪是构成山区固体水库的主体,对区域水资源稳定性具有调节功能,但深受气候变化的影响。以中亚天山为研究区域,基于长时间序列的观测数据,分别从冰川、积雪、水储量、径流等方面进行分析,并选取阿克苏河、开都河及乌鲁木齐河3个典型流域,研究天山山区冰雪变化对流域水资源的影响。结果表明：① 冰川退缩速率与面积的函数关系为f（x） = -0.53×x^-0.15 （R² = 0.42,RMSE = 0.086）,说明小型冰川对气候变化的响应更为敏感。同时,中低海拔区域的冰川退缩速率大于高海拔区域;② 2003-2015年天山山区水储量的递减速率为-0.7±1.53 cm/a,天山中部区域的递减速率最大,这一结果与该区域冰川急剧退缩相吻合;③ 近半个多世纪以来,冰雪融水径流增加是这3个典型流域径流量增加的主要原因,其中阿克苏河增幅最大（达0.4×10⁸ m³/a）。但自20世纪90年代中期以来,3个流域的径流量都呈减少趋势,与流域内冰川面积减少、厚度变薄及平衡线海拔升高的关系密切。研究结果揭示了气候变化驱动下的山区固态水体储量变化对流域水资源的影响机制,以期为流域水资源管理提供有价值的决策参考。     

Streamflow trends and hydrological response to climatic change in Tarim headwater basin

This paper has studied the change of streamflow and the impact of climatic vari-ability conditions on regional hydrological cycle in the headwater of the Tarim River Basin. This study investigates possible causes of observed trends in streamflow in an environment which is highly variable in terms of atmospheric conditions, and where snow and ice melt play an important role in the natural hydrological regime. The discharge trends of three head streams have a significant increase trend from 1957 to 2002 with the Mann–Kendall test. Complex time-frequency distributions in the streamflow regime are demonstrated especially by Morlet wavelet analysis over 40 years. The purpose is to ascertain the nature of climatic factors spatial and temporal distribution, involved the use of EOF (Empirical Orthogonal Function) to compare the dominant temperature, precipitation and evaporation patterns from normally climatic records over the Tarim’s headwater basin. It shows that the first principal component was dominated since the 1990s for temperature and precipitation, which identifies the significant ascending trend of spatial and temporal pattern characteristics under the con-dition of the global warming. An exponential correlation is highlighted between surface air temperature and mean river discharge monthly, so the regional runoff increases by 10%–16% when surface air temperature rises by 1℃. Results suggest that headwater basins are the most vulnerable environments from the point of view of climate change, because their wa-tershed properties promote runoff feeding by glacier and snow melt water and their funda-mental vulnerability to temperature changes affects rainfall, snowfall, and glacier and ice melt.     

气候变化对中亚天山山区水资源影响研究

本文结合资料分析和文献阅读,对全球气候变化背景下的中亚天山山区水文、水资源变化进行了讨论分析。在全球升温滞缓背景下,中亚天山山区在过去的10余年,气温却一直处于高位态波动状态;气候变暖及持续高位态波动加剧了山区冰川和积雪等固态水体的消融,导致山区降雪率降低,天山山区降雪率从1960-1998年的11%~24%降低到2000年以来的9%~21%,有97.52%的冰川表现为退缩状态,水储量呈明显减少趋势,减小幅度约为-3.72 mm/a;气候变暖直接影响区域水循环和水系统的稳定性,引起径流补给方式和水资源数量的改变,加大了水资源时空分布的不确定性。天山山区在短时期内因冰雪融水增多,会出现径流量增加现象。但在未来气候持续变暖、降水条件维持不变的条件下,河川径流量将会出现减少趋势。     

1959年来中国天山冰川资源时空变化

基于两期冰川编目数据与气象数据,对天山1959年来冰川资源的时空变化特征进行研究。研究发现：① 天山地区现有冰川7934条,面积7179.77 km²,冰储量756.48 km³。冰川数量以面积< 1 km²的冰川居多,面积以1~10 km²和≥ 20 km²的冰川为主,冰川集中分布在海拔3800~4800 m之间。② 在四级流域中,阿克苏河流域冰川面积最大为1721.75 km²,面积最小的是伊吾河流域,为56.03 km²。在各市（州）中,阿克苏地区冰川资源量最多,其面积和储量分别占天山总量的43.28%和68.85%;冰川资源量最少的市（州）是吐鲁番地区,面积和储量仅占天山总量的0.23%和0.07%。③ 1959年来,天山地区冰川面积减少了1619.82 km²（-18.41%）,储量亏损了104.78 km³（-12.16%）,其中数量以< 1 km²的冰川减少最多,面积减少以< 5 km²的冰川最为严重。④ 冰川变化呈现明显的区域差异,变化速度最快的是天山东段博格达北坡流域,变化最慢的是中部的渭干河流域。初步分析认为夏季气温显著上升带来的消融大于年内降水带来的积累是天山冰川退缩的主要原因。     

1990-2011年西昆仑峰区冰川变化的遥感监测

本文应用Landsat 5、7 TM、ETM+影像分析1990-2011年昆仑山西段昆仑峰区冰川变化特征,结果表明:1990-2011年冰川面积减少16.83 km²,退缩率仅为0.65%,冰川退缩趋势不明显。单条冰川变化有进有退,中峰冰川末端在2002-2004年以661 m/a的速率前进,初步判定为跃动冰川。1991-1998年,崇测冰川面积增加9.47 km²,冰川末端以200 m/a的速率前进,不排除有跃动冰川的可能性。尽管近年来全球气温普遍上升,大量冰川处于退缩状态,但统计已有研究结果发现近50年来青藏高原存在冰川长度、面积增加,冰川物质平衡为正的现象,表现出冰川对气候变化复杂的反馈机制。通过分析气象站点和冰芯资料,研究区周边地区气温上升、降水量缓慢增加可能是冰川微弱退缩的原因之一;增强的西风环流带来更多的降水、研究区以极大陆型大规模冰川为主,也可能是冰川退缩幅度较小的原因。     

近50 年气候变化背景下中国冰川面积状况分析

根据近年来中国典型区域冰川面积变化遥感监测数据,结合139 个地面站的气温、降水量与28 个探空站的0 ℃层高度气象资料,分析了近50 年气候变化背景下中国冰川面积状况。结果表明,研究区冰川面积从20 世纪60-70 年代的23982 km²减小到21 世纪初的21893 km²,根据冰川分布进行加权计算后冰川面积退缩了10.1%,对时间插补后得到1960 年以来的冰川面积年均变化率为0.3 % a^-1。就冰川面积变化的空间分布特征而言,天山的伊犁河流域、准噶尔内流水系、阿尔泰山的鄂毕河流域、祁连山的河西内流水系等都是冰川退缩程度较高的区域。近50 年中国冰川区夏季地面气温与大气0 ℃层高度均呈上升趋势,而降水量的增幅却相对轻微,增长的降水量不足以抵消升温对冰川的影响,气候变暖是影响冰川面积变化的主要因素。     

Estimate of Ablation Rate of Glacier Ice under a Supraglacial Debris Layer

The ablation rate under a debris layer is very difficult to measure directly at debris-covered glaciers, because the surface is highly heterogeneous, and the ablation rate varies tremendously from place to place. Heat budget considerations with a debris layer on top of glacier ice suggested that 'thermal resistance' of the debris layer could be estimated from surface temperature and the heat fluxes at the debris surface, and the ablation rate of the underlying glacier ice from the thermal resistance and meteorological data. The method was tested at the Lirung Glacier in Langtang Valley, Nepal Himalayas, using the thermal band of LANDSAT satellite for estimating surface temperature distribution of the debris top surface. The amount of melt water thus estimated was compatible with the observed discharge data from the glacier basin for periods of the monsoon season in 1985 and the pre-monsoon to the monsoon season in 1996. The investigation also revealed that the amount of discharge was much larger than the amount of precipitation over the basin, and it was suggested that the melt water from the debris-covered glacier contributes significantly to the river flow as a result of the shrinkage of the glacier.     

塔里木河流域径流变化趋势及其对气候变化的响应

This paper has studied the change of streamflow and the impact of climatic variability conditions on regional hydrological cycle in the headwater of the Tarim River Basin. This study investigates possible causes of observed trends in streamflow in an environment which is highly variable in terms of atmospheric conditions, and where snow and ice melt play an important role in the natural hydrological regime. The discharge trends of three head streams have a significant increase trend from 1957 to 2002 with the Mann-Kendall test. Complex time-frequency distributions in the streamflow regime are demonstrated especially by Morlet wavelet analysis over 40 years. The purpose is to ascertain the nature of climatic factors spatial and temporal distribution, involved the use of EOF （Empirical Orthogonal Function） to compare the dominant temperature, precipitation and evaporation patterns from normally climatic records over the Tarim＇s headwater basin. It shows that the first principal component was dominated since the 1990s for temperature and precipitation, which identifies the significant ascending trend of spatial and temporal pattern characteristics under the condition of the global warming. An exponential correlation is highlighted between surface air temperature and mean river discharge monthly, so the regional runoff increases by 10%-16% when surface air temperature rises by 1 ℃. Results suggest that headwater basins are the most vulnerable environments from the point of view of climate change, because their watershed properties promote runoff feeding by glacier and snow melt water and their fundamental vulnerability to temperature changes affects rainfall, snowfall, and glacier and ice melt.     

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.     

基于第二次冰川编目的中国冰川现状

以2004年之后的Landsat TM/ETM+和ASTER遥感影像为基础,参考第一次中国冰川目录及其他文献资料,经过影像校正、自动解译、野外考察、人工修订、交互检查和成果审定等技术环节,完成占全国冰川总面积85.5%的现状冰川编目,确定中国目前共有冰川48571条,总面积约5.18×10⁴βkm²,约占全国国土面积的0.54%,冰川储量约4.3~4.7×10³βkm³。中国冰川数量和面积分别以面积<0.5βkm²的冰川和面积介于1.0~50.0βkm²的冰川为主,面积最大的冰川是音苏盖提冰川（359.05βkm²）。中国西部14座山系（高原）均有冰川分布,其中昆仑山冰川数量最多,其次是天山、念青唐古拉山、喜马拉雅山和喀喇昆仑山,这5座山系冰川数量占全国冰川总数量的72.3%;冰川面积和冰储量位列前3位的山系分别为昆仑山、念青唐古拉山和天山,尽管喀喇昆仑山冰川数量和面积均小于喜马拉雅山,但前者冰储量高于后者。从冰川海拔分布来看,海拔4500~6500βm之间是冰川集中发育区域,约占全国冰川总面积的4/5以上。冰川资源在各流域分布差异显著,东亚内流区（5Y）是中国冰川分布数量最多、面积最大的一级流域,约占全国冰川总量的2/5以上;黄河流域（5J）是冰川数量最少、规模最小的一级流域,仅有冰川164条,面积126.72βkm²。新疆和西藏的冰川面积和冰储量约占全国冰川总面积的9/10。     

Flow velocities of active rock glaciers in the Austrian Alps

High surface flow velocities of up to 3 m a^–1 were measured near the front of three active rock glaciers in the western Stubai Alps (Rei‐chenkar) and Ötztal Alps (Kaiserberg and Ölgrube) in Tyrol (Austria) using differential GPS technology. Flow velocities have increased since about 1990. The highest velocities were recorded in 2003 and 2004, but showed a slight decrease in 2005. At the Reichenkar rock glacier, flow rates are constant throughout the year, indicating that meltwater has no significant influence on the flow mechanism. At Ölgrube rock glacier, flow velocities vary seasonally with considerably higher velocities during the melt season. Meltwater is likely to influence the flow of Ölgrube rock glacier as evident by several springs near the base of the steep front. Because the high surface velocities cannot be explained by internal deformation alone on Reichenkar rock glacier, we assume that horizontal deformation must also occur along a well defined shear zone within a water‐saturated, fine‐grained layer at the base of the frozen body. The increased surface flow velocities since about 1990 are probably caused by slightly increased ice temperature and greater amounts of meltwater discharge during the summer, a product of global warming.     

1960年以来中国天山冰川面积及气候变化

Based on the statistics of glacier area variation measured in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains since 1960,the response of glacier area variation to climate change is discussed systematically.As a result,the total area of the glaciers has been reduced by 11.5% in the past 50 years,which is a weighted percentage according to the glacier area variations of 10 drainage basins separated by the Glacier Inventory of China (GIC).The annual percentage of area changes (APAC) of glaciers in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains is 0.31% after the standardization of the study period.The APAC varies widely for different drainage basins,but the glaciers are in a state of rapid retreat,generally.According to the 14 meteorological sta-tions in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains,both the temperature and precipitation display a marked increasing tendency from 1960 to 2009 at a rate of 0.34℃·(10a)-1 and 11 mm·(10a) -1,respectively.The temperature in the dry seasons (from November to March) increases rapidly at a rate of 0.46℃·(10a)-1,but the precipitation grows slowly at 2.3 mm·(10a)-1.While the temperature in the wet seasons (from April to October) grows at a rate of 0.25℃·(10a)-1,but the precipitation increases at 8.7 mm·(10a)-1.The annual and seasonal climatic trends ac-celerate the retreat of glaciers.     

DISCHARGE AND SEDIMENT-LOAD CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HILDA ROCK-GLACIER STREAM,CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS,ALBERTA

Water discharge and sediment load characteristics of the Hilda rock-glacier stream are described for portions of the 1985 and 1986 ablation seasons. Covering an area of 1.5 km², the Hilda rock glacier yields a relatively consistent flow, generally low in suspended sediments and relatively high in total dissolved solids during the ablation season. The seasonal hydrograph shows decreasing discharge and suspended sediment load and increasing dissolved loads through the ablation season as snowmelt water sources are depleted. Superimposed on this is a diurnal hydrograph showing that daily peaks in discharge lag several hours behind daily temperature maxima. Rain events produce hydrograph anomalies and act to flush sediment, elevating suspended loads, while diluting dissolved loads. These data suggest that rock-glacier hydrological systems are more responsive to short-term and transient meteorological conditions than previously suggested in the literature. Nonetheless, the data indicate that the Hilda rock glacier is more conservative in both water and sediment yield than glacier systems of comparable size and in the same environment.     

1990-2015年喜马拉雅山东段中国和不丹边境地区冰川变化研究

利用Landsat影像,EDM影像等数据资料,使用遥感图像处理及目视解译方法提取了喜马拉雅山东段中国与不丹边境地区冰川从1990—2015年4期边界,研究其与气温降水变化关系,并选取特定冰川,对其表面流速进行估算。研究表明：1990—2015年,该地区冰川退缩速率达0.43%·a^-1,并且冰川年退缩率逐渐增大,表明冰川消融速度逐渐加快。该时段内,气温呈现明显上升趋势,导致了冰川的快速消融。通过对冰川表面流速的估算,得出中国与不丹边境地区研究选取的冰前湖对冰川流速具有促进作用,加速冰川消融。     

1978-2015年喀喇昆仑山克勒青河流域冰川变化的遥感监测

本文采用1978、1991、2001和2015年的Landsat MSS、TM、ETM+和OLI遥感影像,通过遥感图像计算机辅助分类和目视解译等方法提取冰川边界,分析喀喇昆仑山克勒青河流域冰川在1978-2015年间的进退变化。结果表明：1978-2015年间研究区冰川面积由1821.70 km2减少至1675.92 km2,减少145.78 km2,占1978年冰川总面积的8.00%;冰川消融率较低,在气候变暖的背景下反而呈现出退缩速率由快变慢的趋势。研究区东南向冰川退缩率明显高于西北向,冰川退缩率随冰川规模的增大而减小。研究区内有27处冰川在1978-2015年间发生过特殊的前进现象,面积与长度显著增加。其中,木斯塔冰川西侧冰川末端在1996-1998年间前进速度为904 m/a,乔戈里冰川东侧冰川末端在2007-2009年间前进速度为446 m/a,5Y654D0097冰川末端在1978-1990年间前进速度为238 m/a,初步判定这三条冰川为跃动冰川。以10 a为滞后期分析研究区周边气象站点资料发现：研究区气温持续升高,降水量以1981年为分界点呈现“先减后增”趋势是冰川退缩速率减慢的原因之一;此外,亚大陆型冰川性质、巨大山势条件和高山冷储作用,也可能是冰川退缩幅度较小的原因。     

近25 a布喀达坂峰冰川变化与气候的响应

利用面向对象分类方法,从Landsat影像中提取了1990年、2000年、2010年、2015年4期布喀达坂峰地区冰川空间分布数据,并利用GIS技术分析研究区最近25 a来冰川变化,探讨了冰川对气候变化的响应关系。结果表明：布喀达坂峰冰川总面积退缩了7.28 km²,退缩速率为0.29 km²·a^-1,占1990年的1.78%,且1990-2000年、2000-2010年、2010-2015年各个时段内冰川退缩速率呈较快-快-慢的状态,不同朝向的冰川退缩速率略有差异,南坡山谷冰川退缩速率最快,北坡坡面冰川次之,中段平顶冰川退缩速率最慢;冰川表面运动速度沿中流线向冰川侧脊和冰川末端递减,符合冰川运动一般规律,而不同类型的冰川其表面运动速度的时空变化具有差异性。研究发现,夏季均温的显著升高和年降水量的缓慢增加的共同作用是引起布喀达坂峰冰川退缩的主要原因。此外,地势条件和冰川自身结构等因素对冰川变化的作用也不容忽视。     

Glacier changes in the Qilian Mountains in the past half-century: Based on the revised First and Second Chinese Glacier Inventory

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 km2 and an ice volume of ~84.48 km³ from 2005 to 2010. While most glaciers are small (85.66% are <1.0 km²), some larger ones (12.74% in the range 1.0–5.0 km²) cover 42.44% of the total glacier area. The Laohugou Glacier No.12 (20.42 km²) located on the north slope of the Daxue Range is the only glacier >20 km² 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 km²) and 1192 glaciers (836.85 km²), 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 km² (–20.88%) and 21.63 km³ (–20.26%), respectively. Glaciers with areas <1.0 km² 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.     

Glacier area changes in the Nujiang-Salween River Basin over the past 45 years

Automated image classification and visual interpretation of Landsat imagery were used to extract the glacier boundary in the Nujiang-Salween River Basin (NSRB) around the years 1975, 2000, and 2020. The spatiotemporal characteristics of glacier area changes in the NSRB were determined and the reasons for the spatial heterogeneity in glacier area changes were discussed, based on comparative analyses of temperature and precipitation data from meteorological stations around the NSRB. The results indicate that 1) the total glacier area in the NSRB decreased by 477.78 km² (28.17%) at a rate of -0.62%/a in 1975-2020. Most shrinkage occurred at low and mid altitudes, with the most severe occurring at 5290-5540 m, accounting for 40% of the total shrinkage. Considering other river basins in China, the relative glacier area change rate in the NSRB was similar to that for typical inland river basins in northwest China but lower than that for other transboundary river basins in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. 2) These areal changes in the NSRB presented obvious regional differences. The glaciers in the Hengduan Mountains retreated significantly, followed by those in the Nyainqentanglha Mountains, with relatively low shrinkage observed in the Tanggula Mountains. The number of cold and hot spots indicating areal changes increased after 2000, along with their spatial heterogeneity. 3) The glacier shrinkage rate over different time intervals was positively correlated with temperature. Thus, spatial heterogeneity of climate change effects could elucidate differences in the glacier area change rate in different regions of the NSRB. The temperature rise was determined as the primary reason for the significant glacial retreat over the past 45 years. As the significant warming trend continues, the glacier area in the NSRB is likely to shrink further.