Response of Glacier and Lake Covariations to Climate Change in Mapam Yumco Basin on Tibetan Plateau during 1974–2003

The study of spatial and temporal covariances of glaciers and lakes would help us to understand the impact of climate change within a basin in Tibet. This study focuses on glacier and lake variations in the Mapam Yumco(玛旁雍错)Basin (covering 7 786.44 km2)by Integrationg series of spatial data from topographic maps and digital satellite images at four different times 1974, 1990, 1999,and 2003. The results indicate that (1) decreased lakes, retreated glaciers, enlarged lakes and advanced glaciers co-exist in the basin during the last 30 years; (2) glacier recession was accelerated in recent years due to the warmer climate; (3) lake areas in the basin are both reduced and enlarged by an accelerated speed with more water supplies from speeding melt glaciers or frozen ground in the last three decades.     

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。     

Impacts of Climate Warming on Alpine Glacier Tourism and Adaptive Measures:A Case Study of Baishui Glacier No.1 in Yulong Snow Mountain,Southwestern China

Alpine glaciers usually feature with best hydrothermal condition in mountain climate,and present beautiful glacier scenery,various glacier landforms,rich biodiversity,and easier accessibility,compared with continental glaciers or ice sheets.Nevertheless,Alpine glaciers are more sensitive to climate warming,and climate warming has seriously affected Alpine glaciers and surroundingenvironment.The quality and attractiveness of Alpine glaciers to tourism has been and will continue to be diminished with tourists...     

1984-2016年全球参照冰川物质平衡时空变化特征

基于世界冰川监测服务处（WGMS）发布的冰川物质平衡数据,对全球40条典型参照冰川物质平衡资料进行分析,结果表明：1984年以来,40条冰川中的36条在观测时段内处于物质平衡为负的状态,冰川普遍退缩,尤其在中纬度比较强烈;全球参照冰川物质平衡的多年平均值为-563 mm,累积物质平衡为-18 590 mm,且2000年之后出现了加速消融的变化趋势;全球参照冰川物质平衡的年代际平均值呈阶梯下降,每10年,物质平衡值下降200 mm左右;由于区域气候变化的差异性以及冰川对气候变化的响应程度不同,冰川物质平衡变化表现出显著的区域特征,物质平衡值由北到南出逐渐增大,空间上呈现出典型的纬度地带性和经度地带性特征;气温是控制冰川物质平衡变化的主要因子,物质平衡过程通常与各地区不同时间尺度的气候波动和变化显著相关。     

青藏高原典型冰川和湖泊变化遥感研究

青藏高原冰川和湖泊变化是气候变化敏感的指示器,利用地形图、航空照片、TM卫星遥感资料和其它相关研究文献资料,分析了青藏高原典型地区的冰川和湖泊变化情况.结果表明:1960-2000年期间,在气温上升、降水增加、最大可能蒸散降低的背景下,研究区内不同地区湖泊的面积变化存在比较大的空间差异.以冰川融水为主要补给的纳木错和色林错地区的主要湖泊以扩大为主,而以降水为主要补给的黄河源地区的主要湖泊则基本上全面萎缩.研究区的冰川在1960-2000年期间以退缩为主,但各地退缩的幅度有较大的差异.     

Holocene and latest Pleistocene alpine glacier fluctuations: a global perspective

Alpine glacier fluctuations provide important paleoclimate proxies where other records such as ice cores, tree rings, and speleothems are not available. About 20 years have passed since a special issue of Quaternary Science Reviews was published to review the worldwide evidence for Holocene glacier fluctuations. Since that time, numerous sites have been discovered, new dating techniques have been developed, and refined climatic hypotheses have been proposed that contribute to a better understanding of Earth's climate system. This special volume includes 12 papers on Holocene and latest Pleistocene alpine glacier fluctuations that update the seven review papers from 1988.Major findings of these 12 papers include the following: many, but certainly not all, alpine areas record glacier advances during the Younger Dryas cold interval. Most areas in the Northern Hemisphere witnessed maximum glacier recession during the early Holocene, with some glaciers disappearing, although a few sites yield possible evidence for advances during the 8.2 ka cooling event. In contrast, some alpine areas in the Southern Hemisphere saw glaciers reach their maximum post-glacial extents during the early to middle Holocene. In many parts of the globe, glaciers reformed and/or advanced during Neoglaciation, beginning as early as 6.5 ka. Neoglacial advances commonly occurred with millennial-scale oscillations, with many alpine glaciers reaching their maximum Holocene extents during the Little Ice Age of the last few centuries. Although the pattern and rhythm of these glacier fluctuations remain uncertain, improved spatial coverage coupled with tighter age control for many events will provide a means to assess forcing mechanisms for Holocene and latest Pleistocene glacial activity and perhaps predict glacier response to future impacts from human-induced climate change.     

黄河源区阿尼玛卿山典型冰川表面高程近期变化

阿尼玛卿山位于青藏高原的东缘,是黄河源区冰川分布比较集中的区域。该区域的冰川物质平衡变化研究对于冰川水资源评估及冰川对气候变化响应研究具有重要借鉴意义。通过TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X数据的干涉测量方法获得阿尼玛卿山区冰川的高分辨、高精度的数字高程模型（DEM）,与SRTM DEM进行差分获得该区域冰川2000年至2013年间的表面高程变化。对比发现：近13 a来该区域典型大冰川表面高程整体均有所下降,唯格勒当雄冰川末端区域冰川表面高程平均下降（4.16±3.70）m,冰舌中部表面高程有所增加,冰川末端区域表碛覆盖范围有所增加;哈龙冰川表面高程从末端往上呈递减下降的趋势,平均下降（8.73±3.70）m;耶和龙冰川表面平均下降了（13.0±3.70）m,但从冰川末端往上1.6 km区段表面高程平均增加约25 m,冰舌中部表面高程下降明显,对比冰川编目数据、Landsat TM图像可知,该冰川在2000年至2009年间发生过跃动,冰川末端位置前进了约500 m。总体来说,即使存在个别冰川前进现象,该区域冰川在近13 a间仍处于退缩状态。     

Response of glacier area variation to climate change in the Kaidu-Kongque river basin,Southern Tianshan Mountains during the last 20 years

Glaciers are crucial water resources for arid inland rivers in Northwest China. In recent decades, glaciers are largely experiencing shrinkage under the climate-warming scenario, thereby exerting tremendous influences on regional water resources. The primary role of understudying watershed scale glacier changes under changing climatic conditions is to ensure sustainable utilization of regional water resources, to prevent and mitigate glacier-related disasters. This study maps the current (2020) distribution of glacier boundaries across the Kaidu-Kongque river basin, south slope of Tianshan Mountains, and monitors the spatial evolution of glaciers over five time periods from 2000–2020 through thresholded band ratios approach, using 25 Landsat images at 30 m resolution. In addition, this study attempts to understand the role of climate characteristics for variable response of glacier area. The results show that the total area of glaciers was 398.21 km² in 2020. The glaciers retreated by about 1.17 km²/a (0.26%/a) from 2000 to 2020. The glaciers were reducing at a significantly rapid rate between 2000 and 2005, a slow rate from 2005 to 2015, and an accelerated rate during 2015–2020. The meteorological data shows slight increasing trends of mean annual temperature (0.02°C/a) and annual precipitation (2.07 mm/a). The correlation analysis demonstrates that the role of temperature presents more significant correlation with glacier recession than precipitation. There is a temporal hysteresis in the response of glacier change to climate change. Increasing trend of temperature in summer proves to be the driving force behind the Kaidu-Kongque basin glacier recession during the recent 20 years.© 2021 China Geology Editorial Office.     

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。     

Remote Sensing Monitoring of Glacier Changes in the Western Region of Tanggula Mountains in Recent 25 Years

This paper focuses on revealing the status quo and variation of glaciers in the western region of Tanggula Mountains. The ratio threshold, NIR water identification and visual interpretation were used to extract the boundary of glaciers based on Landsat data (TM/ETM+/OLI) from 1990 to 2015. In particular, the NIR water identification is a new method to extract glaciers from water, which is suitable to improve the traditional method of ratio threshold. This study used spatial interpolation method to evaluate temperature and precipitation changes. The kriging interpolation method was adapted to manipulate and to extract the appropriate data based on ten weather stations. Comparing to the variations and characteristics of glaciers and climate change from 1990 to 2015, we concluded that glacial retreat in the western region of Tanggula Mountains was serious. The glacier area reduced from 1 693.65 km² to 1 490.81 km², respectively, in 1990 and 2015, in general, approximately 202.84 km² (11.98%) of glacier area has been retreated in the last 25 years. Moreover, the rate of glacier decline after 2000 was much faster than the last decade of the 20th century. In addition, the decreased area of glaciers in the lower altitude basins below 5 000 meters occupied 94.84% of the total change area while the glacier above 5 000 meters almost had no change. The kriging interpolation of the meteorological data indicated that the southeast of the study area was damp and hot while the northwest was cold and dry. The characteristic of temperature distribution from the northwest to the southeast presented from low to high, and precipitation increased in the first of the study period and then decreased but both of them were not very significant. In short, the temperature of study area was increased more prominently since 2000, while the precipitation change was very weak. The mean annual temperature and precipitation of 1980-1989a, 1990-1999a, and 2000-2013a were -3.53 ℃, -3.20 ℃, -2.22 ℃, and 384.49 mm, 354.27 mm, 428.13 mm, respectively. The study found that the glacier change was consistent with temperature variation in spite of the adverse effects of increased precipitation. Therefore, the research concluded that the precipitation change was not more significant comparing to temperature change. In other words, the main reason of the rapid decrease of glaciers in study area was likely due to the rise of temperature.     

1980-2010年西藏波密地区典型冰川变化特征及其对气候变化的响应

运用遥感(RS)与地理信息系统(GIS)技术, 结合波密县1960-2010年气象数据, 分析了西藏波密地区冰川的主要分布特征和典型大冰川1980-2010年的时空变化. 结果显示: 波密县共有冰川数量2 040条, 总面积为4 382.5 km², 其中, 分布在海拔4 000~6 000 m的高山冰川总面积达4 086 km², 占冰川总面积的93.2%; 南坡分布冰川1 504条, 面积3 180.04 km², 分别占波密冰川总量的73.73%和72.56%, 而北坡占还不到三分之一. 提取1980、 1990、 2000和2010年4期面积大于20 km²的24条大冰川面积进行对比分析, 1980-2010年间波密县大冰川面积总体呈减小趋势, 由1980年的1 592.78 km²退缩至2010年1 567.04 km², 共退缩了25.74 km²; 其中, 1980-1990年冰川变化贡献最大, 冰川面积退缩了16.62 km², 占冰川总面积退缩量的64.6%. 波密县气象站数据显示, 50 a来冰川退缩主要受温度持续上升的影响, 降水量变化对冰川变化影响不大.     

Latest Pleistocene and Holocene alpine glacier fluctuations in Scandinavia

During the early Holocene abrupt, decadal to centennial-scale climate variations caused significant glacier variations in Norway. Increased freshwater inflow to the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans has been suggested as one of the most likely mechanisms to explain the abrupt and significant Lateglacial and early Holocene climatic events in NW Europe. The largest early Holocene glacier readvances occurred 11,200, 10,500, 10,100, 9700, 9200 and 8400–8000 cal. yr BP. The studied Norwegian glaciers apparently melted away at least once during the early/mid-Holocene. The period with the most contracted glaciers in Scandinavia was between 6600 and 6000 cal. yr BP. Subsequent to 6000 cal. yr BP the glaciers started to advance and the most extensive glaciers existed at about 5600, 4400, 3300, 2300, 1600 cal. yr BP, and during the ‘Little Ice Age’. Times with overall less glacier activity were apparently around 5000, 4000, 3000, 2000, and 1200 cal. yr BP. It has been proposed that several glacier advances occurred in Scandinavia (including northern Sweden) at 8500–7900, 7400–7200, 6300–6100, 5900–5800, 5600–5300, 5100–4800, 4600–4200, 3400–3200, 3000–2800, 2700–2000, 1900–1600, 1200–1000, and 700–200 cal. yr BP. Glaciers in northern Sweden probably reached their greatest ‘Little Ice Age’ extent between the 17th and the beginning of the 18th centuries. Evidence for early Holocene glacier advances in northern Scandinavia, however, has been questioned by more recent, multi-disciplinary studies. The early to mid-Holocene glacier episodes in northern Sweden may therefore be questioned.Most Norwegian glaciers attained their maximum ‘Little Ice Age’ extent during the mid-18th century. Cumulative glacier length variations in southern Norway, based on marginal moraines dated by lichenometry and historic evidence, show an overall retreat from the mid-18th century until the 1930s–40s. Subsequently, most Norwegian glaciers retreated significantly. Maritime outlet glaciers with short frontal time lags (<10–15 years) started to advance in the mid-1950s, whereas long outlet glaciers with longer frontal time lags (>15–20 years) continued their retreat to the 1970s and 1980s. However, maritime glaciers started to advance as a response to higher winter accumulation during the first part of the 1990s. After 2000 several of the observed glaciers have retreated remarkably fast (annual frontal retreat > 100 m) mainly due to high summer temperatures. The general glacier retreat during the early Holocene and the Neoglacial advances after 6000 cal. yr BP are in line with orbital forcing, due to the decrease of Northern Hemisphere summer solar insolation and the increase in winter insolation. In addition, regional weather modes, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and the Arctic Oscillation (AO), play a significant role with respect to decadal and multi-decadal climate variability.     

The increase in the magnetic flux from the polar regions of the Sun over the last 120 years

The latitudes of the zonal boundaries of the global magnetic field of the Sun are determined from the magnetic neutral lines on synoptic Hα maps obtained during 1878–1999. The area of the polar zone occupied by magnetic field of a single polarity at solar minima has doubled over the last 120 years. This provides an explanation for the secular increase in heliospheric characteristics, which differs from the two-fold increase of the magnetic field strength predicted for this period. The temporal variations of the magnetic flux from the polar regions and their role in global changes of the Earth’s climate are discussed in connection with secular variations in the structure of the internal magnetic field of the Sun.     

Is the North Atlantic Oscillation reflected in Scandinavian glacier mass balance records?

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is one of the modes of climate variability in the North Atlantic region. The atmospheric circulation during the winter season in this region commonly displays a strong meridional (north–south) pressure contrast, with low air pressure (cyclone) centred close to Iceland and high air pressure (anticyclone) near the Azores. This pressure gradient drives the mean surface winds and the mid‐latitude winter storms from west to east across the North Atlantic, bringing mild moist air to northwest Europe. The NAO index is based on the difference of normalised sea‐level pressures (SLP) between Ponta Delgada, Azores and Stykkisholmur, Iceland. The SLP anomalies at these stations are normalised by division of each monthly pressure by the long‐term (1865–1984) standard deviation. Interannual atmospheric climate variability in northwest Europe, especially over Great Britain and western Scandinavia has, during the last decades, been attributed mainly to the NAO, causing variations in the winter weather over the northeast North Atlantic and the adjacent land areas. A comparison between the NAO index and the winter (December–March) precipitation between ad 1864 and 1995 in western Norway shows that these are strongly linked (correlation coefficient 0.77). Variations in the NAO index are also reflected in the mass balance records of glaciers in western Scandinavia. The NAO index is best correlated with mass balance data from maritime glaciers in southern Norway (e.g. Ålfotbreen R² = 0.51). The record of Holocene (last ca. 11 500 cal. yr) glacier variations of maritime glaciers in western Scandinavia is thus a proxy of pre‐instrumental NAO variations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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).     

天山庙尔沟平顶冰川的基本特征和过去24a间的厚度变化

山岳冰川在20世纪出现的全面退缩以及在最近20 a的加速消融是近年来国际冰川与全球变化研究的热点问题之一.庙尔沟平顶冰川位于天山山脉的最东段,南、北、东外围为气候十分干燥的荒漠戈壁,高山冰川是哈密绿洲主要的水资源,其冰芯记录包含有起源于这一地区的沙尘暴信息.因此,对该冰川的研究一直为人们所关注.基于2004年和2005年对庙尔沟平顶冰川的考察和取得的冰芯资料,初步探讨了庙尔沟平顶冰川的基本特征和过去24 a间的厚度变化.     

Evidence of recent changes in global snow and ice cover

Data on recent variations in the seasonal extent of snow cover and sea ice, of the terminal position and volume of alpine glaciers, and of ground temperature profiles in permafrost areas are reviewed. The extent of seasonal snow cover and of sea ice has fluctuated irregularly over the last 15–20 years. There is no apparent response to global warming trends. In contrast, most glaciers retreated and thinned from the late 19th century until the 1960s and Alaskan permafrost temperatures have risen 2°–4° C per century. Recently, some glacier advances have been noted.     

中国-巴基斯坦喀喇昆仑公路Ghulkin冰川百年进退变化

巴基斯坦喀喇昆仑山的Ghulkin冰川是距离中国-巴基斯坦喀喇昆仑公路最近的典型冰川之一,其冰川的进退变化影响着喀喇昆仑公路改建工程的线路设计与工程施工.为了追溯Ghulkin冰川的活动历史和查明近期进退变化,对过去200 a的相关文献和记录进行统计分析,并开展了2008-2011年野外定点观测,总结与分析了Ghulkin冰川冰舌的活动历史与近期变化.研究表明：Ghulkin冰川在1885-1980年近百年间经历了3次前进和3次后退,在此期间冰川波动了625 m;1913-1925年冰川处于显著的前进状态,1966-1978年冰川有小段距离的前进;2008-2011年K676+660处泥石流沟道逐年抬升,2011年南坡冰川融水由K676+660改道至K676+450;2010年的南坡冰舌较1994年后退了300余米,2011年的南坡冰舌较2010年后退了15.066 m,可见在2010-2011年期间冰川处于局部短期后退状态. 中巴公路冰川泥石流等灾害不但受区域气候的影响,而且还受冰川变化的影响.未来气候变暖将会导致冰川的强烈消融和后退,冰川融水携带大量冰碛体,形成大型的冰川泥石流,对公路的安全运营造成严重威胁.     

Towards a chronology of the Late Pleistocene in the northern Alpine Foreland

Dating results from terrestrial records in the northern foreland of the Alps have been compiled in order to establish an independent chronostratigraphy for the climate history of this region. U/Th dates of peat deposited during the final phase of the Last Interglacial indicate that it lasted until at least c. 115 000 yr ago. The Early Würmian started with a period of severe cold climate causing a substitution of forest by tundra-like vegetation. It is assumed that during this period glaciers advanced to the margin of the foreland of at least the Western Alps. Sediments attributed to this glaciation are dated to about 103 000 yr. Three subsequent interstadials, all characterized by coniferous forest, were interrupted by cold stadials with steppe to tundra-like vegetation. The first interstadial is dated to about 95 000 yr. There is evidence for an interstadial with open coniferous woodland and three phases of steppe vegetation during the Middle Würmian, between c. 50000 and 30 000 yr ago. The last glaciation of the Alpine Foreland reached its maximum extension between 24 000 and 21 500 yr and glaciers rapidly collapsed before ˜17 500 yr ago. A series of minor re-advances during the Lateglacial is reported from within the Alps, but the glaciers barely reached the main Alpine valleys during this time. The last of these advances formed the Egesen moraine and occurred at about 11 800 yr ago during the Younger Dryas.     

Glacier variations in the Caucasus Mountains from 1960 to 2020北大核心CSCD

Glacial meltwater is an important freshwater resource in the Caucasus and is important for regional irrigation and hydroelectricity generation. This paper analyses the spatial and temporal patterns of glacier change in the Caucasus Mountains from 1960 to 2020 based on Landsat images, coherence images from Sentinel-1 image pairs, GLIMS glacier inventory and WGMS glacier mass balance data. The results of the study show that in 2020 there were 1912 glaciers in the Caucasus Mountains, with a total area of（1 087. 36±66. 44）km2. The total glacier area shrank by（587. 36±98. 66）km2（35. 07±5. 89%）between 1960 and 2020, with an average annual shrinkage rate of（0. 58±0. 10%）·a-1. The area shrinkage rates of Caucasian glaciers for 1960-1986, 1986-2000 and 2000-2020 are（0. 44±0. 20%）·a-1, （0. 66±0. 77%）·a-1 and（0. 96±0. 31%）·a-1, respectively, indicating that Caucasian glaciers in a state of accelerated retreat over the last 60 years. Analysis of mass balance information shows that both the Djankuat and Garabashi glaciers in the Caucasus have been in a strong negative equilibrium for nearly 60 years, with a significant acceleration of mass deficit after 2000. Analysis of climate data suggests that the strong warming is the main reason for the accelerated retreat of glaciers in the Caucasus mountains in recent decades. © 2022 The authors.