Characteristics and Environmental Significance of pH and EC in Summer Rainfall and Shallow Firn Profile at Yulong Snow Mountain,Lijiang City,China

The seasonal and inter-annual variations of pH and EC(electrical conductivity) at Yu-long(玉龙) Snow Mountain,Lijiang(丽江) City,are sensitive to precipitation variations and are important indicators of the atmospheric environment.The pH of summer rainfall at Lijiang City ranges from 6.7 to 7.4,and alkaline mineral salts dominate the variations of rainfall acidity.pH values in theshallow firn profile at Baishui(白水) Glacier No.1 range from 5.6 to 6.3,and EC values from 2.4 to 7.3 μs/cm.The ranges are lower than ...     

An Assessment of Snow Avalanche Paths and Forest Dynamics Using Ikonos Satellite Data

Abstract

Ikonos panchromatic and multispectral satellite data were acquired in October 2000 and August 2002 for a test area along US Highway 2, the southern border of Glacier National Park (GNP), Montana, USA. The research goals were to map snow avalanche paths and to characterize vegetation patterns in selected paths for longitudinal (i.e., source, track, and runout) and transverse (i.e., inner, flanking, outer) zones as part of a study of forest dynamics and nutrient flux from paths into terrestrial and aquatic systems. In some valleys, as much as 50 percent of the area may be covered by snow avalanche paths, and as such, serve as an important carbon source servicing terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Snow avalanches move woody debris down‐slope by snapping, tipping, trimming, and excavating branches, limbs, and trees, and by injuring and scaring trees that remain in‐place. Further, snow avalanches alter the vegetation structure on paths through secondary plant succession of disturbed areas. Contrast and edge enhancements, Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), and the Tasseled Cap greenness and wetness transformations were used to examine vegetation patterns in selected paths that were affected by high magnitude snow avalanches during the winter of 2001-2002. Using image transects organized in longitudinal patterns in paths and in forests, and transects arranged in transverse patterns across the sampled paths, the Tasseled Cap transforms (and NDVI values) were plotted and assessed. Preliminary results suggest that NDVI patterns are different for paths and forests, and Tasseled Cap greenness and wetness patterns are different for longitudinal and transverse zones that describe the morphology of snow avalanche paths. The differentiation of paths from the background forest and the characterization of paths by morphometric zones through remote sensing has implications for mapping forest disturbances and dynamics over time and for large geographic areas and for modeling nutrient flux in terrestrial and aquatic systems.     

南极地区数百年来气候变化的冰芯记录对比研究

随着国际横穿南极科学考察计划的实施, 近年来开展了沿中山站-Dome A考察路线的冰芯研究, 获得了伊丽莎白公主地250 a来气候环境变化的高分辨率记录. 通过与Lambert冰川流域西侧有关研究结果的对比, 揭示了该冰川谷地为东南极洲重要气候分界线的特征. 综合南极地区其它地点冰芯记录和冰盖变化研究结果, 发现以小冰期为代表的寒冷期在东南极洲较为明显, 在西南极洲则不明显, 甚或恰好相反, 表现为温暖阶段. 就东南极洲来说, 也存在明显的区域差异: 以Lambert冰川谷地为界, 东部地区, 如Wilkes Land (Law Dome), Victoria Land北部(Hercules Neve)等地, 小冰期冷期比较突出;西部地区, 如Dronning Maud Land和Mizuho高原, 情况不是很明确. Lambert冰川流域是非常特殊的地方, 虽然小冰期冷期也存在, 但1850年前后的显著高温和近100多年来的降温与南极洲其它地方都不一样, 而与南极半岛北侧一冰芯所给出的400 a温度变化记录极为相似, 我们尚不能解释为何如此遥远的两个地点具有很好的一致性而与其它地方则不一致.     

Study of thermal properties of supraglacial debris and degree-day factors on Lirung Glacier,Nepal

The extensive debris that covers glaciers in the ablation zone of the Himalayan region plays an important part in regulating ablation rates and water availability for the downstream region. The melt rate of ice is determined by the amount of heat conducted through debris material lying over the ice. This study presents the vertical temperature gradients, thermal properties in terms of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity, and positive degree-day factors for the debris-covered portion of Lirung Glacier in Langtang Valley, Nepal Himalaya using field-based measurements from three different seasons.Field measurements include debris temperatures at different debris thicknesses, air temperature, and ice melt during the monsoon(2013), winter(2013), and pre-monsoon(2014) seasons. We used a thermal equation to estimate thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity, and degree-day factors(DDF) were calculated from cumulative positive temperature and ice melt of the measurement period. Our analysis of debris temperature profiles at different depths of debris show the daily linear gradients of-20.81 °C/m, 4.05 °C/m, and-7.79 °C/m in the monsoon, winter, and pre-monsoon seasons, respectively. The values of thermal diffusivity and thermal conductivity in the monsoon season were 10 times greater than in the winter season. The large difference in these values is attributed to surface temperature and moisture content within the debris. Similarly, we found higher values of DDFs at thinner debris for the pre-monsoon season than in the monsoon season although we observed less melting during the pre-monsoon season. This is attributed to higher cumulative temperature during the monsoon season than in the pre-monsoon season. Our study advances our understanding of heat conductivity through debris material in different seasons, which supports estimating ice melt and discharge from glacierized river basins with debris-covered glaciers in the Himalayan region.     

利用DInSAR的东南极极记录和达尔克冰川冰流速提取与分析

目的 利用1996年 ERS-1/2tandem SAR数据,采用 DInSAR方法提取了极记录和达尔克冰川的冰流速,并利用冰流速转换模型和该地区的实测值进行了对比。结果表明,DInSAR结果很好地体现了整个区域的冰流速。对于内陆地区,DInSAR提取的监测点冰流速和实测值非常吻合;对于达尔克冰川的前缘,受时间差异和潮汐等因素的影响,DInSAR推求的冰流速结果略小于实测值。     

Responses to climatic changes since the Little Ice Age on Maladeta Glacier (Central Pyrenees)

The evolution of Maladeta Glacier (Maladeta massif, central Spanish Pyrenees) since the Little Ice Age maximum is analyzed in this work. The extent of the glacier was mapped into 10 stages using morainic deposits and graphic documents. Climatic data (temperature and precipitation) were reconstructed by using dendroclimatic techniques complemented by recent instrumental records. The results thus obtained confirm the control of the above mentioned climatic factors, particularly annual temperature and winter precipitation, in the evolution of Maladeta Glacier, which has receded from an extent of 152.3 ha in 1820–1830 to 54.5 ha in 2000, a 35.7% reduction in size. The rate of ice wastage has varied during that period, defining several phases of glacial stabilization (1820–1830 to 1857; 1914–1920 to 1934–1935; 1957 to 1981), moderated glacial depletion (1901–1904 to 1914–1920; 1934–1935 to 1957) and marked glacial depletion (1857 to 1901–1904; 1981 to 2000). The evolution of Maladeta Glacier is also in keeping with trends observed from other alpine Mediterranean glaciers, which have experienced a consistent rise in their equilibrium line altitudes during the 19th and 20th centuries as well as associated and prolonged periods of negative mass balance.     

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川的气候敏感性研究

依据山地冰川规模对于气候变化平衡态响应的一种统计模型,探讨了天山乌鲁木齐河源１号冰川东,西支在不同气候情景下的平衡态规模大小,根据该冰川的历史变化并应用这一统计模型,对于乌鲁木齐河源地区气候变化的趋势进行了研究。     

Structure and stability of the former subglacial drainage system of the glacier De Tsanfleuron,Switzerland

A well-developed subglacial drainage system consisting of large cavities developed in the lee of bedrock steps connected together by a network of Nye channels is exposed on an area of recently deglaciated limestone bedrock in front of Glacier de Tsanfleuron, Switzerland. This system covers some 51 per cent of the bedrock surface area, and is believed to have transported the bulk of supraglacially-derived meltwaters through the glacier. Using the cavity hydraulics model of Kamb (1987), it is shown that the geometry of the system rendered it stable against collapse by meltback of channel roofs into a tunnel-dominated system. For likely combinations of glacier geometry and meltwater discharge, the steady state water pressure in this system would have been only a small fraction of that required for flotation, and for discharges of less than about 0·5–5 m³ s^?1 water would have flowed at atmospheric pressure. The system appears to have adjusted to varying discharges by a combination of varying water pressure and changing the total cross-sectional area of flow by altering the number of active channels connecting cavities. Glacier sliding velocity would have been independent of meltwater discharge for discharges at which water flowed at atmospheric pressure, but would have risen with increasing discharge for higher flows. Velocities on the order of 0·1 m d^?1 are predicted for a realistic range of discharges and effective pressures, and these are believed to be plausible. Episodes of enhanced sliding in glaciers with similar drainage systems could be triggered by a rise in meltwater discharge across the threshold between flows at atmospheric pressure and flow under pressure from the glacier.