Spatial distribution of supraglacial debris thickness on glaciers of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor and surroundings

Debris-covered glaciers,characterized by the presence of supraglacial debris mantles in their ablation zones,are widespread in the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor(CPEC)and surroundings.For these glaciers,thin debris layers accelerate the melting of underlying ice compared to that of bare ice,while thick debris layers retard ice melting,called debriscover effect.Knowledge about the thickness and thermal properties of debris cover on CPEC glaciers is still unclear,making it difficult to assess the regional debris-cover effect.In this study,thermal resistance of the debris layer estimated from remotely sensed data reveals that about 54.0%of CPEC glaciers are debris-covered glaciers,on which the total debris-covered area is about 5,072 km2,accounting for 14.0%of the total glacier area of the study region.We find that marked difference in the extent and thickness of debris cover is apparent from region to region,as well as the debris-cover effect.53.3%of the total debris-covered area of the study region is concentrated in Karakoram,followed by Pamir with 30.2%of the total debris-covered area.As revealed by the thermal resistance,the debris thickness is thick in Hindu Kush on average,with the mean thermal resistance of 7.0×10^-2((m^2∙K)/W),followed by Karakoram,while the thickness in western Himalaya is thin with the mean value of 2.0×10^-2((m^2∙K)/W).Our findings provide a basis for better assessments of changes in debriscovered glaciers and their associated hydrological impacts in the CPEC and surroundings.

Thickness estimation of the Longbasaba Glacier:methods and application

A total of 71,177 glaciers exist on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,according to the Randolph Glacier Inventory(RGI 6.0).Despite their large number,glacier ice thickness data are relatively scarce.This study utilizes digital elevation model data and ground-penetrating radar thickness measurements to estimate the distribution and variation of ice thickness of the Longbasaba Glacier using Glacier bed Topography(GlabTop),a full-width expansion model,and the Huss and Farinotti(HF)model.Results show that the average absolute deviations of GlabTop,the full-width expansion model,and the HF model are 9.8,15.5,and 10.9 m,respectively,indicating that GlabTop performs the best in simulating glacier thickness distribution.During 1980−2015,the Longbasaba Glacier thinned by an average of 7.9±1.3 m or 0.23±0.04 m/a,and its ice volume shrunk by 0.28±0.04 km3 with an average reduction rate of 0.0081±0.0001 km^3/a.In the investigation period,the area and volume of Longbasaba Lake expanded at rates of 0.12±0.01 km^2/a and 0.0132±0.0018 km3/a,respectively.This proglacial lake could potentially extend up to 5,000 m from the lake dam.

Changes in the global cryosphere and their impacts:A review and new perspective

As one of the five components of Earth's climatic system,the cryosphere has been undergoing rapid shrinking due to global warming.Studies on the formation,evolution,distribution and dynamics of cryospheric components and their interactions with the human system are of increasing importance to society.In recent decades,the mass loss of glaciers,including the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets,has accelerated.The extent of sea ice and snow cover has been shrinking,and permafrost has been degrading.The main sustainable development goals in cryospheric regions have been impacted.The shrinking of the cryosphere results in sea-level rise,which is currently affecting,or is soon expected to affect,17 coastal megacities and some small island countries.In East Asia,South Asia and North America,climate anomalies are closely related to the extent of Arctic sea ice and snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere.Increasing freshwater melting from the ice sheets and sea ice may be one reason for the slowdown in Atlantic meridional overturning circulation in the Arctic and Southern Oceans.The foundations of ports and infrastructure in the circum-Arctic permafrost regions suffer from the consequences of permafrost degradation.In high plateaus and mountainous regions,the cryosphere's shrinking has led to fluctuations in river runoff,caused water shortages and increased flooding risks in certain areas.These changes in cryospheric components have shown significant heterogeneity at different temporal and spatial scales.Our results suggest that the quantitative evaluation of future changes in the cryosphere still needs to be improved by enhancing existing observations and model simulations.Theoretical and methodological innovations are required to strengthen social economies'resilience to the impact of cryospheric change.

BiVO_4 semiconductor sensitized solar cells

Semiconductor sensitized solar cells(SSSCs) are promising candidates for the third generation of cost-effective photovoltaic solar cells and it is important to develop a group of robust, environment-friendly and visible-light-responsive semiconductor sensitizers. In this paper, we first synthesized bismuth vanadate(Bi VO4) quantum dots by employing facile successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction(SILAR) deposition technique, which we then used as a sensitizer for solar energy conversion. The preliminary optimised oxide SSSC showed an efficiency of 0.36%, nearly 2 orders of magnitude enhancement compared with bare Ti O2, due to the narrow bandgap absorption of Bi VO4 quantum dots and intimate contact with the oxide substrate. This result not only demonstrates a simple method to prepare Bi VO4 quantum dots based solar cells, but also provides important insights into the low bandgap oxide SSSCs.