The transport of chemical components in homogeneous snowpacks on Urumqi Glacier No.1, eastern Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia

Chemical records from alpine ice cores provide an invaluable source of paleoclimatic and environ- mental information. Not only the atmospheric chemical composition but also depositional and post-depositional processes are recorded within snow/tim strata. To interpret the environmental and climatic significance of ice core records, we studied the variability of glacier snowpack chemistry by investigating homogeneous snowpacks from October 2003 to September 2006 on Urumqi Glacier No. 1 in eastern Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia. Principle Component Analysis of ionic species in dry and wet seasons revealed the impact of meltwater in redistributing ions in the snowpacks. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd principle components for dry seasons differ significantly, reflecting complex associations between depositional or/and post-depositional processes. The variability trend of ionic concentrations during the wet seasons was found to fit a Gauss Function with significant parameters. The elution factor revealed that more than half of ions are leached out during the wet seasons. Differences with respect to ion snowpack mo- bility were found. Of the ions studied SO42- was the most mobile and Mg2＋ the least mobile. A threshold relationship between air temperatures and the elution process was investigated over the study period. The results indicate that the strong melt/ablation processes and iconic redistribution occur at a threshold air temperature of 0℃. The study found that surface melt on the snowpacks is the main factor causing the alteration of the snowpack chemistry. Rainfall also has an impact on the chemistry but plays a less significant role than the surface melt.

Hydrochemical Characteristics and Solute Dynamics of Meltwater Runoff of Urumqi Glacier No.1,Eastern Tianshan,Northwest China

Hydrochemical characteristics and solute dynamics of bulk meltwater draining from Urumqi Glacier No.1 were investigated in years 2006 and 2007. The glacial meltwater was slightly alkaline with the mean pH of 7.64 and 7.61 in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In the meltwater, the dominant anions were the bicarbonate and sulphate, and the dominant cation was calcium. The concentration of major cations were varied as c（Ca2＋） 〉 c（Mg2＋） 〉 c（K＋） 〉 c（Na＋）, while the order for the cations was c（HCO3-） 〉 c（SO42-） 〉 c（NQ-） 〉 c（C1-）. The total dissolved solids （TDS） in meltwater had inverse relationships with the diurnal discharge. The major ion composition of meltwater was mainly controlled by rock weathering as inferred from the Gibbs model. Furthermore, the ion ratios and Piper diagram indicated that the main processes controlling the meltwater chemistry were carbonate weathering, pyrite weathering and feldspar weathering in rocks, and Ca2＋ and HCQ- were the dominant ions during the carbonate weathering process. Solute flux calculation at Glacier No.1 station suggested that chemical denudation rates were 11.46 and 13.90 tonkm-2.yr-1 in 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Chemical Characteristics and Environmental Significance of Fresh Snow Deposition on Urumqi Glacier No.1 of Tianshan Mountains, China

Ice and snow chemistry of alpine glaciers is crucial for the research of regional atmospheric environment change. Fresh snow samples were weekly collected from Urumqi Glacier No.1 in the Tianshan Mountains, Xin- jiang, China, and the chemical characteristics and seasonal variations of major ions, mineral dust, δ18O and trace metals were measured. Results show that the concentrations of major ions in the snow are Ca2+ > SO42-> NH4+ > NO3-> Cl-> Na+ > Mg2+ > K+, in which Ca2+ is the dominant cation, and SO42-is the dominant anion. All major ions have close positive correlations with each other except NO3-. δ18O shows positive correlation with air temperature change during the study period. Mineral dust particle and major ionic concentrations in fresh snow have obvious seasonal change, with high concentration in spring but low concentration in summer and autumn, which indicates that the chemical mass input from Asian dust activity to snow is very significant. Temporal changes of trace metals in fresh snow, e.g., Cd, Pb, Zn, Al, Fe, have shown that human-induced pollution of central Asian region also has large contribution to the snow chemistry on alpine glaciers of the Tianshan Mountains.

The processes and characteristics of mass balance on the Urumqi Glacier No. 1 during 1958-2009

As a solid reservoir, a glacier can regulate regional water resources. The annual net mass balance directly reflects the fluctuation of the glacier and climate variability. Based on 51 years of mass balance observation data, the mass balance of Tianshan Mountains Urumqi Glacier No. 1 experienced a nine times positive balance fluctuation and nine times negative balance fluctuation. There were 35 and 16 negative and positive balance years, respectively. From 1996/97 to 2008/09, 12 consecutive negative balance years were observed at Tianshan Mountains Urumqi Glacier No. 1. These results demon- strate that the Urumqi Glacier No. 1 is experiencing a strong negative balance, and the strongest negative balance, -931 mm w.e. （mm water equivalent）, during the observation period occurred in 2008. In addition, the cumulative mass balance reached 13,709 mm w.e. in 2008. However, in 2009, the mass balance was positive at 63 mm w.e. The equilibrium-line al- titude changes with the fluctuation in the mass balance, and the effective mass balance gradient is 7.4 mrn/m. In this paper, the headwaters of the Urumqi River were analyzed using meteorological data from 1958 to 2009, including the average seasonal temperature and precipitation. The results showed that the main factor associated with the mass balance variation of Glacier No. 1 is the fluctuation in the summer air temperature, followed by changes in the precipitation.

Comparative study on observed mass balance between East and West Branch of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tianshan, China

This paper is based on observed mass balance between East and West Branch of Urumqi Glacier No. l, meteorological data dur- ing 1988-2010, comparative studies the mass balance variations, and analyses the mass balance sensitivity to climate change. Re- sults show that average mass balance of East and West Branch was -532 mm/a and 435 mm/a, cumulative mass balance was 12,227 mm （ice thinned by 13.6 m） and -10,001 mm （ice thinned by 11.1 m）, respectively, and mass loss of East Branch was 97 mm/a larger than West Branch. The East and West Branch ELA （equilibrium line altitude） ascended about 176 m and 154 m, analysis shows the steady-state ELA0 was 3,942 m a.s.1, and 4,011 m a.s.1., and when East and West Branch mass balance de- creased by 100 ram, ELA ascended 20 m and 23 m, respectively. The AAR （accumulation area ratio） of East and West Branch presented an obviously decreasing trend of 34.5% and 23%, equilibrium-state AAR0 was 65% and 66%, when East and West Branch mass balance increased by 100 mm, AAR ascended 4.6% and 4.2%, respectively. Glacier mass balance was sensitive to change of net ablation, net ablation of East and West Branch increased 10x 104 m3, and mass balance decreased 110 mm and 214 mm, respectively. By analyzing mass balance sensitivity to climate change, results suggest that East and West Branch mass bal- ance decreased （increased） 463 mm and 388 mm when ablation period temperature increased （decreased） by 1 ~C, East and West Branch mass balance increased （decreased） 140 mm and 158 mm when annual precipitation increased （decreased） by 100 mm, and sensitivity of East Branch mass balance to climate change was more intense than that of West Branch.

Multi-decadal variations in glacier flow velocity and the influencing factors of Urumqi Glacier No.1 in Tianshan Mountains, Northwest China

Urumqi Glacier No. 1 is a representative glacier in the inland areas of Central Asia and is the only Chinese reference glacier in the World Glacier Monitoring Service. In this study, we explored multi-decadal variations in the flow velocity of the glacier and the influencing factors based on continuous field observations and path coefficient analysis. Results show that the glacier flow velocity decreased from 5.5 m/a in 1980/1981 to 3.3 m/a in 2010/2011. The annual variation in the direction of glacier flow velocity in the western branch and eastern branch was less than 1°–3°, and the change of glacier flow velocity in the western branch was more dramatic than that in the eastern branch. Glacier flow velocity was influenced by glacier morphology（including glacier area, glacier length, and ice thickness）, glacier mass balance and local climate conditions（air temperature and precipitation）, the glacier morphology being the leading factor. The long-term flow velocity data set of Urumqi Glacier No. 1 contributes to a better understanding of glacier dynamics within the context of climatic warming.

Influence of meteorological elements on chemical evolution of snow and ice of Urumqi Glacier No.1,eastern Tianshan Mountains

For most mountain glaciers,chemical components in snowfall are subject to the elution process under the influences of meltwater before they are preserved in ice,creating difficulties for interpreting ice core records.To understand the formation process of ice core records and analyze the influences of meteorological factors on the ice core resolution,we measured ion concentrations of snowpacks from 2003 to 2006 in the PGPI(Program for Glacier Processes Investigation)site of Urumqi Glacier No.1.The ion concentration variation in snowpack exhibits apparent seasonality.In summer,the higher snowmelt rates due to air temperature rise intensify dilution and lead to an exponential decrease in ion concentrations as the accumulated positive temperature increases.In winter,the snow ion concentrations are stable and low as a result of reduced temperature and rare precipitation.Many ions from summer precipitation are leached out by meltwater,and only the precipitation that occurs at the end of the wet season can be preserved.Through tracking the evolution of magnesium ion peaks in the snowpack,it is concluded that the ice core resolution is one year on Urumqi Glacier No.1,albeit 70%of the concentration information is lost.

Study on diversity and temporal-spatial characteristics of eukaryotic microorganisms on Glacier No.1 at the Urumqi River Head,Tianshan

Surface snow samples of different altitudes and snow pit samples were collected from Glacier No. 1 at the Urumqi River Head, Tianshan. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） was used to examine the diversity and temporal-spatial characteristics of eukaryotic microorganisms with different altitudes and depths. Results show that the eukaryotic microorganisms belong to four kingdoms--Viridiplantae, Fungi, Amoebozoa, and Alveolata. Among them, algae （especially Chlamydomonadales） were the dominant group. The diversity of eukaryotic microorganisms was negatively correlated with altitude and accumulation time, but positively correlated with 8180 values. These results indicate that temperature is the main factor for the temporal-spatial change of eukaryotic microorganisms, and the diversity of eukaryotic microorganisms could be an index for climate and environmental change.

Elevation change of the Urumqi Glacier No.1 derived from Sentinel-1A data

Accurate measurements of glacier elevation changes play a crucial role in various glaciological studies related to glacier dynamics and mass balance. In this paper, glacier elevation changes of Urumqi Glacier No.1 between August 2015 and August 2017 were investigated using Sentinel-1 A data and DInSAR technology. Meanwhile, the atmospheric delay error was corrected with the MODIS MOD05L2 products. The weight selection iteration method was applied to calibrate the glacier elevation changes in the mass balance years 2015-2016 and 2016-2017. Finally, the geodetic method was employed to calculate the elevation change values of individual stakes of Urumqi Glacier No.1. Moreover, the elevation change values corrected by the weight selection iteration method were verified. Results showed as follows:(1) the elevation of Urumqi Glacier No.1 glacier affected by atmospheric delay was 1.270 cm from 2015 to 2016. The glacier elevation affected by atmospheric delay from 2016 to 2017 was 1.071 cm.(2) The elevation change value of Urumqi Glacier No.1 was-1.101 m from 2015 to 2016, and the elevation of Urumqi Glacier No.1 decreased by 1.299 m from 2016 to 2017. The overall thickness of Urumqi Glacier No. 1 was thinning.(3) By comparing the elevation change results of individual stakes with corresponding points corrected by the weight selection iteration method, the mean squared errors of difference were 0.343 m and 0.280 m between the two mass balance years, respectively.(4) The accuracy of elevation change in non-glaciated areas was 0.039 m from 2015 to 2016 and 0.034 m from 2016 to 2017. Therefore, it is reliable to use Sentinel-1 A data and the study method proposed in this paper to calculate the elevation change of mountain glaciers with very low horizontal movement.

Effect of topography on the changes of Urumqi Glacier No.1 in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains

Topography plays an important role in determining the glacier changes.However,topography has often been oversimplified in the studies of the glacier changes.No systematic studies have been conducted to evaluate the relationship between the glacier changes and topographic features.The present study provided a detailed insight into the changes in the two branches(east branch and west branch)of Urumqi Glacier No.1 in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains since 1993 and systematically discussed the effect of topography on the glacier parameters.This study analyzed comprehensive recently observed data(from 1992/1993 to 2018/2019),including mass balance,ice thickness,surface elevation,ice velocity,terminus,and area,and then determined the differences in the changes of the two branches and explored the effect of topography on the glacier changes.We also applied a topographic solar radiation model to analyze the influence of topography on the incoming shortwave radiation(SW_(in))across the entire glacier,focusing on the difference in the SW_(in) between the two branches.The glacier mass balance of the east branch was more negative than that of the west branch from 1992/1993 to 2018/2019,and this was mainly attributed to the lower average altitude of the east branch.Compared with the west branch,the decrease rate of the ice velocity was lower in the east branch owing to its relatively increased slope.The narrow shape of the west branch and its southeast aspect in the earlier period resulted in a larger glacier terminus retreat of the west branch.The spatial variability of the SW_(in) across the glacier surface became much larger as altitude increased.The SW_(in) received by the east branch was slightly larger than that received by the west branch,and the northern aspect could receive more SW_(in),leading to glacier melting.In the future,the difference of the glacier changes between the two branches will continue to exist due to their topographic differences.This work is fundamental to understanding how topographic features affect the glacier changes,and provides information for building different types of relationship between the glacier area and ice volume to promote further studies on the basin-scale glacier classification.

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川物质平衡对气候变化的敏感性研究

应用度日物质平衡模式对天山乌鲁木齐河源１号冰川物质平衡及平衡线高度对气候变化的敏感性进行了研究．结果表明，位于大陆性气候区且具有暖季补给特征的乌鲁木齐河源１号冰川物质平衡对气候变化的敏感性要小于海洋性冰川，升温１℃或增加２０％的降水可引起平衡线上升８１ｍ或下降３１ｍ．此外，气温与降水在物质平衡形成过程中的作用是不同的，气温引起物质平衡剖面以旋转方式变化，而降水可导致其平移方式的响应．若未来升温２℃时，即使降水增加３０％，１号冰川向负平衡变化仍然不能得到遏制．

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川消融对气候变化的响应

目前气候变暖导致的冰川退缩,引起了全世界的广泛关注。以新疆天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川为例,根据1958年以来的观测资料,研究了冰川消融对气候变化的响应。结果表明,近50a来冰川在表面粒雪特征、成冰带、冰川温度、面积、厚度及末端位置等方面发生了显著变化,而这些变化均与气温的升高有着密切的联系;20世纪80年代以来的快速升温,使冰川的退缩出现了加速趋势,冰川融水径流量也呈加速增大趋势。

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川雪冰中δ^18O的演化过程

2002年9月14日-2005年3月7日,在天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川积累区雪坑中连续观测取样,频率为1次/周,分析了其中的部分表层雪样品和粒雪坑样品中的δ^(18)O。结果表明:表层雪样品的δ^(18)O具有明显的季节变化,且与月平均温度关系密切。粒雪坑样品中的δ^(18)O在9月底至次年6月初变化较小,升华对雪坑1 m以下雪冰中δ^(18)O的影响不超过-2‰,整个雪坑都较好地保持了δ^(18)O的季节变化特征。但6月初-9月底融水对雪冰中δ^(18)O的影响巨大,冬季形成的δ^(18)O低于-30‰的中、细粒雪层,经过夏季融水的改造,可成为δ^(18)O-11.6‰的粗粒雪和冰片层。融水可使雪冰中δ^(18)O的改变量>60%。在全球变暖背景下,冬季形成的低δ^(18)O雪层经过夏季融水的改造,其内的δ^(18)O可以完全被平滑。

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川气溶胶可溶性离子昼夜变化研究

在2007年4月16—23日,8月5—12日,10月20—23日3个采样时段内,分昼夜采集了16个气溶胶样品,对样品中的可溶性离子(Na+、K+、Mg2+、Ca2+、Cl-、NO3-、SO42-)进行了分析,以研究气溶胶可溶性离子的昼夜变化特征和可能的影响因素.结果表明:天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川气溶胶夜间平均离子浓度高于白天浓度,7种离子中,除NO3-在全年中的平均离子浓度表现为白天高于晚上外,其余离子的平均浓度均是夜间高于白天.区域风向的日变化是控制气溶胶浓度昼夜变化的主要影响因素,相比之下大气环流的影响则相对较弱.在所研究的8组昼夜变化事件中,Ca2+的昼夜变化最为明显,离子浓度的高值事件多出现在晚上,而其余离子在采样时段内的昼夜变化事件表现则不尽一致,无明显规律.

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川新近出现大的物质负平衡

以天山乌鲁木齐河源１号冰川１ ９９６／ １９９７年度和１９９７／１９９８年度实测物质平衡资料为基础，利用等直线法计算出１号冰川年物质平衡分别为－８５３．０ｍｍ和－７８９．９ ｍｍ，相应的 ＡＡＲ值分别为 ０．２５和 ０．３３．自１９５９以来，１９９６／１９９７年度１号冰川物质负平衡值最大，１９９７／１９９８年度次之．根据该地区气温和降水记录资料分析，造成这种结果的主导因素是气温，尤其是夏季消融期气温，其次是降水.

中国西北典型冰川区大气氮素沉降量的估算——以天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川为例

高寒冰川区氮素沉降量的变化会对区域生态系统产生显著影响,定量评估冰川区的氮沉降状况可以为修正相关模型提供重要的原始数据。通过2004年1月至2006年12月在天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川连续采样,分析了中国西北典型冰川区大气氮素的沉降特征,并估算了该区域的年均氮素沉降量。研究结果表明,1号冰川湿沉降中的硝态氮(NO-3-N)、铵态氮(NH+4-N)与总无机氮(TIN)存在着明显的季节变化特征:夏季沉降量最大,冬季最少,且与降水量表现出较好的对应关系。1号冰川氮素湿沉降的硝铵比(NO-3-N/NH+4-N)月平均值在0.3—1间波动。1号冰川TIN湿沉降量年平均值为1.51 kg/hm2(其中NH+4-N沉降量占总量的69%,而NO-3-N沉降量仅占31%),干湿沉降总量年均值为1.56 kg/hm2,总氮(TN)的干湿沉降总量年均值为3.85 kg/hm2。得到的冰川区氮素沉降量符合中国西部高寒区的一般水平,代表了该区域的本底值。

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川成冰带分布特征的再研究

通过分析2006年获取的43个雪坑和2004年的28个雪坑资料,对乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川成冰带的分布特征进行了再研究.结果表明:1号冰川东、西支消融带和渗浸-冻结带界限(平均值)分别位于海拔4068 m和4086 m,渗浸-冻结带和渗浸带的界限分别位于海拔4086 m和4122 m处;东、西支顶部的渗浸-冻结带和渗浸带界限分别位于海拔4184 m和4435 m处.与20世纪80年代末相比,1号冰川的成冰带谱整体上移,成冰带界限达到各研究时期的最高,且东支的变化幅度大于西支;消融带和冰川顶部的渗浸-冻结带面积增大,渗浸带和冰川中部的渗浸-冻结带面积缩小.

乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川雪-冰界面含氮离子迁移研究

冰川积累区雪-冰界面附近的化学物质迁移对冰芯记录的形成具有重要意义,为讨论主要含氮离子在这一界面的迁移,本研究基于2004年11月至2006年3月在天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川连续采集的64组雪冰样品分析了NO3-与NH4+的变化情况。结果表明,雪层底部干季(11月至翌年3月)含氮离子浓度的平均值高于湿季(4—10月)的,而冰层顶部离子浓度的平均值则相反,即干季的低于湿季的,雪-冰界面附近5cm与15cm尺度上均有体现;干季的离子浓度雪冰比(雪层底部与冰层顶部含氮离子浓度的比值)平均值大于湿季的,即干季雪层底部含氮离子的浓度一般高于冰层顶部的浓度,湿季其表现出相反的趋势;雪-冰界面附近含氮离子的迁移反映了环境信息的记录过程,受到融水和气温变化等因素的综合影响。

乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川2号冰洞的冰川学研究

在乌鲁木齐河源１号冰川东支末端开挖了２号冰洞。观测表明，冰温接近且略低于冰的融点；冰晶粗大，平均直径一般达十余毫米；大部具有多极大型组构；冰川底部含岩屑层的变形对冰川运动的贡献显著；冰川末端是一个应力剧变区，应变大，纵向压缩和竖向上升明显。主应变率在１０￣（－１）ａ￣（－１）的数量级。洞壁上应变椭圆主轴的伸长、缩短和旋转均自洞里向洞外增加。

乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川积累区透底冰芯地层及冰结构分析

对乌鲁木齐河源１号冰川积累区一支深达９１．６４ｍ的透底冰芯进行了详细的层位及冰结构分析，结果表明，在２０ｍ深度以内，很好地保存了原始沉积的特征，但在７０～８０ｍ深处还发现小密度的乳白色冰占优势的冰层，可能形成于小冰期，中层具有动力变质及再结晶作用共存及反复消长的结构特征（冰晶尺寸、气泡），未见单极大型组构，但出现弱竖环形组构。