This study presents a 64-year （1951-2014） reconstruction of the surface mass balance of Glacier No. 31, located in the Suntar-Khayata Range of the eastern Siberia, where the ablation zone is characterized by the ext...This study presents a 64-year （1951-2014） reconstruction of the surface mass balance of Glacier No. 31, located in the Suntar-Khayata Range of the eastern Siberia, where the ablation zone is characterized by the extensive dark ice surface. We use a temperature index-based glacier mass-balance model, which computes all major components of glacier mass budget and is forced by daily air temperature and precipitation from a nearby meteorological station. The glacier shows a mean annual mass balance of -0.35 m w.e.a-1 during the past 64 years, with an acceleration of -0.50 m w.e. a^-1 during the recent years. A cumulative mass loss of the glacier is -22.3 m w.e. over the study period, about 56% of which is observed during 1991-2014. In addition to the contribution of temperature rise and precipitation decrease to recent mass loss of the glacier, an experimental analysis, in which the clean and dark ice surfaces are respectively assumed to cover the entire ablation zone, indicates that dark ice surface, caused by insoluble impurities consisting of mineral dusts, eryoconite granules, and ice algae, plays a crucial role in the changing mass balance through enhancing melt rates in the ablation zone of the glacier.展开更多
Energy balance at the glacier surface is important for understanding the impacts of climate change on glaciers. Here, we analyzed the characteristics of the glacier surface energy fluxes along with their contributions...Energy balance at the glacier surface is important for understanding the impacts of climate change on glaciers. Here, we analyzed the characteristics of the glacier surface energy fluxes along with their contributions to glacier melt on Bayi Ice Cap in Qilian Mountains by using a point-scale energy balance model. The half-hourly meteorological data from an automatic weather station(AWS) located on the glacier was used to drive the energy balance model. The model simulated results could accurately represent the mass-balance observations from the stake near the weather station during summer 2016. Our results showed the net radiation(86%) played an important role in the surface energy balance, and the contribution of the turbulent heat fluxes(14%) to the energy budget was relatively less important. A distinct behavior of energy balance, as compared to other continental glaciers in China(e.g., two adjacent glaciers Laohugou No. 12 Glacier and Qiyi Glacier), is the fact that a sustained period of positive turbulent latent flux exists on Bayi Ice Cap during August, causing faster melt rate in the month of August. Our study also presented the effect of frequent summer snowfall in slowing down surface melt by changing the surface albedo during the beginning of the melting season.展开更多
The uncertainty in assessing the numerous atmospheric pollutants transported via wind from arid and semi-arid regions is affecting the glacial ecosystem. In our study area due to the complexity of the system, a promin...The uncertainty in assessing the numerous atmospheric pollutants transported via wind from arid and semi-arid regions is affecting the glacial ecosystem. In our study area due to the complexity of the system, a prominent seasonal difference noticed among major ions(Ca^(2+), Mg^(2+), SO_4^(2-), and NO_3^-). There is a need for understanding the ions cycling as a whole and the directionality of the feedback loops in the system. Therefore, we provide an appraisal of our current hypothesis for seasonal difference in major ion concentration from snow samples for two corresponding years(2013 and 2015) at Dokriani Glacier. A systematic study of chemical compositionsin the shallow snow pit from Dokriani Glacier was undertaken for the pre-monsoon season to understand the cycling of major ions from atmosphere to solute acquisition process. The intimating connections of ions cycling in snow and its temporal behavior was observed and analyzed through various statistical tests. Among major ions, the SO_4^(2-)has the highest concentration among anions on an average considered as 14.21% in 2013 and 29.46% in 2015. On the other side Ca^(2+) is the dominant cation contributing 28.22% in 2013 and 15.3% in 2015 on average. The average ratio of Na+/Cl-was higher in 2013 whereas lower in 2015. The backward trajectory analysis suggests the possible sources of the ions transported from Central Asia through the Western Disturbance(WD) as a prominent source of winter precipitation mainly in the Central Himalaya. Ionicconcentration of Ca^(2+) in cations was highly dominated while in anion SO_4^(2-)played the major role. Factor analysis and correlation matrix suggested that, the precipitation chemistry is mostly influenced by anthropogenic, crustal, and sea salt sources over the studied region. The elemental cycling through ocean, atmosphere and biosphere opens up new ways to understand the geochemical processes operating at the glacierized catchments of the Himalaya. Moreover, increasing the field-based studies in the coming decades would also have the certain advantage in overcoming the conceptual and computational geochemical modelling difficulties.展开更多
An improved topographic database for King George Island,one of the most frequently visited regions in Antarctica,is presented.A first step consisted in combining data from differential GPS surveys gained during the au...An improved topographic database for King George Island,one of the most frequently visited regions in Antarctica,is presented.A first step consisted in combining data from differential GPS surveys gained during the austral summers 1997～1998 and 1999～2000,with the current coastline from a SPOT satellite image mosaic,topographic information from existing maps and from the Antarctic Digital Database.From this data sets,a digital terrain model (DTM) was generated using Arc/Info GIS.In a second step,a satellite image map at the scale 1∶100 000 was assembled from contour lines derived from the DTM and the satellite mosaic.A lack of accurate topographic information in the eastern part of the island was identified.Additional topographic surveying or SAR interferometry should be used to improve the data quality in that area.The GIS integrated database will be indispensable for glaciological and climatological studies and administrative and scientific purposes.In future,the application of GIS techniques will be mandatory for environmental impact studies and environmental monitoring as well as for management plans on King George Island.展开更多
基金supported by the National Basic Work Program of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China(MOST)(Grant No.2013FY111400)the Major Project of Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KZZD-EW-12-1)MEXT through the Green Network of Excellence(GRENE)Arctic Climate Change Research Project
文摘This study presents a 64-year （1951-2014） reconstruction of the surface mass balance of Glacier No. 31, located in the Suntar-Khayata Range of the eastern Siberia, where the ablation zone is characterized by the extensive dark ice surface. We use a temperature index-based glacier mass-balance model, which computes all major components of glacier mass budget and is forced by daily air temperature and precipitation from a nearby meteorological station. The glacier shows a mean annual mass balance of -0.35 m w.e.a-1 during the past 64 years, with an acceleration of -0.50 m w.e. a^-1 during the recent years. A cumulative mass loss of the glacier is -22.3 m w.e. over the study period, about 56% of which is observed during 1991-2014. In addition to the contribution of temperature rise and precipitation decrease to recent mass loss of the glacier, an experimental analysis, in which the clean and dark ice surfaces are respectively assumed to cover the entire ablation zone, indicates that dark ice surface, caused by insoluble impurities consisting of mineral dusts, eryoconite granules, and ice algae, plays a crucial role in the changing mass balance through enhancing melt rates in the ablation zone of the glacier.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41401073,41671029 and 41401040)the National Key Research and Development Programs of China(Grant No.2017YFC0504306)the Specialized Research Fund for the Doctoral Program of Higher Education(Grant No.20130211120035)
文摘Energy balance at the glacier surface is important for understanding the impacts of climate change on glaciers. Here, we analyzed the characteristics of the glacier surface energy fluxes along with their contributions to glacier melt on Bayi Ice Cap in Qilian Mountains by using a point-scale energy balance model. The half-hourly meteorological data from an automatic weather station(AWS) located on the glacier was used to drive the energy balance model. The model simulated results could accurately represent the mass-balance observations from the stake near the weather station during summer 2016. Our results showed the net radiation(86%) played an important role in the surface energy balance, and the contribution of the turbulent heat fluxes(14%) to the energy budget was relatively less important. A distinct behavior of energy balance, as compared to other continental glaciers in China(e.g., two adjacent glaciers Laohugou No. 12 Glacier and Qiyi Glacier), is the fact that a sustained period of positive turbulent latent flux exists on Bayi Ice Cap during August, causing faster melt rate in the month of August. Our study also presented the effect of frequent summer snowfall in slowing down surface melt by changing the surface albedo during the beginning of the melting season.
基金funded by the Department of Science and Technology,Government of India,New Delhi
文摘The uncertainty in assessing the numerous atmospheric pollutants transported via wind from arid and semi-arid regions is affecting the glacial ecosystem. In our study area due to the complexity of the system, a prominent seasonal difference noticed among major ions(Ca^(2+), Mg^(2+), SO_4^(2-), and NO_3^-). There is a need for understanding the ions cycling as a whole and the directionality of the feedback loops in the system. Therefore, we provide an appraisal of our current hypothesis for seasonal difference in major ion concentration from snow samples for two corresponding years(2013 and 2015) at Dokriani Glacier. A systematic study of chemical compositionsin the shallow snow pit from Dokriani Glacier was undertaken for the pre-monsoon season to understand the cycling of major ions from atmosphere to solute acquisition process. The intimating connections of ions cycling in snow and its temporal behavior was observed and analyzed through various statistical tests. Among major ions, the SO_4^(2-)has the highest concentration among anions on an average considered as 14.21% in 2013 and 29.46% in 2015. On the other side Ca^(2+) is the dominant cation contributing 28.22% in 2013 and 15.3% in 2015 on average. The average ratio of Na+/Cl-was higher in 2013 whereas lower in 2015. The backward trajectory analysis suggests the possible sources of the ions transported from Central Asia through the Western Disturbance(WD) as a prominent source of winter precipitation mainly in the Central Himalaya. Ionicconcentration of Ca^(2+) in cations was highly dominated while in anion SO_4^(2-)played the major role. Factor analysis and correlation matrix suggested that, the precipitation chemistry is mostly influenced by anthropogenic, crustal, and sea salt sources over the studied region. The elemental cycling through ocean, atmosphere and biosphere opens up new ways to understand the geochemical processes operating at the glacierized catchments of the Himalaya. Moreover, increasing the field-based studies in the coming decades would also have the certain advantage in overcoming the conceptual and computational geochemical modelling difficulties.
文摘An improved topographic database for King George Island,one of the most frequently visited regions in Antarctica,is presented.A first step consisted in combining data from differential GPS surveys gained during the austral summers 1997～1998 and 1999～2000,with the current coastline from a SPOT satellite image mosaic,topographic information from existing maps and from the Antarctic Digital Database.From this data sets,a digital terrain model (DTM) was generated using Arc/Info GIS.In a second step,a satellite image map at the scale 1∶100 000 was assembled from contour lines derived from the DTM and the satellite mosaic.A lack of accurate topographic information in the eastern part of the island was identified.Additional topographic surveying or SAR interferometry should be used to improve the data quality in that area.The GIS integrated database will be indispensable for glaciological and climatological studies and administrative and scientific purposes.In future,the application of GIS techniques will be mandatory for environmental impact studies and environmental monitoring as well as for management plans on King George Island.
