The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially...The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially attempts to assess the ground ice volume in permafrost layers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by considering landform types, the corresponding lithological composition, and the measured water content in various regions. An approximation demonstrating the existence of many similarities in lithological composition and water content within a unified landform was established during the calculations. Considerable knowledge of the case study area, here called the Source Area of the Yellow(Huanghe) River(SAYR) in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has been accumulated related to permafrost and fresh water resources during the past 40 years. Considering the permafrost distribution, extent, spatial distribution of landform types, the ground ice volume at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m below the ground surface was estimated based on the data of 101 boreholes from field observations and geological surveys in different types of landforms in the permafrost region of the SAYR. The total ground ice volume in permafrost layers at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m was approximately(51.68 ± 18.81) km^3, and the ground ice volume per unit volume was(0.31 ± 0.11) m^3/m^3. In the horizontal direction, the ground ice content was higher in the landforms of lacustrine-marshland plains and alluvial-lacustrine plains, and the lower ground ice content was distributed in the erosional platforms and alluvial-proluvial plains. In the vertical direction, the volume of ground ice was relatively high in the top layers(especially near the permafrost table) and at the depths of 7.0–8.0 m. This calculation method will be used in the other areas when the necessary information is available, including landform type, borehole data, and measured water content.展开更多
A study has been carried out in part of Chenab basin,Himalaya to understand the relationship between glacio-morphological factors and change in glacial area. Initially change in areal extent of glaciers was derived fo...A study has been carried out in part of Chenab basin,Himalaya to understand the relationship between glacio-morphological factors and change in glacial area. Initially change in areal extent of glaciers was derived for two time frames(1962-2001/02 and 2001/02-2010/11). The study comprised of 324 glaciers for the monitoring period of 1962-2001/02 for,which 11% loss in glacial area was observed. Two hundred and thirty-eight glaciers were further monitored between 2001/02 and 2010/11. These glaciers showed an area loss of 1.1%. The annual deglaciation has been found to be higher during the period of 1962-2001/02 compared to 2001/02-2010/11. The spatial and temporal variability in deglaciation was also addressed usingglacio-morphic parameters. Area,length,percentage of debris cover,and various elevation parameters of glaciers were observed to have significant controls on relationships to the rate of glacial shrinkage. Largerarea and longer glaciers show a lower percentage of retreat than smaller and shorter ones. Moreover,glaciers located at lower altitudes and having gentle slopes show more area retreat. The results of area retreat in debris covered and debris free glaciers supports that the glaciers covered by debris retard ice melting at some extent. 158 glaciers were observed having no debris cover,and these exhibit 14% of loss in surface area. In glaciers having 40% debris cover,8% of deglaciation was observed. The glaciers located below equilibrium line altitude(ELA) have experienced 4.6% of deglaciation for the time frame 2001/02 – 2010/11 whereas it was found to be 1.1% for the glaciers occurring above ELA. However,theorientation of glaciers did not show any considerable influence on glacial change based on hypothesis.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(CAS)Key Research Program(No.KZZD-EW-13)National Natural Science Foundation of China(No.91647103)
文摘The ground ice content in permafrost serves as one of the dominant properties of permafrost for the study of global climate change, ecology, hydrology and engineering construction in cold regions. This paper initially attempts to assess the ground ice volume in permafrost layers on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau by considering landform types, the corresponding lithological composition, and the measured water content in various regions. An approximation demonstrating the existence of many similarities in lithological composition and water content within a unified landform was established during the calculations. Considerable knowledge of the case study area, here called the Source Area of the Yellow(Huanghe) River(SAYR) in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has been accumulated related to permafrost and fresh water resources during the past 40 years. Considering the permafrost distribution, extent, spatial distribution of landform types, the ground ice volume at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m below the ground surface was estimated based on the data of 101 boreholes from field observations and geological surveys in different types of landforms in the permafrost region of the SAYR. The total ground ice volume in permafrost layers at the depths of 3.0–10.0 m was approximately(51.68 ± 18.81) km^3, and the ground ice volume per unit volume was(0.31 ± 0.11) m^3/m^3. In the horizontal direction, the ground ice content was higher in the landforms of lacustrine-marshland plains and alluvial-lacustrine plains, and the lower ground ice content was distributed in the erosional platforms and alluvial-proluvial plains. In the vertical direction, the volume of ground ice was relatively high in the top layers(especially near the permafrost table) and at the depths of 7.0–8.0 m. This calculation method will be used in the other areas when the necessary information is available, including landform type, borehole data, and measured water content.
文摘A study has been carried out in part of Chenab basin,Himalaya to understand the relationship between glacio-morphological factors and change in glacial area. Initially change in areal extent of glaciers was derived for two time frames(1962-2001/02 and 2001/02-2010/11). The study comprised of 324 glaciers for the monitoring period of 1962-2001/02 for,which 11% loss in glacial area was observed. Two hundred and thirty-eight glaciers were further monitored between 2001/02 and 2010/11. These glaciers showed an area loss of 1.1%. The annual deglaciation has been found to be higher during the period of 1962-2001/02 compared to 2001/02-2010/11. The spatial and temporal variability in deglaciation was also addressed usingglacio-morphic parameters. Area,length,percentage of debris cover,and various elevation parameters of glaciers were observed to have significant controls on relationships to the rate of glacial shrinkage. Largerarea and longer glaciers show a lower percentage of retreat than smaller and shorter ones. Moreover,glaciers located at lower altitudes and having gentle slopes show more area retreat. The results of area retreat in debris covered and debris free glaciers supports that the glaciers covered by debris retard ice melting at some extent. 158 glaciers were observed having no debris cover,and these exhibit 14% of loss in surface area. In glaciers having 40% debris cover,8% of deglaciation was observed. The glaciers located below equilibrium line altitude(ELA) have experienced 4.6% of deglaciation for the time frame 2001/02 – 2010/11 whereas it was found to be 1.1% for the glaciers occurring above ELA. However,theorientation of glaciers did not show any considerable influence on glacial change based on hypothesis.