A modern research approach and working techniques in hitherto unexamined areas, produced the following results: 1). The tongues of deca- kilometre long Karakorum glaciers belong to temperate ice-streams with an an...A modern research approach and working techniques in hitherto unexamined areas, produced the following results: 1). The tongues of deca- kilometre long Karakorum glaciers belong to temperate ice-streams with an annual meltwater output. The short Aghil glaciers on the contrary are continental, arid and cold. 2). The present-day oscillations of the Karakorum glaciers are related to their own mass, and are contrary to and independent of the actual climate. Only the short glaciers, with steep tongue fronts, show a present-day positive balance. 3). C- dated Late Glacial moraines indicate14 a 400~800 m thick valley glacier at the former confluence point of the K2-, Sarpo Laggo- and Skamri glaciers. 4). From the evidence of transfluence passes with roches moutonnées, striae and the limits of glacial polishing, as well as moraines and erratics, a High Glacial at least 1200 m thick ice-stream network between the Karakorums and the Kuen Lun north slopes was reconstructed. The Shaksgam and Yarkand valleys were occupied by glaciers coming from west Tibet. The lowest-lying moraines are to be found in the foreland down to 2000 m, indicating a depression of the High Glacial (LGM) snowline (ELA) by 1300 m. 5). The approximately 10,000 measurements of the radiation balance at up to heights of 5500 m on K2 indicate that with incoming energy near the solar constant the reflection from snow- covered ice is up to 70% greater than from rock and rock waste surfaces. 6).These results confirm for the very dry western margins of Tibet an almost complete ice sheet cover in an area with subtropical energy balance, conforming with the Ice Age hypothesis of the author which is based upon the presence of a 2.4 million km2 Tibetan inland ice sheet. This inland ice developed for the first time when Tibet was uplifted over the snowline during the early Pleistocene. As the measured subtropical radiation balance shows, it was able to trigger the Quaternary Ice Ages.展开更多
High-resolution imagery can be used to reconstruct former glacier boundaries through the identification of glacial erosional and sedimentary geomorphology. We employed moraine mapping and the accumulation–area ratio ...High-resolution imagery can be used to reconstruct former glacier boundaries through the identification of glacial erosional and sedimentary geomorphology. We employed moraine mapping and the accumulation–area ratio method(AAR), in conjunction with Landsat, Google Earth, and SRTM imagery, to reconstruct glacier boundaries and equilibrium-line altitudes(ELAs) for Mt. Kenya in the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM), the Little Ice Age(LIA), and at present. Our results show that the areas of Lewis Glacier and the Tyndall-I glacier system were 0.678 km^2 and 0.390 km^2, respectively, during the maximum of LIA. Those mean that the both glaciers have shrunken by 87.0% and 88.7%, respectively since the LIA. Area change ratios for each glacier were significantly larger in the period of 2000 through 2015 than the former periods, indicating that glacier recession has accelerated. Continuous ice loss in this region has been driven by rising temperature and fluctuating precipitation. Linear regression data for Lewis glacier show that mass balance sensitivity to dry season temperature was –315 mm w.e./℃, whereas the sensitivity to dry season precipitation was 5.2 mm w.e./mm. Our data also show that the ELA on the western slope of Mt. Kenya rose by 716-816 m from the LGM to the modern era, corresponding to that temperature rose by 5.2℃-6.5℃.展开更多
文摘A modern research approach and working techniques in hitherto unexamined areas, produced the following results: 1). The tongues of deca- kilometre long Karakorum glaciers belong to temperate ice-streams with an annual meltwater output. The short Aghil glaciers on the contrary are continental, arid and cold. 2). The present-day oscillations of the Karakorum glaciers are related to their own mass, and are contrary to and independent of the actual climate. Only the short glaciers, with steep tongue fronts, show a present-day positive balance. 3). C- dated Late Glacial moraines indicate14 a 400~800 m thick valley glacier at the former confluence point of the K2-, Sarpo Laggo- and Skamri glaciers. 4). From the evidence of transfluence passes with roches moutonnées, striae and the limits of glacial polishing, as well as moraines and erratics, a High Glacial at least 1200 m thick ice-stream network between the Karakorums and the Kuen Lun north slopes was reconstructed. The Shaksgam and Yarkand valleys were occupied by glaciers coming from west Tibet. The lowest-lying moraines are to be found in the foreland down to 2000 m, indicating a depression of the High Glacial (LGM) snowline (ELA) by 1300 m. 5). The approximately 10,000 measurements of the radiation balance at up to heights of 5500 m on K2 indicate that with incoming energy near the solar constant the reflection from snow- covered ice is up to 70% greater than from rock and rock waste surfaces. 6).These results confirm for the very dry western margins of Tibet an almost complete ice sheet cover in an area with subtropical energy balance, conforming with the Ice Age hypothesis of the author which is based upon the presence of a 2.4 million km2 Tibetan inland ice sheet. This inland ice developed for the first time when Tibet was uplifted over the snowline during the early Pleistocene. As the measured subtropical radiation balance shows, it was able to trigger the Quaternary Ice Ages.
基金supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDA19070302)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41501069,41601067)provided by the Foundation of the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences(SKLCS)at Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources(NIEER),CAS(SKLCS-OP-2017-10)
文摘High-resolution imagery can be used to reconstruct former glacier boundaries through the identification of glacial erosional and sedimentary geomorphology. We employed moraine mapping and the accumulation–area ratio method(AAR), in conjunction with Landsat, Google Earth, and SRTM imagery, to reconstruct glacier boundaries and equilibrium-line altitudes(ELAs) for Mt. Kenya in the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM), the Little Ice Age(LIA), and at present. Our results show that the areas of Lewis Glacier and the Tyndall-I glacier system were 0.678 km^2 and 0.390 km^2, respectively, during the maximum of LIA. Those mean that the both glaciers have shrunken by 87.0% and 88.7%, respectively since the LIA. Area change ratios for each glacier were significantly larger in the period of 2000 through 2015 than the former periods, indicating that glacier recession has accelerated. Continuous ice loss in this region has been driven by rising temperature and fluctuating precipitation. Linear regression data for Lewis glacier show that mass balance sensitivity to dry season temperature was –315 mm w.e./℃, whereas the sensitivity to dry season precipitation was 5.2 mm w.e./mm. Our data also show that the ELA on the western slope of Mt. Kenya rose by 716-816 m from the LGM to the modern era, corresponding to that temperature rose by 5.2℃-6.5℃.
