Spatial pattern recognition for near-surface high temperature increases in mountain areas using MODIS and SRTM DEM

Abrupt near-surface temperature changes in mountainous areas are a special component of the mountain climate system.Fast and accurate measurements of the locations,intensity,and width of the near-surface changes are necessary but highly difficult due to the complicated environmental conditions and instrumental issues.This paper develops a spatial pattern recognition method to measure the near-surface high temperature increase(NSHTI),one of the lesser-attended changes.First,raster window measurement was proposed to calculate the temperature lapse rate using MODIS land surface temperature and SRTM DEM data.It fully considers the terrain heights of two neighboring cells on opposite or adjacent slopes with a moving window of 3×3 cell size.Second,a threshold selection was performed to identify the NSHTI cells using a threshold of-0.65℃/100 m.Then,the NSHTI strips were parameterized through raster vectorization and spatial analysis.Taking Yunnan,a mountainous province in southwestern China,as the study area,the results indicate that the NSHTI cells concentrate in a strip-like pattern along the mountains and valleys,and the strips are almost parallel to the altitude contours with a slight northward uplift.Also,they are located mostly at a 3/5 height of high mountains or within 400 m from the valley floors,where the controlling topographic index is the altitude of the terrain trend surface but not the absolute elevation and the topographic uplift height and cutting depth.Additionally,the NSHTI intensity varies with the geographic locations and the proportions increase with an exponential trend,and the horizontal width has a mean of about 1000 m and a maximum of over 5000 m.The result demonstrates that the proposed method can effectively recognize NSHTI boundaries over mountains,providing support for the modeling of weather and climate systems and the development of mountain resources.

Performance validation of High Mountain Asia 8-meter Digital Elevation Model using ICESat-2 geolocated photons

High Mountain Asia(HMA),recognized as a third pole,needs regular and intense studies as it is susceptible to climate change.An accurate and high-resolution Digital Elevation Model(DEM)for this region enables us to analyze it in a 3D environment and understand its intricate role as the Water Tower of Asia.The science teams of NASA realized an 8-m DEM using satellite stereo imagery for HMA,termed HMA 8-m DEM.In this research,we assessed the vertical accuracy of HMA 8-m DEM using reference elevations from ICESat-2 geolocated photons at three test sites of varied topography and land covers.Inferences were made from statistical quantifiers and elevation profiles.For the world’s highest mountain,Mount Everest,and its surroundings,Root Mean Squared Error(RMSE)and Mean Absolute Error(MAE)resulted in 1.94 m and 1.66 m,respectively;however,a uniform positive bias observed in the elevation profiles indicates the seasonal snow cover change will dent the accurate estimation of the elevation in this sort of test sites.The second test site containing gentle slopes with forest patches has exhibited the Digital Surface Model(DSM)features with RMSE and MAE of 0.58 m and 0.52 m,respectively.The third test site,situated in the Zanda County of the Qinghai-Tibet,is a relatively flat terrain bed,mostly bare earth with sudden river cuts,and has minimal errors with RMSE and MAE of 0.32 m and 0.29 m,respectively,and with a negligible bias.Additionally,in one more test site,the feasibility of detecting the glacial lakes was tested,which resulted in exhibiting a flat surface over the surface of the lakes,indicating the potential of HMA 8-m DEM for deriving the hydrological parameters.The results accrued in this investigation confirm that the HMA 8-m DEM has the best vertical accuracy and should be of high use for analyzing natural hazards and monitoring glacier surfaces.

Finer topographic data improves distribution modeling of Picea crassifolia in the northern Qilian Mountains

The Qilian Mountains, a national key ecological function zone in Western China, play a pivotal role in ecosystem services. However, the distribution of its dominant tree species, Picea crassifolia (Qinghai spruce), has decreased dramatically in the past decades due to climate change and human activity, which may have influenced its ecological functions. To restore its ecological functions, reasonable reforestation is the key measure. Many previous efforts have predicted the potential distribution of Picea crassifolia, which provides guidance on regional reforestation policy. However, all of them were performed at low spatial resolution, thus ignoring the natural characteristics of the patchy distribution of Picea crassifolia. Here, we modeled the distribution of Picea crassifolia with species distribution models at high spatial resolutions. For many models, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) is larger than 0.9, suggesting their excellent precision. The AUC of models at 30 m is higher than that of models at 90 m, and the current potential distribution of Picea crassifolia is more closely aligned with its actual distribution at 30 m, demonstrating that finer data resolution improves model performance. Besides, for models at 90 m resolution, annual precipitation (Bio12) played the paramount influence on the distribution of Picea crassifolia, while the aspect became the most important one at 30 m, indicating the crucial role of finer topographic data in modeling species with patchy distribution. The current distribution of Picea crassifolia was concentrated in the northern and central parts of the study area, and this pattern will be maintained under future scenarios, although some habitat loss in the central parts and gain in the eastern regions is expected owing to increasing temperatures and precipitation. Our findings can guide protective and restoration strategies for the Qilian Mountains, which would benefit regional ecological balance.

Performance evaluation of CLM5.0 in simulating liquid soil water in high mountainous area,Northwest China

The model performance in simulating soil water content(SWC) is crucial for successfully modeling earth’s system,especially in high mountainous areas.In this study,the performance of Community Land Model 5.0(CLM5.0) in simulating liquid SWC was evaluated against observations from nine in-situ sites in the upper reach of the Heihe River Watershed(HRW),Northwest China.The CLM5.0 shows reliable performance in the study area with correlation coefficients(R) ranging between 0.79–0.93,root mean standard errors(RMSE)ranging between 0.044–0.097 m^(3)/m^(3),and the mean bias(BIAS) ranging between-0.084–0.061 m^(3)/m^(3).The slightly worse performance of CLM5.0 than CLM4.5 on alpine meadow and grassland is mainly caused by the revised canopy interception parameterization.The CLM5.0 overestimates interception and underestimates evapotranspiration(ET) on both alpine meadow and grassland during the growth period.The systematical overestimations at all the grassland sites indicate that the underestimation of ET is much larger than the overestimation of interception on grassland during growth period,while the errors of simulated interception and ET are partially canceled out on alpine meadow.Moreover,the underestimation of ET is more responsible for the overestimation of SWC than the overestimation of interception in the high mountainous area.It is necessary to estimate reasonable empirical parameter α(proportion of leaf water collection area) in interception parameterization scheme and further improve the dry surface layerbased soil evaporation resistance parameterization introduced in CLM5.0 in future researches.The performance of CLM5.0 is better under completely frozen stage than thawing stage and freezing stage,because of low variations of liquid SWC caused by extremely low hydraulic conductivity of soils.The underestimation of liquid SWC under frozen state is caused by underestimation of soil temperature,which leads to more ice mass and less liquid water in total water content.

Seasonal variations in glacier velocity in the High Mountain Asia region during 2015–2020

Velocity is an important component of glacier dynamics and directly reflects the response of glaciers to climate change.As a result,an accurate determination of seasonal variation in glacier velocity is very important in understanding the annual variation in glacier dynamics.However,few studies of glacier velocity in the High Mountain Asia(HMA)region were done.Along these lines,in this work,based on Sentinel-1 glacier velocity data,the distribution of glacier velocity in the HMA region was plotted and their seasonal variations during 2015-2020 were systematically analysed.The average glacier velocity in the HMA region was 0.053 m/d,and was positively correlated with the glacier area and slope.Glaciers in the Karakoram Mountains had the fastest average flow velocity(0.060 m/d),where the glaciers exhibited the largest average area and average slope.Moreover,glaciers in the GangdisêMountains had the slowest velocity(0.022 m/d)and the smallest average glacier area.The glacier flows were the fastest in spring(0.058 m/d),followed by summer(0.050 m/d),autumn(0.041 m/d),and winter(0.040 m/d).In addition,the glacier flows were the maximum in May,being 1.4 times of the annual average velocity.In some areas,such as the Qilian,Altun,Tibetan Interior,Eastern Kunlun,and Western Kunlun mountains,the peak glacier velocities appeared in June and July.The glacier velocity in the HMA region decreased in midsummer and reached the minimum in December when it was 75%of the annual average.These results highlight the role of meltwater in the seasonal variation in glacier flows in late spring and early summer.The seasonal velocity variation of lake-terminating glaciers was similar to that of land-terminating ones,but the former flowed faster.The velocity difference close to the mass balance line between the lake-and land-terminating glaciers was obviously greater in spring than in other seasons.In summer,the difference between the lake-and land-terminating glaciers at a normalized distance of 0.05-0.40 from the terminus was significantly greater than those of other seasons.The velocity difference between the lake-and land-terminating glaciers is closely related to the variable of ice thickness,and also to the frictional force of the terminal base reduced by proglacial lakes.Thus,it can be concluded that in addition to the variation of the glacier thickness and viscosity,the variation of glacier water input also plays a key role in the seasonal variation of glacier velocity.

Establishment of Safety Guarantee System of Mountainous Tourism——A Case Study of High and Higher Mountains

After summarizing researches on domestic and foreign tourism safety,it was found that there were few research results on mountainous tourism safety,especially tourism safety and tourism safety guarantee system of high and higher mountains with high risk.The paper had concluded hidden dangers and sources of safe accidents of mountainous tourism,and studied tourism safety guarantee system of high and higher mountains.Furthermore,it proposed that tourism safety guarantee system was composed of tourism safety policies and regulations,tourism precaution,tourism safety control,tourism safety rescue and tourism insurance;and finally pointed out components of each factor.

High Pressure Metamorphism of Garnet-Amphibole Rocks from Songshugou Area,Eastern Qinling Mountain and Its Tectonic Implication

Eclogitic garnet-amphibole rocks are scattered around me Songshugou ultramafic bodies in Qinling Mountains . Three metamorphic stages are recognized in terms of petrography, mineral chemistry and geothermobarometry . The first alhite-amphibole stage was of greenschist facies metamorphism with typical mineral assemblage of actinolite+epidote+chlorite+albite ; the pressure and temperature conditions were equal to or lower than 500MPa and about 400 ℃ .The second prograde eclogitic garnet-amphibole stage was of amphibole-eclogite fades metamorphism with typical mineral assemblage of garnet+hornblende± clinopyroxene+ruffle without ptagioclase ,the pressure condition was at least 1000- 1200MPa and the temperature about 600 ℃ .The third retrograde epidote-amphibole stage was of epidote-amphibolite fecies with assemblage of plagioclase+hornblende+epidote+ilmenite/titanite , the temperature was 500-600 ℃ and the pressure from 800MPa down to 500MPa .All three stages took place in one single tectonothermal event called Jinningian movement at about 1000Ma .The p-T path shows a hairpin shape and thus indicates a metamorphism in the sobduction environment. The metamorphk processes of the garnet- amphibole rocks thus provides a significant evidence for the pbte tectonic movement prevailing in the late Middle Proterozoic period.

Glacier mass balance in High Mountain Asia inferred from a GRACE release-6 gravity solution for the period 2002–2016

We provide estimates of glacier mass changes in the High Mountain Asia (HMA) area from April2002 to August 2016 by employing a new version of gravity solutions of the Gravity Recovery and ClimateExperiment (GRACE) twin-satellite mission. We find a total mass loss trend of the HMA glaciers at a rateof –22.17 (±1.96) Gt/a. The largest mass loss rates of –7.02 (±0.94) and –6.73 (±0.78) Gt/a are found forthe glaciers in Nyainqentanglha Mountains and Eastern Himalayas, respectively. Although most glaciers inthe HMA area show a mass loss, we find a small glacier mass gain of 1.19 (±0.55) and 0.77 (±0.37) Gt/a inKarakoram Mountains and Western Kunlun Mountains, respectively. There is also a nearly zero massbalance in Pamirs. Our estimates of glacier mass change trends confirm previous results from the analysisof altimetry data of the ICESat (ICE, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite) and ASTER (AdvancedSpaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer) DEM (Digital Elevation Model) satellites inmost of the selected glacier areas. However, they largely differ to previous GRACE-based studies which weattribute to our different post-processing techniques of the newer GRACE data. In addition, we explicitlyshow regional mass change features for both the interannual glacier mass changes and the 14-a averagedseasonal glacier mass changes. These changes can be explained in parts by total net precipitation (netsnowfall and net rainfall) and net snowfall, but mostly by total net radiation energy when compared to datafrom the ERA5-Land meteorological reanalysis. Moreover, nearly all the non-trend interannual masschanges and most seasonal mass changes can be explained by the total net radiation energy data. The massloss trends could be partly related to a heat effect due to increased net rainfall in Tianshan Mountains, QilianMountains, Nyainqentanglha Mountains and Eastern Himalayas. Our new results for the glacier mass changein this study could help improve the understanding of glacier variation in the HMA area and contribute tothe study of global change. They could also serve the utilization of water resources there and in neighboringareas.

Ataxia,acute mountain sickness,and high altitude cerebral edema

Previous investigations suggest that ataxia is common and often one of the most reliable warning signs of high altitude cerebral edema(HACE). The aim of this study was to investigate the diagnostic role of ataxia in acute mountain sickness(AMS)and HACE among mountain rescuers on the quake areas,and in approaching the relation between AMS and HACE. After the earthquake on April 14,2010,approximately 24 080 lowland rescuers were rapidly transported from sea level or lowlands to the mountainous rescue sites at 3 750 ~ 4 568 m,and extremely hardly worked for an emergency treatment after arrival. Assessments of acute altitude illness on the quake areas were using the Lake Louise Scoring System. 73 % of the rescuers were found to be developed AMS. The incidence of high altitude pulmonary edema(HAPE)and HACE was 0.73 % and 0.26 %,respectively,on the second to third day at altitude. Ataxia sign was measured by simple tests of coordination including a modified Romberg test. The clinical features of 62 patients with HACE were analyzed. It was found that the most frequent,serious neurological symptoms and signs were altered mental status(50/62,80.6 %)and truncal ataxia(47/62,75.8 %). Mental status change was rated slightly higher than ataxia,but ataxia occurred earlier than mental status change and other symptoms. The earliest sign of ataxia was a vague unsteadiness of gait,which may be present alone in association with or without AMS. Advanced ataxia was correlated with the AMS scores,but mild ataxia did not correlate with AMS scores at altitudes of 3 750~4 568 m. Of them,14 patients were further examined by computerized tomographic scanning of the brain and cerebral magnetic resonance imagines were examined in another 15 cases. These imaging studies indicated that the presence of the cerebral edema was in 97 % of cases who were clinically diagnosed as HACE(28/29). Ataxia seems to be a reliable sign of advanced AMS or HACE,so does altered mental status.

Integrating cross-sensor high spatial resolution satellite images to detect subtle forest vegetation change in the Purple Mountains,a national scenic spot in Nanjing,China

Accurate information on the location and magnitude of vegetation change in scenic areas can guide the configuration of tourism facilities and the formulation of vegetation protection measures.High spatial resolution remote sensing images can be used to detect subtle vegetation changes.The major objective of this study was to map and quantify forest vegetation changes in a national scenic location,the Purple Mountains of Nanjing,China,using multi-temporal cross-sensor high spatial resolution satellite images to identify the main drivers of the vegetation changes and provide a reference for sustainable management.We used Quickbird images acquired in 2004,IKONOS images acquired in 2009,and WorldView2 images acquired in 2015.Four pixel-based direct change detection methods including the normalized difference vegetation index difference method,multi-index integrated change analysis(MIICA),principal component analysis,and spectral gradient difference analysis were compared in terms of their change detection performances.Subsequently,the best pixel-based detection method in conjunction with object-oriented image analysis was used to extract subtle forest vegetation changes.An accuracy assessment using the stratified random sampling points was conducted to evaluate the performance of the change detection results.The results showed that the MIICA method was the best pixel-based change detection method.And the object-oriented MIICA with an overall accuracy of 0.907 and a kappa coefficient of 0.846 was superior to the pixel-based MIICA.From 2004 to 2009,areas of vegetation gain mainly occurred around the periphery of the study area,while areas of vegetation loss were observed in the interior and along the boundary of the study area due to construction activities,which contributed to 79%of the total area of vegetation loss.During 2009–2015,the greening initiatives around the construction areas increased the forest vegetation coverage,accounting for 84%of the total area of vegetation gain.In spite of this,vegetation loss occurred in the interior of the Purple Mountains due to infrastructure development that caused conversion from vegetation to impervious areas.We recommend that:(1)a local multi-agency team inspect and assess law enforcement regarding natural resource utilization;and(2)strengthen environmental awareness education.

Rong Shuan Jiao Nang in the treatment of acute mountain sickness and high altitude myocardial ischemic syndrome in Yushu

To evaluate the therapeutic effects of Rong Shuan Jiao Nang （RSJN） on treatment of acute mountain sickness （AMS） and high altitude myocardial ischemic syndrome in workers in Yushu, three groups were studied： group A （60 patients with AMS, given RSJN）, group B （15 patients with altitude myocardial ischemic syndrome, given RSJN）, and group C （control, without drugs）. All studied subjects were lowland workers who were first time entry to Yushu for work at an altitude of 4 250 m. During the course of treatment, a routing physical examina- tion was performed, AMS Lake Louise Scores were estimated, arterial oxygen saturation （SaO2）, electrocardiography and hemoglobin concentration were measured before and after using RSJN for 10 days. In group A, the effective rate was 68 %, symptomatic improvement in 54 cases （90 %） within 5 days. In group B, the effective rate was 93 %, episodes of angina pectoris stopped in 12 patients within 3 - 7 days, one lasted 8 days. After treatment, the level of SaO2 increased 15.5 %, 21.8 % and 5.6 % in group A, group B and group C, respectively. RSJN tak- en at the start of the arrival at Yushu can decrease AMS scores and facilitate cure. If taken after the illness has begun, RSJN may help lessen symptoms, especially effectively improved angina pectoris of the high altitude myocardial ischemic syndrome. Symptoms usually subside after 3 - 8 days. RSJN should be continually used lbr at least 7 days after ascent.

Industrial Poverty Alleviation Model in Southwestern High-altitude Mountainous Areas of China——A Case Study of Industrial Poverty Alleviation of Xueshan Township in Luquan County of Yunnan Province through Planting Codonopsis pilosula

Due to the severe restrictions of natural conditions and ecological environment,high-altitude mountainous areas usually become the " hard bones" in the battle against poverty. Xueshan Township,Luquan Yi and Miao Autonomous County of Yunnan Province,located in the alpine valley of Jinsha River,is a major township with wide and deep poverty,and the incidence of poverty is up to 45. 00%. In recent years,Xueshan Township has insisted on the battle against poverty,made effort to develop the Codonopsis pilosula industry,and successfully developed a road to poverty alleviation through C. pilosula industry,and formed a unique industrial poverty alleviation model by the end of 2018,the incidence of poverty dropped to 0. 74%. Based on field survey and interview,this paper analyzes and summarizes the specific practices,main results,practical experience and promotion and application measures of the poverty alleviation model of C. pilosula planting industry in Xueshan Township,in the hope of providing certain reference for the targeted poverty alleviation in similar areas in Yunnan Province and other provinces of China.

Analysis of Fragmentation Processes in High-Mountain Forests of the Centre of Mexico

High-mountain forests (>3500 masl) are the main supplier of environmental services to Mexico City and its metropolitan area. Taking as a study case the Nevado de Toluca National Park, this article focuses on the considerable reduction on the density of its forest cover, characterised by disturbances in the structure and dynamics of Pinus hartwegii. This specie is located towards the upper limits of the altitudinal gradient (3500 - 4100 masl) constituting the only pine species in the world capable to be established in those extreme environmental conditions. The information was collected through the implementation of 30 Sampling Plots (SP) of 20 × 50 mts (1000 m2) in three forest density categories: dense, semi-dense and fragmented. For each forest category, all trees ≥2.5 cm DBH were measured in 10 SPs. The measurement variables were DBH, total and commercial height, forest health and forest extraction. The results show the abundance of dense, semi-dense and fragmented forest (336, 202 and 150 trees/Ha-1), with extraction percentages of 11%, 20% and 33% respectively. The horizontal structure distribution shows the shape of an inverted J for the three conditions. However, the phytosanitary conditions of the semi-dense forests (83% infested trees) and fragmented (63% infested trees), do not guaranties the survival of the adult trees, implying an intensification of the fragmentation process for the next decade;given the reduction of the regeneration patterns due to the lack of healthy tree breeding.

Ediacarian Volcanic Rocks and Basic Dikes from the Lac Ifni Sector of the Central High Atlas Mountains:Petrographic Studies and Clinopyroxene Chemical Composition

The Ediacarian volcanic series from the Lac Ifni sector are composed of a large variety of rocks from basalts and rhyolites to intermediates facies such as andesites,rhyodacites and pyroclastites.All these rocks are intruded by dolerite dikes.Secondary processes are reflected by total serpentinization of olivine within basic andesite and by albitization

A STUDY ON THE ECOLOGICAL CLIMATES OF SOME FAMOUS TEA GROWING AREAS IN HIGH MOUNTAINOUS REGIONS OF CHINA

The tea tree [Camellia sinensis (L) Kuntze] is one of the world’s economic crops. It is an especially important crop for southern China. Environmental factors related to the tea yield and quality in some high mountain areas of China are identified in this paper. These factors are: geology, topography, climate, hydrology, soil and vegetation. Climatological factors are the most important. Using data collected from meteorological stations which are situated at the summit and the base of high mountains, this paper discusses ecological climatic problems in growing tea in China. The ecological climatic characteristics of the famous tea areas mainly included are as follows: more . amounts of clouds and fog, less percentage of sunshine, abundant rainfall and high relative humidity in the air, temperatures that rise and fall slowly, daily and annual temperature ranges that are smaller, more days that are suitable for tea growing and low wind speeds in the lee-sides and valleys of mountains. All of these

Morphology and biology of Cyclops scutifer Sars, 1863 in high mountain lakes of East Siberia (including Lake Amut)

Data on zooplankton from 13 high-mountain lakes of East Siberia have shown that the Holarctic copepod Cyclops scutifer Sars,1863 dominates among crustaceans.In July,its abundance comprised 64%-98%of the total plankton fauna in the pelagial of these lakes,approximately 30%in the littoral zone and10%in small northern thermokarst lakes.Biometric measurements and morphological descriptions based on scanning microscope images are supplemented by the data on its geographic distribution and phenology.

Phytogeographic and Syntaxonomic Diversity of High Mountain Vegetation in Dinaric Alps (Western Balkan,SE Europe)

The high alpine and subalpine vegetation of Dinaric Alps is very diverse. These are conditional on genuine patterns of development of the geological substrate, climate, soil and terrain on the mountain world, which are interconnected and spatially, and ecologically away. Also, today high mountain vegetation is extremely important indicator of global changes. In this area are many refugia of glacial biodiversity. Very illustrative example for understanding the specific forms of ecological diversity is high alpine vegetation in the area of the Balkan Peninsula. Vegetation of alpine belt of Western Balkans and Bosnia and Herzegovina is differed by extremely high level of biological and ecological diversity. Climatogenous vegetation are alpine and sub-alpine pastures above of timberline, then extra zonal forms of vegetation - glaciers, rock creeps, breaches of rocks, alpine springs, marsh, and tall greenery. This vegetation is dominant determinant of alpine ecosystems that creates their unique physiognomy and also enables prime production of biomass. It is different with extraordinary floral richness, especially in a number of endemic species and glacier relicts that are included in a large number of phytocoenoses, many of which are of endemic. In syntaxonomic sense, alpine vegetation is differentiated into lo classes： Elyno- Seslerietea, Juncetea trifidi, Salicetea herbaceae,Thalspietea rotundifolii, Asplenietea trichomanis, and Scheuchzerio-Caricetea fuscae, Montio- Cardaminetea, Loiseleurio-Vaccinietea, Mulgedio- Aconitetea and Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. These classes are differentiated into ao vegetation orders, 38 alliances and 19o associations and sub-associations. In total, that is 6o % of communities of total vegetation diversity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and 12.5% of classes of highest syntaxonomic categories in vegetation diversity of Europe.

Long-term changes and periodicity of ice phenomena in the high mountain Lake Morskie Oko(Tatra Mountains,Western Carpathians)

High montain lakes are regarded as sensitive indicators of environmental changes in local and global scales.In recent years,climate change has considerablely influenced the timing of ice phenomena in these lakes.The objective of the paper is an investigation of long-term changes and periodicity of ice phenomena in high mountain Lake Morskie Oko(1392.8 m a.s.l.)located in the Tatra Mts.in the period 1971-2020.The study employed the Lomb-Scargle periodogram,linear regression modelling for temporal trends,correlation analysis,parameters of variability,and flashiness index.Periodicity of the duration of ice phenomena(~5.4 y)and ice cover on the lake(~13.5 y)was observed,although both are statistically insignificant.Ice cover duration has been interrupted several times by winter thaws after 1996 whereas no such events had been reported earlier.The trend towards a delayed appearance of ice phenomena reaches 4.0 d·decade^(-1)(p<0.001).The observed trend towards an earlier ice phenomena disappearance reaches 5.1 d·decade^(-1)(p<0.001).It results in a decline of the number of days with ice phenomena on Lake Morskie Oko at a rate of 9.0 d·decade^(-1)(p<0.001).The duration of ice cover on Lake Morskie Oko has been decreasing at a rate of 10.4 d·decade^(-1).It is attributed to later freezeup(3.9 d·decade^(-1),p<0.001)and earlier ice break-up(5.6 d·decade^(-1),p<0.001).An increasing trend of average annual air temperature(0.4°C·decade^(-1),p<0.001)in the period 1971-2020 is observed.A statistically significant correlation is recorded between ice phenomena and ice cover(beginning,end,duration),average annual air temperature,average air temperature of three summer months(June,July,August),and average air temperature of the six months period from June to November.Higher air temperature induces growing heat resources accumulated in the lake water in the summer and autumn seasons,potentially causing later initiation of ice phenomena in the lake.There is no statistically significant relationship between maximum ice thickness and any air temperature parameters.Variability of maximum ice thickness appears to have been significantly increasing in the second part of the investigated period(1996-2020).

Spatial variability between glacier mass balance and environmental factors in the High Mountain Asia

High Mountain Asia(HMA) region contains the world’s highest peaks and the largest concentration of glaciers except for the polar regions, making it sensitive to global climate change. In the context of global warming, most glaciers in the HMA show various degrees of negative mass balance,while some show positive or near-neutral balance. Many studies have reported that spatial heterogeneity in glacier mass balance is strongly related to a combination of climate parameters. However, this spatial heterogeneity may vary according to the dynamic patterns of climate change at regional or continental scale. The reasons for this may be related to non-climatic factors. To understand the mechanisms by which spatial heterogeneity forms, it is necessary to establish the relationships between glacier mass balance and environmental factors related to topography and morphology. In this study, climate, topography,morphology, and other environmental factors are investigated. Geodetector and linear regression analysis were used to explore the driving factors of spatial variability of glacier mass balance in the HMA by using elevation change data during 2000–2016. The results show that the coverage of supraglacial debris is an essential factor affecting the spatial heterogeneity of glacier mass balance, followed by climatic factors and topographic factors, especially the median elevation and slope in the HMA. There are some differences among mountain regions and the explanatory power of climatic factors on the spatial differentiation of glacier mass balance in each mountain region is weak, indicating that climatic background of each mountain region is similar. Therefore, under similar climatic backgrounds, the median elevation and slope are most correlated with glacier mass balance. The interaction of various factors is enhanced, but no unified interaction factor plays a primary role. Topographic and morphological factors also control the spatial heterogeneity of glacier mass balance by influencing its sensitivity to climate change. In conclusion,geodetector method provides an objective framework for revealing the factors controlling glacier mass balance.

Degradation of High Mountain Ecosystems in Northern Europe

Data material of a long-term high mountain ecosystem research project was used to interpret thegrazing impact of reindeers. In central Norwayinvestigations were conducted to both, areas wherereindeer grazing is excluded, and areas whereintensive pasturing is present for a long period oftime. The comparative analysis of grazing impact was based on similar environmental conditions. Theresults were transposed to northern Norway wheredramatic overgrazing had been exceeding thecarrying capacity. Using landscape ecologicalmappings, especially of vegetation and soils, theimpact of reindeer grazing in different areas becameobvious. Non-grazed lichen-dominated ecosystems of the snow-free locations functioned sensitively nearthe limit of organism survival. These localities weremost influenced by grazing as they offer the winterforage to the reindeers. So, intensive grazing incentral Norway led to landscape degradation bydestruction of the vegetation and superinduced bysoil erosion. Those features were comparable to thesituation in northern Norway, where a broad-scale destruction of the environment combined with adepression of the altitudinal belts had occurred dueto overgrazing. Functioning principles of intact high mountain systems were explained and used to interpret theenvironmental background for the understanding ofdegradation phenomena. Finally, the use of a newmodel calculating the carrying capacity of high mountain landscape was discussed.