Changes of the Hailuogou Glacier,Mt. Gongga,China,against the Background of Global Warming in the Last Several Decades

Great change, associated with global warming, has occurred at the Hailuogou （海螺沟） glacier, Mt. Gongga （贡嘎）, China, since the early 20th century. Various data indicate that the glacier has retreated 1 822 m in the past 106 years, with an annual mean retreat of 17.2 m, and the front elevation has risen by 300 m since 1823. Comparison of glacier variations and temperature fluctuations in China and the Northern Hemisphere, over the last 100 years, indicates that glacier retreat stages occurred during the warm phase, and vice versa. Mass balance records during 1959/60-2003/04 have shown that the glacier has suffered a constant mass loss of snow and ice. The accumulated mass balance, -10.83 m water equivalent, indicates an annual mean value of -0.24 m water equivalent. The correlation between the mass balance and temperature is significant, which also indicates that climate warming is the crucial cause of glacier loss. Local hydrological and climatic data demonstrate that runoff from the glacier has been increasing both seasonally and annually. The correlation analysis and trend analysis indicate that ice and snow melted water is the main cause of an increase in the runoff. As the climate has become warmer, changes in the glacier surface morphology have obviously occurred. These include a decrease in glacier thickness, enlargement of glacial caves, and reduction of the size of clefts on the glacier surface. The ablation period has lengthened and the ablation area has expanded. A variety of factors thus provide evidence that the Hailuogou glacier has suffered a rapid loss of snow and ice as a result of climatic warming.

Observed Glaciohydrological Changes in China's Typical Monsoonal Temperate Glacier Region since 1980s

Under the background of significant climate warming since the 1980s, the glaciers in China＇s monsoonal temperate glacier region respond to the warming intensely. Based on the glaciohydrological observations at some typical glaciers from Mts. Yulong （玉龙） and Gongga （贡嘎） of Hengduan （横断） Mountains Range in the southeastern Tibetan plateau, the glaciohydrological changes in the temperate glacier region since the 1980s were investigated. First, the glacier terminus exhibited an accelerating retreat. Second, as the glacier area subject to melting has increased and the ablation season has become longer due to the warming, the ablation of glacier enhanced, leading to increasing contribution of meltwater to annual river discharge. Third, surface topography of small temperate glacier may be changed significantly by crevasses and ruptures developed in the accumulation zone and ice collapse events in the ablation zone. The observed results may indicate a signal that the survival of glaciers in China＇s monsoonal temperate glacier region is being threatened by today＇s climate warming.

贡嘎山海洋型冰川监测与研究:历史、现状与展望

贡嘎山是我国典型海洋型现代冰川发育中心之一,冰川动态与环境演替关系密切。20世纪80年代初的系统科考,将其东坡海螺沟冰川定位为我国典型海洋型冰川并开展了连续监测,之后逐步建立与完善的野外台站为冰川研究及其相关的环境与生态系统定位监测提供了重要基础平台。本文主要围绕冰冻圈地理学领域,对贡嘎山地区典型海洋型冰川的科考、定位监测及相关研究进行了回顾,并结合近年来国内外冰川学领域的发展趋势,探讨与展望未来在该地区亟需关注的与冰川学科相关的科学问题。