Recent geodetic mass balance and extent changes of very small glaciers in the Hulugou Basin, Central Qilian Mountains, China

Journal of earth system science

Lin Ha^3¹  Feiteng Wang^1²  Chunhai Xu^1,2³  Zhongqin Li^1⁴ 

[1] Department of Forest Protection and Conservation, Faculty of Forestry, University of Khartoum, Shambat, Sudan.^4;School of Geographical Sciences, Southwestern University, Chongqing 400 715, People’s Republic of China.^3;State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science/Tien Shan Glaciological Station, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730 000, People’s Republic of China.^1;University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100 049, People’s Republic of China.^2

关键词: Geodetic mass balance;    ALS point cloud;    SRTM C-band DEM;    very small glaciers;    Hulugou Basin;   

DOI  :  

学科分类：天文学(综合)

来源: Indian Academy of Sciences

【 摘 要 】

Very small glaciers (< 0.5 km$^{2}$) account for more than 70% of the total number of glaciers in the Qilian Mountains. Despite their total area and volume being small, they are important water resources in the Hexi Corridor. While glacier monitoring mostly focuses on medium-sized and large valley glaciers (e.g., Qiyi Glacier and Laohugou Glacier No. 12) in the Qilian Mountains, little is known about very small glacier mass balance in this region. This study presents a geodetic mass balance of six very small glaciers in the Hulugou Basin by comparing Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) C-band (2000) and airborne laser scanning (2012) digital elevation models (DEMs). The total glaciers’ area decreased by 23.6% at a rate of 0.024 km$^{2}$ a$^{-1}$ and the geodetic mass balance was $-$0.68 $\pm$ 0.11 m water equivalent (m w.e.) a$^{-1}$ from 2000 to 2012. Shiyi Glacier, as the monitored glacier in the Basin, had lost 10.9% of the surface area at a rate of 0.005 km$^{2}$ a$^{-1}$ and the geodetic mass balance was $-$0.53 $\pm$ 0.11 m w.e. a$^{-1}$ for the period. Climatic variations over the last decade showed a pronounced increase in summer temperatures. The warmer conditions probably explain the glaciers mass loss observed in the Hulugou Basin.

【 授权许可】

CC BY