Stabilizing feedbacks in glacier-bed erosion

Glaciers often erode, transport and deposit sediment much more rapidly than nonglacial environments, with implications for the evolution of glaciated mountain belts and their associated sedimentary basins. But modelling such glacial processes is difficult, partly because stabilizing feedbacks similar to those operating in rivers have not been identified for glacial landscapes. Here we combine new and existing data of glacier morphology and the processes governing glacier evolution from diverse settings to reveal such stabilizing feedbacks. We find that the long profiles of beds of highly erosive glaciers tend towards steady-state angles opposed to and slightly more than 50 per cent steeper than the overlying ice-air surface slopes, and that additional subglacial deepening must be enabled by non-glacial processes. Climatic or glaciological perturbations of the ice-air surface slope can have large transient effects on glaciofluvial sediment flux and apparent glacial erosion rate.     

帕隆藏布流域（波密-然乌段）冰川动态变化遥感分析

帕隆藏布流域位于中国海洋性冰川最为发育的藏东南地区,近年来随着全球温室效应加剧,帕隆藏布流域冰川变化极为显著。采用多期遥感影像,对1994～2015年间帕隆藏布流域波密至然乌段的冰川变化趋势、原因及其影响进行研究。结果表明:(1)20余年间冰川总面积减少了451. 72 km2,各冰川每年大约退缩2. 48%～2. 95%,气温升高以及降雨量减少是导致冰川面积持续退缩的主要原因。(2)由于帕隆藏布江南岸山坡所接收的太阳辐射热量更少,但降水却更加充沛,使得帕隆藏布江南岸冰川分布面积及覆盖率远大于北岸,而冰川退缩速率远小于北岸。(3)冰川的不断退缩使得沟道上游大量冻融松散物源在冰雪融水的外动力条件下,进入沟道形成松散堆积物源,导致流域内大规模发育冰川泥石流。由于帕隆藏布江南岸冰川规模更大,导致帕隆藏布江南岸冰川泥石流更为发育。(4)冰川变化动态监测对冰川泥石流机理分析以及预警研究工作有着重要的参考指导价值。     

Late Pleistocene glaciation of the Changbai Mountains in northeastern China

The Changbai Mountains （2749 m a.s.l.） in northeastern China are one of the typical mountain regions with glaciation since late Pleistocene as evidenced by well-preserved erosive and accumulative landforms at elevations above 2000 m a.s.l, formed by glaciers around the crater lake, Tianchi Lake. Cirque glaciers developed on both the inner and outer sides of the volcanic cone. Well-preserved cirques, glacial trough valleys, glacial threholds, polished surfaces of the glacial erratics and the moraine ridges indicate that several glaciation processes took place during the last glacial period in this region. Resuits of optically stimulated luminescence （OSL） dating on the moraine sediments, and the K/Ar, thermal ionization mass spectrometry （TIMS）, electronic spinning resonance （ESR） dating on the volcanic rocks suggest two periods of glacier advances. One is named the Black Wind Mouth glacier advance taking place on the west and north slopes of the volcanic cone at an elevation of 2000-2100 m a.s.l., which is dated to about 20 ka, being the result of the Last Glacial Maximum （LGM）. The other is named the Meteorological Station glacier advance at the elevation of 2400-2600 m a.s.l., dated to 11 ka during the late glacial period, and is tentatively correlated to the Younger Dryas stage. The scope of the former glacier advance is larger than that of the latter. Regional comparisons showed that the glacial sequences in the Changbai Mountains are similar to other glaciated areas in eastern Asia during the later part of the last glacial cycle.     

Estimation on the response of glaciers in China to the global warming in the 21st century

Glaciers in China can be categorized into 3 types, i.e. the maritime (temperate) type, sub-continental (sub-polar) type and extreme Continental (polar) type, which take 22%, 46% and 32% of the total existing glacier area (59 406 km2) respectively. Researches indicate that glaciers of the three types show different response patterns to the global warming. Since the Maxima of the Little Ice Age (the 17th century), air temperature has risen at a magnitude of 1.3℃on average and the glacier area decreased corresponds to 20% of the present total glacier area in western China. it is estimated that air temperature rise in the 2030s, 2070s and 2100s will be of the order of 0.4-1.2, 1.2-2.7 and 2.1-4.0 K in western China. With these scenarios, glaciers in China will suffer from further shrinkage by 12%, 28% and 45% by the 2030s, 2070s and 2100s. The uncertainties may account for 30%-67% in 2100 in China.     

Quick ice mass loss and abrupt retreat of the maritime glaciers in the Kangri Karpo Mountains,southeast Tibetan Plateau

The maritime glaciers are sensitive to climate change because of high annual precipitation and high air temperature in the region. A combined comprehensive study was carried out based on glacier mass balance observation, GPS-based glacier terminus position survey, glacier Ground Penetrating Radar, topography maps and RS satellite images in the Kangri Karpo Mountains, Southeast Tibet. The study revealed a strong ice mass loss and quick glacier retreat since the 1970s. Ata Glacier, one glacier from the south slope of the Kangri Karpo Mountains, has formed a 6-km-long terminal moraine zone at the end of the glacier since the 1970s, and the accelerating retreat is largely due to the strong glacier surface melting. Mass balance study on the other four glaciers on the northern side of the Kangri Karpo Mountains shows that they are in large negative mass balance and the glaciers had retreated 15--19 m from May 2006 to May 2007. The in-situ glacier observation also shows that the glacier retreat is more obvious in small glaciers. The enhanced ice mass deficit caused by climate warming and the ongoing extinction of many small glaciers in this region could seriously affect the water resources, environ- ments, local climate and regional sustainable development in the near future.     

西藏普兰地区第四纪以来冰锯作用研究

为了验证西藏普兰地区冰川作用对地形演化的影响, 选取纳木那尼峰、喜马拉雅山和冈底斯山3个区域, 利用数字高程模型(DEM)数据和遥感影像, 对现代冰川与末次冰盛期(LGM)古冰川平衡线高度(ELA)、冰川作用区坡度与高程的关系以及冰川分布的高程频谱进行计算和分析。结果显示, 研究区内冰川剥蚀作用显著、坡度降低最明显的地带位于LGM古冰川平衡线附近, 并在一定程度上限制山脉的高度。根据冰川地貌特征参数和前人研究结果, 认为气候是影响冰锯作用的主要因素。冰期时, 研究区内西风急流南移, 风速增强, 降水量增多, 为冰川发育创造良好条件, 冰锯作用也增强。对于构造抬升强烈的山脉(如纳木那尼峰), 虽然冰锯作用得到加强, 但是构造抬升增加的山脉高度不会完全被冰锯作用抵消。     

Glacial fluctuations and its impacts on lakes in the southern Tibetan Plateau

ost of the glacial mass on the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding regions is in the mid- and low-latitudes. Ac-cording to China’s latest glacier inventory, there are about 36793 existing glaciers with a total area of roughly 49873.44 km² on the Tibetan Plateau, accounting for about 79.5% of the total glaciers and 84% of the total glacial area in China. Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau can be categorized into three types: marine-type glaciers (or temperate glaciers); sub-continental glaciers (or sub-polar glaciers); and continental glaciers (i.e. polar glaciers).......     

Quaternary glacier development and the relationship between the climate change and tectonic uplift in the Helan Mountain

Isolated NE-SW stretching the Helan Mountain massif, separating the temperate grassland of the Ordos plateau from the Tenggeli Desert, is a key position of studying the glacier development in west China as well as the coupling conditions of climate change with tectonic uplift. The glacial landforms and deposits including cirques, peaks, knife-edge ridges, lateral moraines, and terminal moraines distribute above 2800 m a.s.l. in the middle part of the Helan Mountain. This distribution indicates that here was once glaciated during the late Quaternary. Morphology features show a clear sequence of landscape forming events took place throughout the Helan Mountain. Laboratory optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) and accelerator mass spectrometry radio-carbon dating (AMS 14 C) results indicate a late history of glacial advance. Late Pleistocene glaciers in the middle part of the Helan Mountain advanced to near their positions at least four times, and the glacial sequences can be assigned as the middle stage of last glacial cycle (MIS3b, 43.2±4.0 ka), last glacial maximum (LGM, ~18 ka), late glacial (12.0±1.1 ka) and neo-glacial (3.4± 0.3 ka) respectively. Adopting equilibrium line altitude ~2980 m of last glacial maximum and the modern theoretical snowline altitude ~4724 m as the maximum amplitudes, and the standard marine isotope curve (MIS) as the glacial equilibrium line change since the Gonghe Movement (150 ka), the relationship between the mountain altitude and glacier development is discussed herein. Compared with other environmental indexes such as the loesspaleosol and ice core, conclusions are made that glacier advances in the Helan Mountain during the late Quaternary obviously depended on the coupled control of tectonic uplift of mountain with the climate condition. It is at last glaciation that the mountain reached the altitude above snowline and coupled with the glacial climate. The glacial advances occurred in the early and middle stages of last glacial cycle after the Gonghe Movement.     

西藏念青唐古拉山东段冰湖的时空分布特征及其影响因素探讨

冰湖是研究气候变化的重要指标之一,了解冰湖分布和变化的特征,对认识冰湖与气候之间关系和研究冰湖溃决泥石流灾害有着重要意义。本文拟利用1976年、1988年、2001年和2013年四个期次冰川、冰湖的遥感解译结果进行分析,得出1976年至2013年念青唐古拉山东段冰川与冰湖发育分布特征,对念青唐古拉山区东段冰川消融以及气候垂直变化具有一定的指示作用,同时为冰湖溃决泥石流灾害的预测预警提供依据。     

基于遥感与GIS的朋曲流域冰川及冰湖变化研究

由于全球变暖，冰川正逐年退缩，随之引发的冰湖溃决洪水已不容忽视，但静态和孤立地研究冰湖已不能满足人们对冰湖信息的需求．本文基于20世纪70年代的地形图数据和2000年以来的ASTER遥感影像数据，使用GIS手段矢量化朋曲流域20世纪70年代和近期的冰川及冰湖的空间分布，并进行编目．对于获得的空间数据分析结果表明，在过去30年里该区冰川面积减少近9％，冰湖面积则增加了13％，在此基础上比较二者的联系和变化，识别出了24个可能发生溃决的冰湖，这为朋曲流域建立一套冰湖溃决预警系统提供依据；同时，对于研究其他类似地区的冰湖溃决现象也具有指导意义。     

Contrasting patterns of early twenty-first-century glacier mass change in the Himalayas

Glaciers are among the best indicators of terrestrial climate variability, contribute importantly to water resources in many mountainous regions and are a major contributor to global sea level rise. In the Hindu Kush-Karakoram-Himalaya region (HKKH), a paucity of appropriate glacier data has prevented a comprehensive assessment of current regional mass balance. There is, however, indirect evidence of a complex pattern of glacial responses in reaction to heterogeneous climate change signals. Here we use satellite laser altimetry and a global elevation model to show widespread glacier wastage in the eastern, central and south-western parts of the HKKH during 2003-08. Maximal regional thinning rates were 0.66?±?0.09 metres per year in the Jammu-Kashmir region. Conversely, in the Karakoram, glaciers thinned only slightly by a few centimetres per year. Contrary to expectations, regionally averaged thinning rates under debris-mantled ice were similar to those of clean ice despite insulation by debris covers. The 2003-08 specific mass balance for our entire HKKH study region was -0.21?±?0.05?m?yr(-1) water equivalent, significantly less negative than the estimated global average for glaciers and ice caps. This difference is mainly an effect of the balanced glacier mass budget in the Karakoram. The HKKH sea level contribution amounts to one per cent of the present-day sea level rise. Our 2003-08 mass budget of -12.8?±?3.5 gigatonnes (Gt) per year is more negative than recent satellite-gravimetry-based estimates of -5?±?3?Gt?yr(-1) over 2003-10 (ref. 12). For the mountain catchments of the Indus and Ganges basins, the glacier imbalance contributed about 3.5% and about 2.0%, respectively, to the annual average river discharge, and up to 10% for the Upper Indus basin.     

1990—2020年那曲地区冰湖变化研究

基于Landsat遥感影像,采用目视解译的方法提取了青藏高原内部那曲地区冰湖和冰川1990、2000、2010及2020年4期边界数据,并分析近30年来该地区冰湖变化的特征与原因．结果表明:那曲地区现有冰湖255个,总面积（27.829±4.62） km2,冰湖主要集中在东南部,其次是西南部;1990—2020年,研究区新增冰湖72个,面积增长6.14 km2;冰湖扩张趋势明显,具体表现为低海拔地区（≤4 700 m）原有冰湖快速扩张,较高海拔地区（>5 100~5 700 m）新增冰湖集中出现;气温与降水是冰湖变化的关键因素,由于降水与气温分布及变化存在时空差异,冰湖变化呈现“南快北慢,逐期加快”的特征;冰湖与冰川的位置关系也会影响冰湖变化,离冰川位置越近,对冰湖发育越有利,同时与冰湖接触的冰川退缩速率相较于其余冰川有更大的退缩速率,但冰川与冰湖面积变化速率并无明显相关性．      

Planetary science: are there active glaciers on Mars?

Head et al. interpret spectacular images from the Mars Express high-resolution stereo camera as evidence of geologically recent rock glaciers in Tharsis and of a piedmont ('hourglass') glacier at the base of a 3-km-high massif east of Hellas. They attribute growth of the low-latitude glaciers to snowfall during periods of increased spin-axis obliquity. The age of the hourglass glacier, considered to be inactive and slowly shrinking beneath a debris cover in the absence of modern snowfall, is estimated to be more than 40 Myr. Although we agree that the maximum glacier extent was climatically controlled, we find evidence in the images to support local augmentation of accumulation from snowfall through a mechanism that does not require climate change on Mars.     

Response of Zhadang Glacier runoff in Nam Co Basin,Tibet, to changes in air temperature and precipitation form

This paper describes 2007/2008 inter-annual changes in runoff from the Zhadang Glacier located on the northern slope of Nyainqêntanglha Range, Tibet, and analyzes their causes. Precipitation increased by 17.9% in summer months of 2008 compared with the same period in 2007, drainage basin runoff decreased by 33.3%, and glacial meltwater decreased by 53.8%. Change in positive accumulated air temperature explained approximately half of the inter-annual difference in glacial meltwater using a de-gree-day model. This suggests that the glacier is extremely sensitive to changes in air temperature. Energy balance analysis showed that change in glacier surface albedo, considered to be caused by difference in precipitation form, resulted in the large inter-annual difference in glacial meltwater. It was shown statistically that precipitation form in the summer months of 2007 was mainly rainfall which comprised 71.5% of total precipitation, while during the same period in 2008 rainfall accounted for 30.7%, with the majority of precipitation falling as snow. Precipitation form should be considered an independent factor when analyzing glacier sensitivity to climate change or forecasting the runoff from certain glaciers.     

Fractures as the main pathways of water flow in temperate glaciers

Understanding the flow of water through the body of a glacier is important, because the spatial distribution of water and the rate of infiltration to the glacier bottom is one control on water storage and pressure, glacier sliding and surging, and the release of glacial outburst floods. According to the prevailing hypothesis, this water flow takes place in a network of tubular conduits. Here we analyse video images from 48 boreholes drilled into the small Swedish glacier Storglaci?ren, showing that the glacier's hydrological system is instead dominated by fractures that convey water at slow speeds. We detected hydraulically connected fractures at all depths, including near the glacier bottom. Our observations indicate that fractures provide the main pathways for surface water to reach deep within the glacier, whereas tubular conduits probably form only in special circumstances. A network of hydraulically linked fractures offers a simple explanation for the origin and evolution of the englacial water flow system and its seasonal regeneration. Such a fracture network also explains radar observations that reveal a complex pattern of echoes rather than a system of conduits. Our findings may be important in understanding the catastrophic collapse of ice shelves and rapid hydraulic connection between the surface and bed of an ice sheet.     

Initial estimate of the contribution of cryospheric change in China to sea level rise

Recent studies have shown that cryospheric melting is becoming the dominant factor responsible for sea level rise,and that the melt-water from mountain glaciers and ice caps has comprised the majority of the cryospheric contribution since 2003.Analysis of the estimations of cryospheric melt-water and precipitation in glacier regions indicated that the potential contribution of the cryosphere in China is 0.14 to 0.16 mm a–1,of which approximately 0.12 mm a–1 is from glaciers.The contribution of glaciers in the outflow river basins is about 0.07 mm a–1,accounting for 6.4%of the total from global glaciers and ice caps.     

Melt-induced speed-up of Greenland ice sheet offset by efficient subglacial drainage

Fluctuations in surface melting are known to affect the speed of glaciers and ice sheets, but their impact on the Greenland ice sheet in a warming climate remains uncertain. Although some studies suggest that greater melting produces greater ice-sheet acceleration, others have identified a long-term decrease in Greenland's flow despite increased melting. Here we use satellite observations of ice motion recorded in a land-terminating sector of southwest Greenland to investigate the manner in which ice flow develops during years of markedly different melting. Although peak rates of ice speed-up are positively correlated with the degree of melting, mean summer flow rates are not, because glacier slowdown occurs, on average, when a critical run-off threshold of about 1.4?centimetres a day is exceeded. In contrast to the first half of summer, when flow is similar in all years, speed-up during the latter half is 62?±?16 per cent less in warmer years. Consequently, in warmer years, the period of fast ice flow is three times shorter and, overall, summer ice flow is slower. This behaviour is at odds with that expected from basal lubrication alone. Instead, it mirrors that of mountain glaciers, where melt-induced acceleration of flow ceases during years of high melting once subglacial drainage becomes efficient. A model of ice-sheet flow that captures switching between cavity and channel drainage modes is consistent with the run-off threshold, fast-flow periods, and later-summer speeds we have observed. Simulations of the Greenland ice-sheet flow under climate warming scenarios should account for the dynamic evolution of subglacial drainage; a simple model of basal lubrication alone misses key aspects of the ice sheet's response to climate warming.     

冰崩涌浪作用下的冰湖溃决过程试验研究

冰崩涌浪是导致冰湖溃决的一个主要的诱发因素之一。本文通过水槽模型试验,研究了在冰崩涌浪作用下,不同颗粒级配、坝高、下游坝坡坡度时冰碛坝的溃决过程,主要结论如下：（1）冰碛坝存在漫顶溃决、坝坡失稳、管涌破坏三种溃决模式;（2）根据冰崩涌浪的对坝体的侵蚀效应,结合溃口的纵向演化过程,将冰碛坝的溃决过程划分为涌浪侵蚀阶段（阶段Ⅰ）、库区小扰动溢流侵蚀阶段（阶段Ⅱ）;（3）涌浪过坝后的强水动力条件增加了坝体的侵蚀率,当溃口贯通后,涌浪已基本消散,溃决过程转为为正常的溢流溃决,并且涌浪向坝体提供了高频瞬时荷载,削减了坝体稳定性;（4）从动力学的角度提出了冰碛坝临界溃决条件的判定方法;（5）冰湖溃决洪峰流量与坝高和下游坝坡呈现正相关,与坝体中值粒径（D50）呈现负相关关系。     

Changes in physical features of Glacier No. 1 of the Tianshan Mountains in response to climate change

This study analyzes the changes in glacier zones and snow composition of Glacier No.1 in the Tianshan Mountains of China since 1961,and their possible relations with climate.It is found that precipitation dominated the snow composition and that air temperature and precipitation controlled the distribution of glacier zones,but interannual change in precipitation had a relatively large effect on glacier zones and snow composition during 1963–1981 (P10) and 1963–1989 (P11).However,during 1982–2007 (P20) and 19...     

Characteristics of recent temperate glacier fluctuations in the Parlung Zangbo River basin,southeast Tibetan Plateau

Little is known about recent variation of temperate glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau, although they are of particular theoretical and practical interests in terms of climate change and water supply. The study of glacier mass balance and terminus variation for six temperate glaciers in the Parlung Zangbo River basin, southeast Tibetan Plateau, shows the facts of the overall negative mass balance and the continued terminus retreat from 2005/2006 to 2007/2008. The mass balances of smaller glaciers were more negative compared to larger glaciers. Referring the trend of glacier mass balance in the Hengduan Mountains, the Himalayas and glacier shrinkage in southeast Tibetan Plateau, the mass loss and recession of temperate glacier in this region are expected if the current climate condition continues.