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.     

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．      

High-altitude salt lake elevation changes and glacial ablation in Central Tibet, 2000-2010

This research quantifies lake level variations in the Siling Co, Co’e and Bangor Co salt lakes in Central Tibet from 1976 to 2010, and most notably for the 2000-2010 periods. In particular, the effects of different water replenishment modes on the lakes have been analyzed. Here we have provided new evidences for climate warming and accelerated glacial ablation on the Central Tibetan Plateau from 2000 to 2010. Based on fieldwork involving Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) surveying and Remote Sensing (RS) interpretations of the lake area, we have drawn the following conclusions. (1) From 1976 to 2010, the process of lake level variation in Siling Co can be divided into two stages. From 1976 to 2000, the lake level rose 4.3 m in a steady fashion (from 4530 to 4534.3 m); the rise rate was 0.18 m/a. From 2000 to 2010, the lake level rapidly rose 8.2 m (from 4534.3 to 4542.5 m), with a dramatically higher rise rate of 0.82 m/a. Compared with the rapidly increasing lake level of Siling Co from 2000 to 2010, the fluctuations observed at Co’e and Bangor Co were smooth and inconspicuous. (2) From 1976 to 2009, the lake area of Siling Co experienced a steady-rapid-steady expansion pattern. The lake area of Siling Co increased 656.64 km2 in the 34 years to 2010, a proportional growth of 39.4%. This was particularly significant in the 2000-2010 period, when the lake area of Siling Co increased by 549.77 km2, a proportional growth of 30.6%. (3) According to correlation analysis, the rise in regional temperatures, which has led to the ablation of glaciers, is the main reason for the rapid rise in Siling Co lake levels in the 10 years to 2010. During this period, Siling Co rose approximately 8 m as the direct result of glacial melting. An increase in precipitation in the Siling Co catchment area is the secondary factor. This contrasts with Bangor Co, where the dominant factor in lake level change is the long-term increase in precipitation; here, the increasing temperature is the secondary factor.     

Geomorphologic evolution and environmental changes in the Shaluli Mountain region during the Quaternary

Geologic and geomorphologic evidence from the Shaluli Mountain indicates that the planation surface that formed in the Late Tertiary disintegrated during the Late PUocene-Early Quaternary. At the same time, rift basins appeared on some parts of the planation surface, and began to accumulate fluvial-lacustrine sediment. These are interpreted as being the response of this region to Phase-A of the Qingzang Teetnnic Movement. After this, the Shaluli Mountain eontinued to rise in several pulses. Faulting and incision by some large tributaries of the Jinsha and Yalong Rivers resulted in several rift river valleys and the earliest terraces. Generally. the planation surface in this region had been uplifted to ahout 3500--3700 m a.s.I, no later than 550-600 ka BP. after the Kunlun-Huanghe Tectonic Movement, and coupled with global glacial climate, and resulted in the earliest glaciation recognized so far in the Hengduan Mountains. At the same time, Ioess was deposited in the Ganzi area of the northern Shaluli Mountain. During the last glacial period, the Shaluii Mountain approached its present altitude and developed several large ice caps, such as the Daocheng Ice Cap and Xinlong Ice Cap, as well as several huge valley glaciers. These paleoglaciers produced some of the most Spectacnlar glacial topography on the Tibetan Plateau.     

青藏高原湖泊湖面变迁及影响因素

 湖泊对气候波动有敏感记录。以地理信息系统（GIS）和遥感（RS）技术为基础,从20世纪70年代、90年代、2000年前后和2010年前后4期Landsat遥感影像中,提取青藏高原所有湖泊边界信息,建立青藏高原湖泊空间数据库,并收集了青藏高原47个气象台站的年平均气温和年降雨量资料（1961-2010）,研究青藏高原湖泊湖面变迁及其影响因素。结果表明,1973-2010年,青藏高原湖泊个数和总面积呈显著增加的趋势;青藏高原湖泊湖面变迁主要受气温升高、降雨量增加和蒸发量减少的影响;此外,影响青藏高原湖泊湖面动态变化的因素还有冰川分布、人类活动、湖盆形状、补给和排泄区等。     

末次冰盛期青藏高原冰川变化对亚洲气候的影响

以末次冰盛期(约2.6~1.9万年前)的气候为背景, 利用大气模式CAM4耦合陆面模式CLM4, 对青藏高原冰川规模扩大对气候产生的影响进行研究。结果表明, 末次冰盛期青藏高原冰川对北半球夏季的气候影响较显著, 除在冰川分布区引起显著的降温外, 通过遥相关作用, 还使得白令海峡附近显著升温。另外, 冰川产生的扰动会显著地增强南亚夏季风, 增加南亚地区降水。对比末次冰盛期与工业革命前时期不同气候态下青藏高原冰川规模扩大对气候的影响, 发现工业革命前时期的影响显著小于末次冰盛期, 说明青藏高原冰川对气候的影响与背景气候态有关。     

Cosmogenic ^10Be dating of Guxiang and Baiyu Glaciations

Guxiang and Baiyu Glaciations are two previously recognized local glaciations of the Tibetan Plateau. They have been widely used as the reference standard for classifying Late Quaternary glaciations on the Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding mountains. However, the numerical chronologies of both glaciations have been lacking. In this study, cosmogenic They dating was undertaken to define the timing of these two glaciations. The surface boulders deposited by the glaciers of the Guxiang and Baiyu Glaciations have exposure ages of 112.9±16.7-136.5±15.8 ka BP and 11.1±1.9-18.5±2.2 ka BP, respectively. It is likely that the Guxiang and Baiyu Glaciations correspond to marine isotope stages 6 and 2, respectively.     

10Be in quartz gravel from the Gobi Desert and evolutionary history of alluvial sedimentation in the Ejina Basin,Inner Mongolia,China

Reconstructing the evolutionary history of the Gobi deserts developed from alluvial sediments in arid regions has great significance in unraveling changes in both tectonic activity and climate. However, such work is limited by a lack of suitable dating material preserved in the Gobi Desert, but cosmogenic ¹⁰Be has great potential to date the Gobi deserts. In the present study, ¹⁰Be in quartz gravel from the Gobi deserts of the Ejina Basin in Inner Mongolia of China has been measured to assess exposure ages. Results show that the Gobi Desert in the northern margin of the basin developed 420 ka ago, whereas the Gobi Desert that developed from alluvial plains in the Heihe River drainage basin came about during the last 190 ka. The latter developed gradually northward and eastward to modern terminal lakes of the river. These temporal and spatial variations in the Gobi deserts are a consequence of alluvial processes influenced by Tibetan Plateau uplift and tectonic activities within the Ejina Basin. Possible episodes of Gobi Desert development within the last 420 ka indicate that the advance/retreat of alpine glaciers during glacial/interglacial cycles might have been the dominant factor to influencing the alluvial intensity and water volume in the basin. Intense floods and large water volumes would mainly occur during the short deglacial periods.     

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。     

青藏高原南部地热型锂资源

 高温地热水中含有丰富的锂资源,世界各国对其中锂资源的开发利用的研究越来越多。对青藏高原丰富的地热资源中富锂地热资源进行了综述,得出其具有以下特点：（1）构造控制强烈,地热型锂资源主要分布在雅江缝合带两侧及其南部地区强烈活动的高温地热田中,受到沿近NS向正断层发育的裂谷或地堑盆地的强烈控制;（2）品质好,锂含量可高达239 mg/L;Mg/Li非常低,多数富锂地热系统Mg/Li介于0.03~1.48;Li/TDS相对较高且介于0.25%~1.14%（扎布耶富锂盐湖为0.19%;玻利维亚乌尤尼盐湖为0.08%~0.31%）;持续稳定排放数十年,部分达到工业品位（32.74 mg/L）;伴生可以综合利用的B、Cs和Rb元素等;（3）规模大：据不完全统计,当前锂含量达到或超过19 mg/L的富锂温泉至少有19处,年排出金属锂约4281 t,折合碳酸锂25686 t,并且最新钻孔数据表明地热田深部潜力巨大;（4）属于非火山型,火山岩缺失;（5）深部来源成因,富锂地热系统的形成与印度和欧亚大陆碰撞引起的地壳深部部分熔融密切相关,深部熔融岩浆为富锂地热系统提供了稳定的热源,富锂的母地热流体沿着青藏高原南部广泛发育的断裂带上涌至地表形成高温富锂热泉。由此,认为青藏高原南部广泛发育的高温富锂地热资源是一种非常有价值、值得开发利用的地热型锂资源,随着地热水中锂提取技术的不断提升,青藏高原南部地热型锂资源有望成为一种可有效开发利用的锂矿床新类型--地热型锂矿床。     

Variations of geochemical compositions and the paleoclimatic significance of a loess-soil sequence from Garzê County of western Sichuan Province, China

The West Sichuan Plateau is located in the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau, where the climate is mainly influenced by the Indian southwest summer monsoon and the Tibetan Plateau monsoon. In this study, detailed geochemical analysis has been carried out on Ganzisi loess-paleosol sequence in Ganzê County of western Sichuan Province. The results indicate that Ganzê loess and paleosol have experienced the incipient stage of chemical weathering in dust source regions, characterized by the decomposition of plagioclase which caused the depletion of mobile elements Na and Ca. The post-depositional chemical weathering is characterized by carbonate dissolution and oxidation of Fe2＋. The variations of some geochemical indexes （such as CIA values, Na/K and Fe2＋/ Fe3＋ ratios） in Ganzisi loess-paleosol sequence indicate a gradually decreased chemical weathering intensity in the dust source regions and deposition areas since 1.15 Ma BP consistent with the general increase of global ice volume, reflecting that the arid trend since 1.15 Ma BP in the southeast Tibetan Plateau is a regional response to the global climate change. The geochemical indexes in this section also reveal an obvious drying step occurred at about 250 ka BP in this region. We interpret this drying step as a result of decreased influence of the Indian southwest summer monsoon. This decrease in monsoon moisture is probably attributable to the uplift of the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau at about 250 ka BP.     

Ozone mini-hole occurring over the Tibetan Plateau in December 2003

Since the Antarctic ozone-hole was discovered[1], the ozone depletion in stratosphere and its effect on climate and environment have become the global focus[2-6]. In China, since Zhou et al.[7] in 1994 and later Zou[8] dis- covered the total ozone valley …     

Microparticle record in the Guliya ice core and its comparison with polar records since the last interglacial

Based on the study of oxygen isotope and microparticle in the Guliya ice core,atmospheric dust and environmental changes in the northwest Tibetan Plateau since the last interglacial were revealed.The microparticle record indicates that low dust load on the Plateau in the interglacial.Particle concentration increased rapidly when the climate turned into the last glacial and reached the maximum during the MIS 4.In the Last Glacial Maximum, however,the enhancement of microparticle concentration was slight,differing to those in the Antarctic and Greenland.On the orbital timescale,both the temperature on the Tibetan Plateau and summer solar insolation in the Northern Hemisphere had their impact on the microparticle record,but the difference in phase and amplitude also existed. Though having the same dust source, microparticle records in the ice cores on the Tibetan Plateau and the Greenland seem to have different significance.     

An ice-core record of vegetation and climate changes in the central Tibetan Plateau during the last 550 years

We present a 550-year ice-core pollen record with a 5-year resolution from the Puruogangri ice field in the central Tibetan Plateau.Analysis of the relationship between pollen record and instrumental observations suggests that the sum of the steppe and meadow pollen taxa is a good indicator of summer (June-August) temperature,whereas the ratios of Cyperaceae/(Gramineae+Artemisia) [Cy/(G+A)] as well as M/S (meadow to steppe percentages) are indicative of humidity changes in this region.Together with δ18O and...     

A tropical paleosol at high elevation in the Yulong Mountains and its implication on the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau

A paleosol dated for about 500–700 kaBP and developed on a glacial deposit at ～3 000 m a.s.l. in the Yulong Mountains is studied using soil chemical, morphological and mineralogical methods. The analytical results indicate that this soil was formed under tropical and humid conditions and can be classified as red soil, which cannot be formed in the present alpine environment at the studied site. This implies that the southeast margin of the Tibetan Plateau has experienced intense uplift since the formation of the paleosol. According to the necessary conditions for the formation of the modern red soil in China, we estimate that the uplift height of the Plateau since 500–700 kaBP would have exceeded 800 m.     

Evidence of crustal ＇channel flow＇ in the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau from MT measurements

Magnetotelluric （MT） survey has been carried out in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its neighboring Shimian-Leshan area, Sichuan Province. Analysis of this MT data reveals that the electric structure of the Tibetan Plateau differ much from that of the Sichuan block. In general, the electric resistivity of crust beneath the Sichuan block in the east is larger than that of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in the west. The crust of the plateau is divided into upper, middle, and lower layers. The middle crust is a low resistivity layer with minimum down to 3-10Ωm about 10-15 km thick. It presumably contains partial melt and/or salt-bearing fluids with low viscosity, prone to deform and flow, producing a ＂channel flow＂ under the southeastward squeeze of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. This low-resistivity layer makes the upper crust decoupled mechanically from the lower crust. In the brittle upper crust, faults are dominated by left-lateral strike-slip and thrust motions, leading to surface rising and shallow earthquakes. The low-resistivity layer also cut the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zone into two sections vertically. In this region, the thicknesses of upper, middle, and lower crust vary laterally, producing a transitional zone in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau characterized by thicker crust and higher elevation in the west and thinner crust and lower elevation in the east.     

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.     

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.     

基于OMI数据分析青藏高原周边对流层低层臭氧的分布特征

提出一种利用地形海拔落差以及臭氧总量差来估算对流层低层大气臭氧浓度的方法.根据搭载于美国宇航局Aura卫星上的臭氧监测仪(OMI)提供的臭氧总量日观测数据,利用该方法计算出青藏高原与其周边地区四川盆地及印度北部的地形海拔落差及臭氧总量差,进一步分析了该地区低层大气臭氧的分布特征.结果表明:青藏高原周边地区对流层低层大气臭氧分布呈明显的季节变化,且低层大气臭氧分布有南北差异,南部臭氧含量高于北部.     

Indian monsoon influences altitude effect of δ~(18)O in precipitation/river water on the Tibetan Plateau

The δ^18O variation in precipitation acquired from 28 stations within the network of Tibetan Observation and Research Platform （TORP） is studied, with the focus on the altitude effect of δ^18O in river water during monsoon precipitation in an effort to understand the monsoon influence on isotopic composition in annual river water. It is found that δ^18O in precipitation on the Plateau is influenced by different moisture sources, with significant Indian monsoon influence on δ^18O composition in plateau precipitation and river water. The δ^18O of water bodies in the monsoon domain is generally more depleted than that in the westerly domain, suggesting gradual rainout of southwesterly borne marine moisture in the course of long-distance transportation and lifting over the Himalayas. The lapse rate of δ^18O in river water with altitude is the largest during monsoon precipitation, due to the increased temperature vertical gradient over the southern Plateau region controlled by monsoon circulation. The combination of δ^18O in river water in monsoon （wet） and non-monsoon （dry） seasons shows a larger lapse rate than that in non-monsoon （dry） season alone. As the altitude effect of δ^18O in precipitation and river water on the Tibetan Plateau results from the combined effect of monsoon moisture supply and westerly moisture supply, the δ^18O composition and its altitude effect on the Plateau during monsoon seasons should be considered in the reconstruction of paleoelevation of the Tibetan Plateau.