Observed glaciohydrological changes in China’s typical monsoonal temperate glacier region since 1980s

Abstract

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.

Keywords

monsoonal temperate glacier / glaciohydrological change / Mts. Yulong and Gongga / climate warming

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