Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Rapid shrinking of glaciers in the Middle Qilian Mountain region of Northwest China during the last ∼50 years

  • Published:
Journal of Earth Science Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

During the past five decades, fluctuations of glaciers were reconstructed from historical documents, aerial photographs, and remote sensing data. From 1956 to 2003, 910 glaciers investigated had reduced in area by 21.7% of the 1956 value, with a mean reduction for the individual glacier of 0.10 km2. The relative area reductions of small glaciers were usually higher than those of large ones, which exhibited larger absolute loss, indicating that the small glaciers were more sensitive to climate change than large ones. Over the past ∼50 years, glacier area decreased by 29.6% in the Heihe (黑河) River basin and 18.7% in the Beidahe (北大河) River basin, which were the two regions investigated in the Middle Qilian (祁连) Mountain region. Compared with other areas of the Qilian Mountain region, the most dramatic glacier shrinkage had occurred in the Middle Qilian Mountain region, mainly resulting from rapid rising temperatures. Regional differences in glacier area changes are related to local climate conditions, the relative proportion of glaciers in different size classes, and other factors.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References Cited

  • Academia Sinica, 1959. Report of the Investigation of Modern Glaciers in the Qilian Mts., Investigation Team of Ice/Snow Utilization (Special Issue I). Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Ageta, Y., Kadota, T., 1992. Predictions of Changes of Glacier Mass Balance in the Nepal Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau: A Case Study of Air Temperature Increase for Three Glaciers. Annals of Glaciology, 16: 89–94

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen, Y., Zhang, D. Q., Sun, Y. B., et al., 2005. Water Demand Management: A Case Study of the Heihe River Basin in China. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth, 30(6–7): 408–419

    Google Scholar 

  • Cia, J. C., Andres, A. J., Sanchez, M. A., et al., 2005. Responses to Climatic Changes since the Little Ice Age on Maladeta Glacier (Central Pyrenees). Geomorphology, 68(3–4): 167–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dikich, A. N., Hagg, W., 2004. Climate Driven Changes of Glacier Runoff in the Issyk-Kul Basin, Kyrgystan. Zeitschrift für Gletscherkunde und Glazialgeologie, 39: 75–86

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, I. S., 2006. Local Aspect Asymmetry of Mountain Glaciation: A Global Survey of Consistency of Favoured Directions for Glacier Numbers and Altitudes. Geomorphology, 73(1–2): 166–184

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, I. S., Cox, N. J., 2010. Climatogenic North-South Asymmetry of Local Glaciers in Spitsbergen and Other Parts of the Arctic. Annals of Glaciology, 51(55): 16–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, K., Ageta, Y., Pu, J. C., et al., 2000. Mass Balance of Xiao Dongkemadi Glacier on the Central Tibetan Plateau from 1989 to 1995. Annals of Glaciology, 31: 159–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujita, K., Ageta, Y., 2000. Effect of Summer Accumulation on Glacier Mass Balance on the Tibetan Palteau Revealed by Mass-Balance Model. Jounal of Glaciology, 46: 244–252

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gao, Q. Z., Li, F. X., 1991. Case Study of Rational Development and Utilization of Water Resources in the Heihe River Basin. Gansu Science and Technology Press, Lanzhou. 1–228 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Hagg, W., Braun, L., 2005. The Influence of Glacier Retreat on Water Yield from High Mountain Areas: Comparison of Alps and Central Asian. In: de Jong, C., Collins, D., Ranzi, R., eds., Climate and Hydrology in Mountain Areas. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., West Sussex. 263–275

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgkins, R., Fox, A., Nuttall, A. M., 2007. Geometry Change between 1990 and 2003 at Finsterwalderbreen, a Svalbard Surge-Type Glacier, from GPS Profiling. Annals of Glaciology, 46: 131–135

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jia, W. X., He, Y. Q., Li, Z. X., et al., 2008. The Regional Difference and Catastrophe of Climatic Change in Qilian Mt. Region. Acta Geographica Sinica, 63(3): 257–269 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Jin, R., Li, X., Che, T., et al., 2005. Glacier Area Changes in the Pumqu River Basin, Tibetan Plateau, between the 1970s and 2001. Journal of Glaciology, 51(175): 607–610

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jóhannesson, T., Raymond, C., Waddington, E., 1989. Time-Scale for Adjustment of Glaciers to Changes in Mass Balance. Journal of Glaciology, 35(121): 355–369

    Google Scholar 

  • Kääb, A., 2004. Mountain Glaciers and Permafrost Creep. In: Methodical Research Perspectives from Earth Observation and Geoinformatics Technologies: [Dessertation]. University of Zurich, Zurich. 205

    Google Scholar 

  • Knight, P. G., 1998. Glaciers. Stanley Thornes Ltd., Cheletenham

    Google Scholar 

  • Lan, Y. C., Ding, Y. J., Kang, E. S., 2004. Variations and Trends of Temperature and Precipitation in the Mountain Drainage Basin of the Heihe River in Recent 50 Years. Plateau Meteorology, 23(5): 723–727 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Lan, Y. C., Ding, Y. J., Liu, J. Q., et al., 2005. Change of Water Resources in Mountainous Area of Heihe River under Global-Warming Scene. Journal of Desert Research, 25(6): 863–868 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, B. L., Zhu, A. X., Zhang, Y. C., et al., 2006. Glacier Change over the Past Four Decades in the Middle Chinese Tien Shan. Journal of Glaciology, 52(178): 425–432

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Li, D. L., Wei, L., Cai, Y., et al., 2003. The Present Facts and the Future Tendency of the Climate Change in Northwest China. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 25(2): 135–142 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Z. Q., Li, K. M., Wang, L., 2010. Study on Recent Glacier Changes and Their Impact on Water Resources in Xinjiang, North Western China. Quaternary Sciences, 30(1): 96–106 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Li, Z. X., He, Y. Q., Pu, T., et al., 2010. Changes of Climate, Glaciers and Runoff in China’s Monsoonal Temperate Glacier Region during the Last Several Decades. Quaternary International, 218(1-2): 13–28

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, C. H., Song, Y. P., Jin, M. X., 1992. Recent Change and Trend Prediction of Glaciers in Qilian Mountain. In: Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology Memoirs 7, Academia Sinica, Lanzhou. 1–9 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Liu, S. Y., Sun, W. X., Shen, Y. P., et al., 2003. Glacier Changes since the Little Ice Age Maximum in the Western Qilian Shan, Northwest China, and Consequences of Glacier Runoff for Water Supply. Journal of Glaciology, 49(164): 117–124

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nesje, A., Dahl, S. O., 2000. Glaciers and Environmental Change. Oxford University Press, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Oerlemans, J., 1994. Quantifying Global Warming from the Retreat of Glaciers. Science, 264(5156): 243–245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oerlemans, J., 2005. Extracting a Climate Signal from 169 Glacier Records. Science, 308(5722): 675–677

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, F., Kääb, A., Maisch, M., et al., 2002. The New Remote-Sensing-Derived Swiss Glacier Inventory: I. Methods. Annals of Glaciology, 34: 355–361

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Paul, F., Kääb, A., Maisch, M., et al., 2004. Rapid Disintegration of Alpine Glaciers Observed with Satellite Data. Geophysical Research Letters, 31(21): L21402

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pu, J. C., Yao, T. D., Duan, K. Q., et al., 2005. Mass Balance of the Qiyi Glacier in the Qilian Mountains: A New Observation. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 27(2): 199–204 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Raup, B., Racoviteanu, A., Jodha, S., et al., 2007a. The GLIMS Geospatial Glacier Database: A New Tool for Studying Glacier Change. Global and Planetary Change, 56(1–2): 101–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raup, B., Kääb, A., Kargel, J. S., et al., 2007b. Remote Sensing and GIS Technology in the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) Project. Computers & Geosciences, 33(1): 104–125

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai, A., Fujita, K., Duan, K., et al., 2006. Five Decades of Shrinkage of the July 1st Glacier, Qilian Mountains, China. Journal of Glaciology, 52(176): 11–16

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shangguan, D. H., Liu, S. Y., Ding, Y. J., et al., 2007. Glacier Changes in the West Kunlun Shan from 1970 to 2001 Derived from Landsat TM/ETM Plus and Chinese Glacier Inventory Data. Annals of Glaciology, 46: 204–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shangguan, D. H., Liu, S. Y., Ding, Y. J., et al., 2009. Glacier Changes during the Last Forty Years in the Tarim Interior River Basin, Northwest China. Progress in Natural Science, 19(6): 727–732

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shen, Y. P., Liu, S. Y., Wang, L. L., et al., 2001. Fluctuations of Glacier Mass Balance in Watersheds of Qilian Mountains and Their Impact on Water Resources of Hexi Region. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 23(3): 244–250 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi, Y. F., 2000. Glaciers and Their Environments in China—The Present, Past and Future. Science Press, Beijing (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Shi, Y. F., 2001. Estimation of the Water Resources Affected by Climatic Warming and Glacier Shrinkage before 2050 in West China. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 23(4): 333–341 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

  • Surazakov, A. B., Aizen, V. B., Aizen, E. M., et al., 2007. Glacier Changes in the Siberian Altai Mountains, Ob River Basin, (1952–2006) Estimated with High Resolution Imagery. Environmental Research Letters, 2(4): 045017

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toutin, T., 2002. DEM from Stereo Landsat 7 ETM+ Data over High Relief Areas. International Journal of Remote Sensing, 23(10): 2133–2139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, Z. T., Liu, C. H., You, G. X., et al., 1981. Glacier Inventory of China I (Qilian Mountains). Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Cryopedology, Academia Sinica, Lanzhou (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Xie, Z. C., Wu, G. H., Wang, L. L., 1985. Recent Fluctuations of Glaciers in the Qilian Mountains. In: Lanzhou Institute of Glaciology and Geocryology Memoirs 5, Academia Sinica, Lanzhou. 82–90 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yang, J. P., Ding, Y. J., Chen, R. S., et al., 2003. Causes of Glacier Change in the Source Regions of the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers on the Tibetan Plateau. Journal of Glaciology, 49(167): 539–546

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yang, Z. N., 1991. Glacier Water Resources in China. Gansu Science and Technology Press, Lanzhou. 81–150 (in Chinese)

    Google Scholar 

  • Yao, T. D., Wang, Y. Q., Liu, S. Y., et al., 2004. Recent Glacial Retreat in High Asia in China and Its Impact on Water Resources in Northwest China. Science in China (Series D), 47(12): 1065–1075

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ye, Q. H., Kang, S. C., Chen, F., et al., 2006. Monitoring Glacier Variations on Geladandong Mountain, Central Tibetan Plateau, from 1969 to 2002 Using Remote Sensing and GIS Technologies. Journal of Glaciology, 52(179): 537–545

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhao, L. Q., 2009. A Study of Glacier Changes and Surface Dust on Lenglongling Glaciers in the Qilian Mountains: [Dissertation]. Lanzhou University, Lanzhou. 1–57 (in Chinese with English Abstract)

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences/Tien Shan Glaciological Station, Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Puyu Wang  (王璞玉) & Zhongqin Li  (李忠勤)

  2. College of Geography and Environment Sciences, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Zhongqin Li  (李忠勤)

  3. College of Geography and Environment Science, Northwest Normal University, Lanzhou, 730070, China

    Wenyu Gao  (高闻宇)

Authors
  1. Puyu Wang  (王璞玉)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Zhongqin Li  (李忠勤)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Wenyu Gao  (高闻宇)
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Puyu Wang  (王璞玉).

Additional information

This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Nos. 2010CB951003 and 2007CB411501) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 91025012 and J0930003/J0109).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Wang, P., Li, Z. & Gao, W. Rapid shrinking of glaciers in the Middle Qilian Mountain region of Northwest China during the last ∼50 years. J. Earth Sci. 22, 539–548 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-011-0195-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-011-0195-4

Key words

Search

Navigation