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Potential Effect of Black Carbon on Glacier Mass Balance during the Past 55 Years of Laohugou Glacier No. 12, Western Qilian Mountains

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Abstract

This study reconstructed the annual mass balance (MB) of Laohugou Glacier No. 12 in the western Qilian Mountains during 1961–2015. The annual MB was calculated based on a temperature-index and an accumulation model with inputs of daily air temperature and precipitation recorded by surrounding meteorological stations. The model was calibrated by in-situ MB measurements conducted on the glacier during 2010–2015. Change in constructed annual MB had three phases. During Phase I (1961-1984), glacier-wide MB values were slightly positive with an average MB of 24±276 mm w.e. (water equivalent). During Phase II (1984-1995), the MB values became slightly negative with an average MB of −50±276 mm w.e.. The most negative MB values were found during Phase III (1996–2015), with an average MB of −377±276 mm w.e. Climatic analysis showed that the warming led to accelerated glacier mass loss despite a persistent increase of precipitation during the analysis period. However, an increase of black carbon deposited on the glacier surface since the 1980s could have contributed to intensified glacier melt. From simulations and measurements of MB on the Urumqi Glacier No. 1, 26% of glacier melt caused by black carbon could be identified.

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Acknowledgments

The work were supported by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. QYZDJ-SSW-DQC039), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41630754, 41721091), the Science and Technology planning Project of Gansu Province (No. 18JR4RA002), and the Project of the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences (Nos. SKLCS-OP-2018-06, SKLCS-OP-2019-01), the Open Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic Engineering (No. 2017490711). Many thanks are also extended to colleagues working at Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Ecological Environment. The final publication is available at Springer via https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-019-1238-5.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Qilian Shan Station of Glaciology and Ecological Environment, State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Lanzhou, 730000, China

    Jizu Chen, Xiang Qin, Shichang Kang, Wentao Du & Yushuo Liu

  2. CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China

    Shichang Kang

  3. College of Geography and Environment, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, 250014, China

    Weijun Sun

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  1. Jizu Chen
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Correspondence to Wentao Du.

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Chen, J., Qin, X., Kang, S. et al. Potential Effect of Black Carbon on Glacier Mass Balance during the Past 55 Years of Laohugou Glacier No. 12, Western Qilian Mountains. J. Earth Sci. 31, 410–418 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-019-1238-5

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