Abstract
This work analyzed the spatial and temporal variations of the glaciers in the Ebi Lake basin during the period 1964 to 2019, based on the 1st and 2nd Chinese Glacier Inventories (CGI) and remote sensing data; this is believed to be the first long-term comprehensive remote sensing investigation on the glacier change in this area, and it also diagnosed the response of the glaciers to the warming climate by analyzing digital elevation modeling and meteorology. The results show that there are 988 glaciers in total in the basin, with a total area of 560 km2 and average area of 0.57 km2 for a single glacier. The area and number of the glaciers oriented north and northeast are 205 km2 (327 glaciers) and 180 km2 (265 glaciers), respectively. The glaciers are categorized into eight classes as per their area, which are less than 0.1, 0.1–0.5, 0.5–1.0, 1.0–2.0, 2.0–5.0, 5.0–10.0, 10.0–20.0, and greater than 20.0 km2, respectively. The smaller glaciers between 0.1 km2 and 10.0 km2 account for 509 km2 or 91% in total area, and, in particular, the glaciers smaller than 0.5 km2 account for 74% in the total number. The glacial area is concentrated at 3500–4000 m in altitude (512 km2 or 91.4% in total). The number of glaciers in the basin decreased by 10.5% or 116, and their area decreased by 263.29 km2 (−4.79 km2 a−1) or 32% (−0.58% a−1) from 1964 to 2019; the glaciers with an area between 2.0 km2 and 5.0 km2 decreased by the largest, −82.60 km2 or −40.67% in the total area at −1.50 km2 a−1 or −0.74% a−1), and the largest decrease in number (i.e., 126 glaciers) occurs between 0.1 km2 and 0.5 km2. The total ice storage in the basin decreased by 97.84–153.22 km3 from 1964 to 2019, equivalent to 88.06–137.90 km3 water (taking 0.9 g cm−3 as ice mass density). The temperature increase rate in the basin was +0.37 °C decade−1, while the precipitation was +13.61 mm decade−1 during the last fifty-five years. This analysis shows that the increase in precipitation in the basin was not sufficient to compensate the mass loss of glaciers caused by the warming during the same period. The increase in temperature was the dominant factor exceeding precipitation mass supply for ruling the retreat of the glaciers in the entire basin.
Highlights
The cryosphere consists of snow, ice, and permafrost on and below the Earth’s land and ocean surfaces, and it is one of the major components in the climate system [1]
The number of glaciers in the basin decreased by 10.5% or 116, and their area decreased by 263.29 km2 (−4.79 km2 a−1 ) or 32% (−0.58% a−1 ) from 1964 to 2019; the glaciers with an area between 2.0 km2 and 5.0 km2 decreased by the largest, −82.60 km2 or −40.67% in the total area at
With the ArcGIS version 10.5 software [36] and the first and second Chinese Glacier Inventories (CGIs) cataloguing data, the glacier boundaries around the Ebi Lake Basin were vectorized and corrected by artificially visual interpretation in the Google Earth images, and the derived glacier boundaries were further amended with expert opinions
Summary
The cryosphere consists of snow, ice, and permafrost on and below the Earth’s land and ocean surfaces, and it is one of the major components in the climate system [1]. The accelerated shrinkage of the cryosphere in the context of global warming and the subsequent impacts on the sustainability of the Anthroposphere have attracted unprecedented attention and raised deep concern, because the High-Asian mountain glaciers are crucial for buffering against drought [2] and protecting life from drought [3] These mountain glaciers are an essential part of the global cryosphere and have shown generally varying degrees of continuous retreat in recent decades [4,5,6]. It is essential to assess the regional glaciers changeininaatimely timelymanner mannertotomonitor monitorglacier glacierwater waterresources resourcesand andassess assesstheir theirimpact impacton on change the water resource supply in the basin. Ebi Lake Basin, Tianshan, undergoing significant mass loss glacier changes from 1964 to. We will discuss the response of glaciers in the basin to the warming climate and suggest the measures of how to use the regional water resource for sustainability rationally
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