Abstract
The eastern Tien Shan hosts substantial mid-latitude glaciers, but in situ glacier mass balance records are extremely sparse. Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 (eastern Tien Shan, China) is one of the very few well-measured glaciers, and comprehensive glaciological measurements were implemented from 1999 to 2011 and re-established in 2017. Mass balance of Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 (1999–2015) has recently been reported, but the mass balance record has not extended to the period before 1999. Here, we used a 1:50,000-scale topographic map and long-range terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data to calculate the area, volume, and mass changes for Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 from 1964 to 2018. Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 lost 0.34 km2 (at a rate of 0.006 km2 a−1 or 0.42% a−1) of its area during the period 1964–2018. The glacier experienced clearly negative surface elevation changes and geodetic mass balance. Thinning occurred almost across the entire glacier surface, with a mean value of −0.43 ± 0.12 m a−1. The calculated average geodetic mass balance was −0.36 ± 0.12 m w.e. a−1. Without considering the error bounds of mass balance estimates, glacier mass loss over the past 50 years was in line with the observed and modeled mass balance (−0.37 ± 0.22 m w.e. a−1) that was published for short time intervals since 1999 but was slightly less negative than glacier mass loss in the entire eastern Tien Shan. Our results indicate that Riegl VZ®-6000 TLS can be widely used for mass balance measurements of unmonitored individual glaciers.
Highlights
Glaciers store a large amount of fresh water and provide an indispensable supply of water to arid and semi-arid regions such as the Tien Shan [1]
50 years was in line with the observed and modeled mass balance (−0.37 ± 0.22 m w.e. a−1 ) that was published for short time intervals since 1999 but was slightly less negative than glacier mass loss in the entire eastern Tien Shan
We extend the mass balance record of Haxilegen Glacier No 51 using a 1:50,000-scale topographic map constructed from aerial photography and the Riegl VZ® 6000 terrestrial laser scanning (TLS)-derived digital elevation models (DEMs)
Summary
Glaciers store a large amount of fresh water and provide an indispensable supply of water to arid and semi-arid regions such as the Tien Shan [1]. The concept of “natural solid reservoir” is well represented in the Tien Shan, which is heavily glacierized [2,3]. Glaciers in the Tien Shan have been retreating since the end of the Little Ice Age in the context of climate warming [4]. The continuous retreat and subsequent disappearance of glaciers strongly affect the quantity and seasonal distribution of runoff in Central Asia’s glacier-fed basins [4,5]. Glacier mass balance measurements are widely recognized as being key to studies of climate–glacier interactions, water resources and sea-level rise [5,6]. The annual and seasonal mass balance of individual glaciers can be measured using the direct glaciological method (i.e., measurements recorded from repeated snow pits observations and dense arrays of ablation stakes drilled into the glacier surface). There are only seven glaciers in the Tien Shan with a history of in situ mass balance measurements that extends more than five years, and two glaciers in the Tien Shan have glaciological mass balance records that cover more than 30 years
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