Glacier Shrinkage Research Articles

Glaciers Variation at ‘Shocking’ Pace in the Northeastern Margin of Tibetan Plateau from 1957 to 21st Century: A Case Study of Qiyi Glacier

Accelerating glacier shrinkage is one of the most consequential of global warming. Yet, projections for the region remain ambiguous because of the tremendous spatial heterogeneity, especially in the Qilian Mountains, where glacier melt runoff is a vital water resource for the arid downstream area. To better understand glacier changes in this region, this study took regional representative Qiyi Glacier as an example and applied an enhanced distributed surface mass balance (SMB) model to glimpse the SMB variation and possible impacts on melt runoff under the RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5 scenarios. Further, we combined a modified volume-scaling method to update the glacier geometry gradually to enhance long-term reliability. When forced with observed daily temperature and precipitation, the reconstructed glacier SMB, from 1957 through 2013, agrees well with the in situ observations. The result indicates an abrupt change for SMB from positive to negative in 1992 and subsequent mass accelerated loss after 2000. The increased summer air temperature and the pattern of large-scale atmospheric circulation shifts might both cause these changes. Using projected climate forcing from as many as 31 coupled GCMs from the CMIP 5 ensemble, the Qiyi Glacier is projected to undergo sustained SMB loss throughout the 21st century for both RCPs. By 2100, the Qiyi Glacier will lose ~25 m water equivalent (w.e.) for RCP 4.5 and ~37 m w.e. for RCP 8.5. Whereas the glacier area will shrink by 43% for RCP 4.5 and 54% for RCP 8.5 relative to 2013 glacier content, corresponding to the volume of the Qiyi Glacier will lose by 54% for RCP 4.5 and by 65% for RCP 8.5, accordingly. Simultaneously, the glacier terminus will experience extreme melts. The terminus elevation of the Qiyi Glacier will retreat from 4310 m a.s.l. in 2013 to 4810 m a.s.l. (RCP 4.5) and 4838 m a.s.l. (RCP 8.5) by the end of 2100, which will exceed the multi-year average ELA (4749 m) from 1957 to 2013. If the warming trends keep and glaciers melt like the Qiyi Glacier with this ‘shocking’ rate, it will raise the possibility of crippling, long-term water shortages for Hexi corridors.

Changes in Glacial Area Extent in Auyuittuq National Park, Pangnirtung

With global temperatures rising four times faster in the Canadian Arctic compared to global averages, glaciers in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) are starting to shrink at an alarming rate (Paul et al., 2020). To quantify rates of change, frequent updates of glacial outlines to provide an accurate database for monitoring are needed (Schaffer et al., 2017). Rundle, Nerutusoq, and Fort Beard Glaciers are all located on the Penny Ice Cap within Auyuittuk National Park, Baffin Island, Canada. Using a combination of aerial photography and ArcGIS Pro, I examined the historical and recent changes in glacial area extents. High resolution historical aerial photographs from the National Air Photo Library dating to September 1959 were manually georeferenced onto ArcGIS Pro. Photogrammetry techniques were then used to combine the aerial photographs into one combined orthographic image. The historic glaciers were then outlined using a manual technique based on the pixel size (8 μm) of the images using ArcGIS Pro. This allows me to compare glacial outlines from 2010 using the Randolph glacier inventory and 2022 using manual outline techniques described, respectively. Because using a manual technique can create accuracy limitation, specifically during the georeferencing process, I compared results for both time periods using an automatic method. Results from my work will provide estimates of changes in glacier area over time, the relative precision of different methods, and weather rates of shrinkage have increased over time. ReferencesPaul, F., Rastner, P., Azzoni, R. S., Diolaiuti, G., Fugazza, D., Le Bris, R., Nemec, J., Rabatel, A., Ramusovic, M., Schwaizer, G., & Smiraglia, C. (2020). Glacier shrinkage in the Alps continues unabated as revealed by a New Glacier Inventory from sentinel-2. Earth System Science Data, 12(3), 1805–1821. https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-1805-2020 Schaffer, N., Copland, L., & Zdanowicz , C. (2017). Ice velocity changes on Penny Ice Cap, Baffin Island, since the 1950s. Journal of Glaciology, 63(240), 716–730. https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.40

Geophysical–geotechnical methodology for assessing the spatial distribution of glacio‐lacustrine sediments: The case history of Lake Seracchi

AbstractProglacial lakes are distinctive features of deglaciated landscapes and often act as sediment sinks, collecting solid material from subglacial erosion or washout of deglaciated areas. The solid transport flow, strongly linked to the glaciers and periglacial landforms, may rise due to the rapid changes driven by climate warming, causing deep transformations in the basin hydrology, and even the appearance or disappearance of lakes at a decadal timescale.The goal of this study was to present a geophysical–geotechnical approach that integrates several techniques, to quantify the sediment distribution in a proglacial lake. A geophysical survey is performed with ground‐penetrating radar (GPR) installed on a boat, whereas a time‐domain reflectometer (TDR) measures the electrical conductivity and permittivity of the lakebed sediments. Unperturbed samples are collected and analyzed to measure the main geotechnical properties of the sediment: grain‐size distribution, plastic limit, and liquid limit. Such properties support the interpretation of the GPR data and the detection of spatial variations of the sediment facies.To validate the proposed methodology, field tests were carried out at Lake Seracchi, the largest lake of the Rutor glacier, Italian Alps. It formed around 1880 because of the recent glacier shrinkage, as chronicled by valuable historical documents. Its greyish waters carry a significant amount of suspended sediment recognized as glacial flour, which gradually accumulates on the bottom of the lake.The obtained bathymetry and sediment thickness maps of Lake Seracchi show the strength of the approach: from only a few manual samples, it is possible to extrapolate the geotechnical properties of interest, such as friction angle or hydraulic conductivity, to wider areas, surveyed by the geophysical techniques. This is achieved by investigating the spatial distribution of key geophysical properties linked to the geotechnical properties of interest.

On periodic growth and shrinkage of glaciers in the Warwan sub-basin, western Himalaya, between 1990 and 2020

Knowledge about glacier extent, dynamics, and characteristics are important for climate change attribution and prediction. Understanding on long-term dynamics and glacier inventory is crucial, particularly for the melt-dominated and latitudinally-diverse western Himalayan glacier basins. In this study, a temporal inventory is prepared for Warwan-sub basin (WSB), utilizing satellite imageries since the 1993 (Landsat TM: 1993; ETM+: 2001, 2008; OLI: 2020) and elevation model (SRTM DEM: 2000). The base inventory was generated for the year 2001 and systematically adjusted to the glacier situations in 1993, 2008, and 2020. Results indicate that in the year 2001, WSB in the western Himalaya included 84 glaciers (> 0.02 km2) covering an area of 187.9 ± 5.8 km2. The mapping (2001) further revealed a supraglacial debris cover of 15% of the glacierized area (28.2 ± 0.9 km2). Overall, the debris cover increased by 6% between 1993 and 2020. Temporal analyses clearly suggest a period of gain in the glacierized area (2001-2008) interspersed by the two phases of decline (1993-2001 and 2008-2020). Results specify a stronger decline in the glacierized area during 1993 to 2001 (197.03 ± 6.1 to 187.9 ± 5.8 km2) than between 2008 and 2020 (188.4 ± 5.9 to 182.8 ± 5.66 km2). Remarkably, the glacierized area increased from 187.9 ± 5.8 to 188.4 ± 5.8 km2 during 2001 to 2008. In view of widespread recession of regional glaciers, the gain in the area between 2001 and 2008 represents a peculiar characteristic of WSB that needs further detailed investigation. Further analyses suggest that low-altitude, east-facing, debris-free, steep-sloped, and small glaciers experienced greater loss in the area than large, debris-covered, north-facing, gently sloped, and high-altitude glaciers. Overall, the study at the sub-basin scale reveals inherent glacier dynamics with periodic increase and decrease in the glacierized area and a notable influence of non-climatic factors in regulating spatial heterogeneity and the rate of glacier changes.

Half-a-century (1971–2020) of glacier shrinkage and climatic variability in the Bhaga basin, western Himalaya

Glacier shrinkage is a globally occurring phenomena. High-resolution change detection based on frequent mapping and monitoring of high-altitude glaciers is necessary to precisely evaluate future water availability and to understand glacier evolution under different climatic scenarios in the Hindukush-Karakoram-Himalayan (HKH) region. This also holds true for the Bhaga basin of the western Himalaya. This study investigates glacier and glacier lake changes in the Bhaga basin, over the last five decades based on satellite imagery including Corona KH4 (1971), Landsat 7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+; 2000), Linear Imaging Self-Scanning Sensor (LISS IV; 2013), and Sentinel 2 (2020). Regional temperature and precipitation trends were evaluated from gridded climatic datasets (1900–2020). In the Bhaga basin 306 glaciers (>0.2 km2) were mapped with a total area of 360.3 ± 4.0 km2, of which 55.7 ± 0.6 km2 was covered with debris in 2013. The total glacier covered area decreased by ∼8.2 ± 1.5 % (0.16 ± 0.03 % yr−1) during the entire observation period 1971–2020, with noticeable heterogeneity between tributary watersheds. In the past two decades (2000–2020), the deglaciation rate has increased significantly (0.25 % yr−1) compared to the previous decades (1971–2000; 0.12 % yr−1). Glacier lake area increased by 0.6 ± 0.1 km2 (0.012 km2 yr−1) between 1971 and 2020. The NCEP/NCAR climatic data reveals an increase of 0.63°C in temperature and a decrease of 6.39 mm in precipitation for the period 1948–2018. In comparison, APHRODITE data shows an increasing trend in temperature of 1.14°C between 1961 and 2015 and decreasing trend in precipitation of 31 mm between 1951 and 2007. Both NCEP/NCAR and APHRODITE data reveal significant temperature increase and precipitation decrease since the 1990s, which have probably augmented ice loss in the Bhaga basin during the early 21st century.

Postglacial fluctuations of western outlet glaciers of the Southern Patagonian Icefield reconstructed from fjord sediments (Chile, 50°S)

Postglacial fluctuations of Southern Patagonian Icefield (SPI) glaciers are well constrained on the leeward side of the Andes, but they remain mostly unknown on the windward side of the icefield, where most glaciers are marine-terminating. Here, we reconstruct the postglacial fluctuations of the HPS19, Penguin, and Europa glaciers along the hyperhumid western side of the SPI using a multi-proxy sedimentological and geochemical analysis of a 12.2 m long sediment core from Wide Channel (50°S). Results show that the glaciers retreated into Penguin and Europa fjords by 11.2 cal kyr BP and that they were relatively stable and marine-terminating between 11.2 and 5.8 cal kyr BP. Thereafter, they fluctuated rapidly, with four marked episodes of glacier shrinkage at 5.8–4.8, 3.9–2.4, 1.0–0.2 cal kyr BP, and during the 20th century. Although the HPS19, Penguin, and Europa glaciers were calving into Penguin and Europa fjords during most of the Holocene, our data suggest that they retreated to land-based positions between 5.8 and 4.8 cal kyr BP. The comparison of our sediment record with geological archives from both sides of the Patagonian icefields (46°–56°S) suggests synchronous glacier variability on multi-centennial timescales during the Neoglacial period, which is particularly clear after 2.5 cal kyr BP. We conclude that western SPI outlet glaciers remained relatively stable during the first half of the Holocene but fluctuated considerably during the Neoglacial period, and that they retreated to locations further inland than today during the first retreat of the Neoglacial period between 5.8 and 4.8 cal kyr BP.

Contemporary climate change problems in Central Asia

According to the moderate climate change scenario, the direct impact of climate change on irrigated crops, including cotton, wheat, apples, tomatoes, and potatoes, is pro-jected to decrease the yields by 1–13% by 2050. However, the demand for food is expected to increase overall due to the population growth and poverty reduction goals. The rate of climate change in the countries varies. The highest decadal rates of climate change were recorded in Uzbekistan at 0.29°C (1950-2005) and in Kazakhstan at 0.26°C (1936-2005). The climate change rate in Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan were 0.08°C and 0.10°C, respectively. In these upstream countries, the area of forests and mountain ranges is relatively large, and the possible negative impact of climatic factors is relatively small. Thus, the contemporary problems in Central Asia in the context of climate change are related to a growing scarcity of water resources; uneven distribution of water resources across the countries in relation to the needs; relatively low water use efficiency (especially in agriculture); relatively high population growth rates and intensification of economic processes. If additional resource-saving measures are not taken, the negative consequences of climate change in the region may include an increased risk of water shortages, droughts, and other dangerous hydrome-teorological events that lead to instability of agricultural production and threaten food secu-rity; and particularly the shrinkage of glaciers and therewith one of the key sources of freshwater. Overall, a strategy of action plans on climate change nationally and region-wide is urgently needed, including both adaptation and mitigation measures.

Glacier fluctuations and a proglacial evolution in King George Bay (King George Island), Antarctica, since 1980 decade.

This study aims to investigate the glacier shrinkage and recent proglacial environment in King George Bay, Antarctica, since 1988 in response to climate change. Remote sensing data (SPOT, Sentinel, Landsat and Planet Scope images) were applied to glacial landforms and ice-marginal fluctuations mapping. Annual mean near-surface air temperature reanalysis solutions from ERA-Interim were analyzed. Moraines and glaciofluvial landforms were identified. The Ana Northern Glacier has the highest retreat value (3.64 km) (and area loss of 31%) in response to higher depth in frontal ice-margin and reveal ocean-glacier linkages. The Ana South Glacier changed from a tidewater glacier to land-terminating after 1995, and had an outline minimum elevation variation of 89 meters, a shrinkage of 0.63 km, and a new proglacial subaerial sector. The Ana South Glacier foreland had recessional moraines (probably formed between 1995 and 2022), lagoons, and lakes. There are many flutings in low-relief environments. The 1980-1989, 1990-1999, 2000-2009, 2010-2019 anomaly plots concerning to the 1980-2019 average for atmospheric temperature, are shown to be a driver of the local glacial trends.

Changes in volume and geometry of the Austre Dahlfonna glacier (Spitsbergen island) in 2008–2019

Previously published geodetic mass balance data indicate glacier shrinkage in the Barentsburg area of Svalbard since the beginning of the 20th century on the decadal time scale. However, observations for shorter time spans allowing one to compute the inter-annual variability of the mass balance are scarce. The study presents results of ground-based GNSS and the GPR surveys of the Austre Dahlfonna glacier (2 sq km) located on Spitsbergen island, south of the town of Barentsburg. According to the GPR survey of spring 2019 at 50 MHz frequency, the area-averaged ice thickness was equal to 82 m, while the maximum was 170 m. The results confirm the polythermal structure of the glacier, with a layer of underlying temperate ice. Since the end of the Little Ice Age, the area of Austre Dahlfonna has halved. By comparing the GNSS survey results (the end of the melt season of 2019) with the co-registered archived remote sensing data (ArcticDEM strip of 2013 and S0 Terrengmodell of 2008), it was computed that, within the last 12 years (2008–2019), Austre Dahlfonna lost 16 % of its volume, which corresponds to a geodetic mass balance of –12.05 ± 0.85 m w. e. The mass loss in 2008–2013 (5.22 ± 0.37 m w. e.) was lower than in 2013–2019 (6.83 ± 0.48 m w. e.), which is in agreement with the ongoing direct measurements on the neighboring Austre Grønfjordbreen glacier and with the archipelago-wide mass-balance patterns. We demonstrate that the less intensive glacier mass loss, which occurred in 2005–2012 and was detected previously for the whole archipelago, definitely took place in the Barentsburg area as well. This time interval is characterized by the prevalence of a negative NAO phase (65 % of recurrence), which may indicate more frequent intrusions of colder Arctic air masses. This fact proves that the mass-balance variability of the Barentsburg area glaciers is governed in time spans of 5–10 years by regional-scale factors, presumably by shifts in the atmospheric circulation regimes.

Shrinkage of Glaciers in Eastern Altai (Shapshal Center) after the Little Ice Age Maximum

Shrinkage of Glaciers in Eastern Altai (Shapshal Center) after the Little Ice Age Maximum

A Wireless Real-Time Continuous Monitoring System for the Internal Movements of Mountain Glaciers Using Sensor Networks

With the escalation of global warming, the shrinkage of mountain glaciers has accelerated globally, the water volume from glaciers has changed, and relative disasters have increased in intensity and frequency (for example, ice avalanches, surging glaciers, and glacial lake outburst floods). However, the wireless monitoring of glacial movements cannot currently achieve omnidirectional, high-precision, real-time results, since there are some technical bottlenecks. Based on wireless networks and sensor application technologies, this study designed a wireless monitoring system for measuring the internal parameters of mountain glaciers, such as temperature, pressure, humidity, and power voltage, and for wirelessly transmitting real-time measurement data. The system consists of two parts, with a glacier internal monitoring unit as one part and a glacier surface base station as the second part. The former wirelessly transmits the monitoring data to the latter, and the latter processes the received data and then uploads the data to a cloud data platform via 4G or satellite signals. The wireless system can avoid cable constraints and transmission failures due to breaking cables. The system can provide more accurate field-monitoring data for simulating glacier movements and further offers an early warning system for glacial disasters.

Spatiotemporal variations in surface albedo during the ablation season and linkages with the annual mass balance on Muz Taw Glacier, Altai Mountains

ABSTRACT Melt-albedo feedback on glaciers is recognized as important processes for understanding glacier behavior and its sensitivity to climate change. This study selected the Muz Taw Glacier in the Altai Mountains to investigate the spatiotemporal variations in albedo and their linkages with mass balance, which will improve our knowledge of the recent acceleration of regional glacier shrinkage. Based on the Landsat-derived albedo, the spatial distribution of ablation-period albedo was characterized by a general increase with elevation, and significant east–west differences at the same elevation. The gap-filling MODIS values captured a nonsignificant negative trend of mean ablation-period albedo since 2000, with a total decrease of approximately 4.2%. From May to September, glacier-wide albedo exhibited pronounced V-shaped seasonal variability. A significant decrease in annual minimum albedo was found from 2000 to 2021, with the rate of approximately −0.30% yr−1 at the 99% confidence level. The bivariate relationship demonstrated that the change of ablation-period albedo explained 82% of the annual mass-balance variability. We applied the albedo method to estimate annual mass balance over the period 2000–2015. Combined with observed values, the average mass balance was −0.82 ± 0.32 m w.e. yr−1 between 2000 and 2020, with accelerated mass loss.

Spatial pattern of the debris-cover effect and its role in the Hindu Kush-Pamir-Karakoram-Himalaya glaciers

Supraglacial debris is widespread on the Hindu Kush-Pamir-Karakoram-Himalaya (HPKH) glaciers, which influences ice melt rates and glacier response to climate change, with important consequences for regional water resources. Supraglacial debris has shown an expanding trend with glacier shrinkage and mass loss, but knowledge about regional spatial patterns of debris cover and associated impacts on HPKH glaciers is still incomplete, which markedly affects the assessment accuracy of regional debris-covered glacier status and hydrological impacts. Here, we address these issues based on ASTER imagery, glacier inventory, and a physically-based ice melt model. We find that about 14.3 % of the regional glacier area is covered by supraglacial debris, and its thickness decreases gradually from northwest to southeast of the region overall. Except for the glaciers of western Himalaya and Karakoram, where the acceleration effect of debris cover is dominant, the insulation effect of debris cover on the glaciers of Pamir, Hindu-Kush, central and eastern Himalaya is particularly significant. The heterogeneous distribution of debris thickness and the resulting melt hotspots (ice cliffs and supraglacial ponds) enhance debris-covered surface thinning in the HPKH region, but it is not the dominant cause of surface thinning. Overall, the net effect of considering spatially distributed debris thickness can reduce total mass loss of debris-covered glaciers by 0.44 ± 0.04 m water equivalent (w. e.) yr−1. As a result, the presence of debris cover retards accelerated glacier melting caused by current climate warming, with important implications for slowing down regional water shortage and ecological environment risk in the HPKH region. Our findings highlight the importance of including the debris-cover effect in regional glacier models for assessing future glacier change and associated hydrological impacts in the HPKH region.

Rapid Glacier Shrinkage in the Gongga Mountains in the Last 27 Years

Glaciers are an important part of the cryosphere and important reservoirs of fresh water on Earth. Glaciers in the Gongga Mountains, located in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, have been experiencing dramatic changes and substantially shrinking over the past two decades. We analyzed the glacier change over the Gongga Mountains using the Landsat data from 1994 to 2021 (interval of 4 or 5 years), with Gaofen-1 (GF-1) data to evaluate the uncertainty. The glacier shrinkage under different terrain conditions, including altitudes, slope, and slope direction, was further explored. Finally, we evaluated the response of glacier shrinkage to climate change using precipitation and temperature data for nearly 30 years. Results show that the glaciers in the Gongga Mountains are experiencing an accelerating ablation, with a glacier area of ~240 km2 in 1994 and ~212 km2 in 2021 (an average annual shrinkage rate of 1.04 km2/a). The shrinkage mainly occurs in areas with altitudes of 5000–5300 m and a slope of 30–40°. Moreover, the shrinkage is strongly related to the recent warming of the climate, with the warming rate being 0.19 °C/10a, while precipitation remains almost constant during 1978–2019. The results provide a scientific basis for water resources management, ecological environmental protection, and natural disaster protection in southeast Tibet for decision making.

Metabarcoding data reveal vertical multitaxa variation in topsoil communities during the colonization of deglaciated forelands.

Ice-free areas are expanding worldwide due to dramatic glacier shrinkage and are undergoing rapid colonization by multiple lifeforms, thus representing key environments to study ecosystem development. It has been proposed that the colonization dynamics of deglaciated terrains is different between surface and deep soils but that the heterogeneity between communities inhabiting surface and deep soils decreases through time. Nevertheless, tests of this hypothesis remain scarce, and it is unclear whether patterns are consistent among different taxonomic groups. Here, we used environmental DNA metabarcoding to test whether community diversity and composition of six groups (Eukaryota, Bacteria, Mycota, Collembola, Insecta, and Oligochaeta) differ between the surface (0-5 cm) and deeper (7.5-20cm) soil at different stages of development and across five Alpine glaciers. Taxonomic diversity increased with time since glacier retreat and with soil evolution. The pattern was consistent across groups and soil depths. For Eukaryota and Mycota, alpha-diversity was highest at the surface. Time since glacier retreat explained more variation of community composition than depth. Beta-diversity between surface and deep layers decreased with time since glacier retreat, supporting the hypothesis that the first 20cm of soil tends to homogenize through time. Several molecular operational taxonomic units of bacteria and fungi were significant indicators of specific depths and/or soil development stages, confirming the strong functional variation of microbial communities through time and depth. The complexity of community patterns highlights the importance of integrating information from multiple taxonomic groups to unravel community variation in response to ongoing global changes.

Changes of streamflow regulation in an Andean watershed with shrinking glaciers: implications for water security

ABSTRACT Glaciated Andean mountains have experienced several decades of shrinkage in their transition to non-glaciated regimes. This study analyses the period of hydrologic transition from 1956 to 2020 in a watershed of the Sierra Nevada del Cocuy (SNC), which is the most extensive remaining tropical glacier in Colombia. Using ground hydrometeorological data, remote sensing products, a metric of extreme flow regulation, and decadal flow duration curves, the study shows how the combined effect of continuous glacier shrinkage, highly variable precipitation regimes and increasing human extractions have altered the hydrological capacity of the watershed to regulate high, low, and mean flows. The alteration is noticeable since the 2000s, when communities have effectively benefited from the surplus of baseflow provided by the shrinking glacier to the limit, creating an unsustainable dependency with potential restrictions of use in the short run and major implications for water security of humans and the environment in the forthcoming decades.

Spatial patterns of benthic biofilm diversity among streams draining proglacial floodplains.

Glacier shrinkage opens new proglacial terrain with pronounced environmental gradients along longitudinal and lateral chronosequences. Despite the environmental harshness of the streams that drain glacier forelands, their benthic biofilms can harbor astonishing biodiversity spanning all domains of life. Here, we studied the spatial dynamics of prokaryotic and eukaryotic photoautotroph diversity within braided glacier-fed streams and tributaries draining lateral terraces predominantly fed by groundwater and snowmelt across three proglacial floodplains in the Swiss Alps. Along the lateral chronosequence, we found that benthic biofilms in tributaries develop higher biomass than those in glacier-fed streams, and that their respective diversity and community composition differed markedly. We also found spatial turnover of bacterial communities in the glacier-fed streams along the longitudinal chronosequence. These patterns along the two chronosequences seem unexpected given the close spatial proximity and connectivity of the various streams, suggesting environmental filtering as an underlying mechanism. Furthermore, our results suggest that photoautotrophic communities shape bacterial communities across the various streams, which is understandable given that algae are the major source of organic matter in proglacial streams. Overall, our findings shed new light on benthic biofilms in proglacial streams now changing at rapid pace owing to climate-induced glacier shrinkage.

Post‐glacial dynamics of an alpine Little Ice Age glacitectonized frozen landform (Aget, western Swiss Alps)

AbstractGlaciers and frozen‐debris landforms have coexisted and episodically or continuously interacted throughout the Holocene at elevations where the climate conditions are cold enough for permafrost to occur. In the European Alps, the Little Ice Age (LIA) characterized the apogee of the last interaction phase. In areas of consecutive post‐LIA glacier shrinkage, the geomorphological dominant conditioning of the ongoing paraglacial phase may have transitioned from glacial to periglacial and later even shifted to post‐periglacial. Such transitions can be observed through the morphodynamics of glacitectonized frozen landforms (GFLs), which are permafrost‐related pre‐existing frozen masses of debris deformed (tectonized) by the pressure exerted by an interacting glacier. This contribution aims at evidencing the processes driving the ongoing morphodynamical evolution of an actively back‐creeping GFL within the LIA forefield of the Aget glacier on the basis of long‐term time series of ground surface temperature, and in‐situ geodetic and geoelectrical measurements. Our observations for the last two decades (1998–2020), which have been the warmest since the LIA, reveal a resistivity decrease in the permafrost body and a surface subsidence of up to a few centimeters per year. The former indicate a liquid water‐to‐ice content ratio increase within the permafrost body and the latter a ground ice melt at the permafrost table, both processes having taken place heterogeneously at the scale of the landform. The absence of acceleration of landform motion during that period despite a probable warming trend of the frozen ground may indicate that the ongoing degradation is reaching a tipping point at which processes related to interparticle friction and thinning of the permafrost body contribute to gradually inactivate the mechanism of permafrost creep.

Salinity-Linked Denitrification Potential in Endorheic Lake Bosten (China) and Its Sensitivity to Climate Change

Endorheic lakes in arid regions of Northwest China are generally vulnerable and sensitive to accelerated climate change and extensive human activities. Therefore, a better understanding of the self-purification capacity of ecosystems, such as denitrification, is necessary to effectively protect these water resources. In the present study, we measured unamended and amended denitrification rates of Lake Bosten by adding the ambient and extra nitrate isotopes in slurry incubations. Meanwhile, we investigated the abundances and community structure of nitrous oxide-reducing microorganisms using qPCR and high-throughput sequencing, respectively, in the surface sediments of Lake Bosten to study denitrification potential in endorheic lakes of arid regions as well as the response of those denitrifiers to climatically induced changes in lake environments. Amended denitrification rates increased by one order of magnitude compared to unamended rates in Lake Bosten. The great discrepancy between unamended and amended rates was attributed to low nitrate availability, indicating that Lake Bosten is not operating at maximum capacity of denitrification. Salinity shaped the spatial heterogeneity of denitrification potential through changes in the abundances and species diversity of denitrifiers. Climate change had a positive effect on the water quality of Lake Bosten so far, through increased runoff, decreased salinity, and enhanced denitrification. But the long-term trajectories of water quality are difficult to predict alongside future glacier shrinkage and decreased snow cover.

Benthic Biofilms in Glacier-Fed Streams from Scandinavia to the Himalayas Host Distinct Bacterial Communities Compared with the Streamwater.

Microbial life in glacier-fed streams (GFSs) is dominated by benthic biofilms which fulfill critical ecosystem processes. However, it remains unclear how the bacterial communities of these biofilms assemble in stream ecosystems characterized by rapid turnover of benthic habitats and high suspended sediment loads. Using16S rRNA gene amplicon sequence data collected from 54 GFSs across the Himalayas, European Alps, and Scandinavian Mountains, we found that benthic biofilms harbor bacterial communities that are distinct from the bacterial assemblages suspended in the streamwater. Our data showed a decrease in species richness in the benthic biofilms compared to the bacterial cells putatively free-living in the water. The benthic biofilms also differed from the suspended water fractions in terms of community composition. Differential abundance analyses highlighted bacterial families that were specific to the benthic biofilms and the suspended assemblages. Notably, source-sink models suggested that the benthic biofilm communities are not simply a subset of the suspended assemblages. Rather, we found evidence that deterministic processes (e.g., species sorting) shape the benthic biofilm communities. This is unexpected given the high vertical mixing of water and contained bacterial cells in GFSs and further highlights the benthic biofilm mode of life as one that is determined through niche-related processes. Our findings therefore reveal a "native" benthic biofilm community in an ecosystem that is currently threatened by climate-induced glacier shrinkage. IMPORTANCE Benthic biofilms represent the dominant form of life in glacier-fed streams. However, it remains unclear how bacterial communities within these biofilms assemble. Our findings from glacier-fed streams from three major mountain ranges across the Himalayas, the European Alps and the Scandinavian Mountains reveal a bacterial community associated with benthic biofilms that is distinct from the assemblage in the overlying streamwater. Our analyses suggest that selection is the underlying process to this differentiation. This is unexpected given that bacterial cells that are freely living or attached to the abundant sediment particles suspended in the water continuously mix with the benthic biofilms. The latter colonize loose sediments that are subject to high turnover owing to the forces of the water flow. Our research unravels the existence of a microbiome specific to benthic biofilms in glacier-fed streams, now under major threats due to global warming.