Characteristics of mountain glacier surge hazard: learning from a surge event in NE Pamir,China

Abnormal glacier movement is likely to result in canyon-type hazards chain, such as the barrier lake of Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon formed by glacier debris flow in October 2018 in China.Glacier hazard usually evolves from the glacier surge and may occur in a regular cycle. Understanding the characteristics and process of glacier surge is important for early hazard recognition and hazard assessment. Based on field investigations, remote sensing interpretations and SAR offset-tracking surveys, this study confirms a typical glacier surge in the northeast Pamir, and presents its characteristics and processes. "Black ice" mixed moraines choking uplift and overflowing lateral marine are the most important scenic characteristics, which were formed under the conditions of stagnant glacier downstream and abundant super-glacial moraine. Glacier movement event can be divided into a five-period cycle including quiescent, inoculation, initiation,fracture and decline. This surge event lasted for about 300 days, initiated in February 2015 developed extensive fracturing zone in spring and early summer at maximum velocity of 10±0.95 m/day, declined after August 2015 and recovered to quiescent status in October 2015 for the next inoculation. The average height of glacier "receiving" area increased by 20-40 m with 2.7-3.6×10~8 m~3 ice transferred from glacier "reservoir", and this volume accumulation again require 50-100 years for glacier mass balance which gives approximately 100 years frequency of the glacier surge. Nevertheless, long-period increase of precipitation and temperature were favorable for the occurrence, hydrological instability is the direct triggering mechanism, and while the Glacier Lake Outburst Flood(GLOF) hazards are unlikely to occur with this surge.     

Relict glacial landscape in the Sierra Baguales Mountain Range(50°-51° S): evidence of glaciation dynamics and types in the eastern foothills of the southern Patagonian Andes

The glacial morphology of southern South American presents invaluable evidence to reconstruct former glacier behaviour and its relation to climate and environmental changes. However, there are still spatial and temporal gaps in the reconstruction of the Holocene Patagonian glacial landscape. Here we present the first geomorphological record for the Sierra Baguales Mountain Range(SBMR), forming the eastern foothills of the Southern Patagonian Andes 200 km from the Pacific coast. This area is topographically isolated from the Southern Patagonian Ice Field(SPIF), and is affected by the Westerly Winds. The study area shows evidence of ice sheet and alpine glaciations related to Andean uplift,which caused a marked climatic contrast between its western and eastern flanks since the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM). The regional rock mass strength and precipitation gradient acted as a controlling factor in the glacial cirque distribution and sizes, as well as in the development of glaciation types. We report new radiocarbon dates associated with warm/dry to cold/wet climatic changes during the middle Holocene, when former small alpine glaciers were located in the uppermost section of the SBMR basins, and eventually converged to form a small ice field or a composite valley glacier at lower elevations.This can be explained by an estimated regional temperature drop of 3.8°C±0.8°C, based on a 585±26m Equilibrium Line Altitude(ELA) descent, inferred by geomorphological evidence and the Accumulation Area Ratio(AAR), in addition to a free-air adiabatic lapse rate. Subsequently, the glaciers receded due to climatic factors including a rise in temperature, as well as non-climatic factors, mainly the glacier bedrock topography.     

New findings concerning the Pleistocene Glaciation of the Leh Basin,Ladakh(34°03'N/77°38'E)

Like for most parts of High Asia,researches concerning the Pleistocene landscape evolution of the Leh Basin(34°03' N/77°38' E) have also left contradictions.To push this topic,three up to now unexplored Ladakh Range tributaries of the Leh Basin(Stagmo-,Arzu-and Nang-Valley) have been investigated.U-shaped profiles,transfluence passes,moraine mantled and glacially rounded peaks and ridges,roches moutonnées,glacial flank polishings and ground moraines document the former glaciation of the study area.The ice fillings of these tributaries reached a minimum thickness up to 540 m.Even at the valley outlets and on the orographic right side of the Leh Basin,the glaciation was more than 350 m thick.Based on these empirically extracted results,theoretical snow line considerations lead to the conclusion that the whole Leh Basin was filled up by a former Indus-Valley glacier.An ice injection limited to the nourishment areas of the Ladakh Range valleys could not have caused the reconstructed ice cover(down to 3236 m a.s.l.),which is proved by extended ground moraine complexes.Only an Indus ice stream network(most likely during the LGP),nourished by inflowing glaciers of the Ladakh-and Stok Range,explains the widespread existence of the glacial sediments at the outlets of the investigated valleys.     

Digital terrain modelling using Corona and ALOS PRISM data to investigate the distal part of Imja Glacier, Khumbu Himal, Nepal

This study used Corona KH-4A and Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS) PRISM images to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) of the distal part of Imja Glacier,where a few supraglacial ponds (～0.07 km 2) expanded into the large Imja Glacier Lake (Imja Tsho,～0.91 km 2) between 1964 and 2006.DTMs and subsequently derived topographical maps with contour intervals of 1 m were created from the high-resolution images (Corona in 1964 and ALOS in 2006) in the Leica Photogrammetric Suite (LPS) platform.The DTMs and topographic maps provided excellent representation of the elevation and micro-topography of the glacier surface,such as its supra-glacial ponds/lake,surface depressions,and moraine ridges,with an error of about +/-4 m (maximum).The DTMs produced from the Corona and ALOS PRISM images are suitable for use in studies of the surface change of glaciers.The topographical maps produced from the Corona data (1964) showed that part of the dead ice in the down-glacier area was even higher than the top of the lateral moraine ridges,while the glacier surface in the up-glacier area was noticeably lower than the moraine crests.This suggests more extensive melting of glacier ice in the up-glacier area before 1964.The average lowering of the glacier surface from 1964 to 2006 was 16.9 m for the dead-ice area west of the lake and 47.4 m for the glacier surface east of the lake;between 1964 and 2002,the lake surface lowered by 82.3 m.These figures represent average lowering rates of 0.4,1.1,and 2.2 m/year for the respective areas.     

The Maximum Ice Age Glaciation between the Karakorum Main Ridge （K2） and the Tarim Basin and its Influence on Global Energy Balance

A modern research approach and working techniques in hitherto unexamined areas, produced the following results: 1). The tongues of decakilometre long Karakorum glaciers belong to temperate ice-streams with an annual meltwateroutput. The short Aghil glaciers on the contrary are continental, arid and cold. 2). The present-day oscillations of the Karakorum glaciers are related to their own mass, and are contrary to and independent of the actual climate. Only the short glaciers, with steep tongue fronts, show a present-day positive balance. 3). ^14C- dated Late Glacial moraines indicate a 400-800 m thick valley glacier at the former confluence point of the K2-, Sarpo Laggo- and Skamri glaciers. 4). From the evidence of transfluence passes with roches moutonn6es, striae and the limits of glacial polishing, as well as moraines and erratics, a High Glacial at least 12oo m thick ice-stream network between the Karakorums and the Kuen Lun north slopes was reconstructed. The Shaksgam and Yarkand valleys were occupied by glaciers coming from west Tibet. The lowest-lying moraines are to be found in the foreland down to 2000 m, indicating a depression of the High Glacial (LGM) snowline (ELA) by 13oo m.5). The approximately 10,000 measurements of the radiation balance at up to heights of 5500 m on K2 indicate that with incoming energy near the solar constant the reflection from snow- covered ice is up to 70% greater than from rock and rock waste surfaces.6).These results confirm for the very dry western margins of Tibet an almost complete ice sheet cover in an area with subtropical energy balance, conforming with the Ice Age hypothesis of the author which is based upon the presence of a 2.4 million km^2 Tibetan inland ice sheet. This inland ice developed for the first time when Tibet was uplifted over the snowline during the early Pleistocene. As the measured subtropical radiation balance shows, it was able to trigger the Quaternary Ice Ages.     

Landscape Dynamics and Driving Factors in Da＇an County of Jilin Province in Northeast China During 1956-2000

The landscape pattern of Da＇an County, Northeast China has undergone significant changes since the 1950s as a result of climatic change and human activities. The aim of this paper is to quantitatively study landscape pattern and its spatial dynamics of Da＇an County at the landscape level over the nearly 50-year span. Patch dynamics were examined according to land use and land cover change processes built from a series of images, as well as topographic maps, and temporal patterns built from landscape pattern metrics. The transition matrix of landscape patch types and changes of various landscape metrics were applied. The results showed that, from 1956 to 2000, the landscape within the study area had undertaken a complicated evolution in landscape structure and composition. The outstanding characteristic is that saline-alkali land increased and grassland decreased. As some smaller patches amalgamated, the heterogeneity of patch decreased. All those changes were the synthetic result of both climatic and anthropogenic influences, but the predominant factor was different in different parts. In the southern part of the study area, the landscape pattern changes resulted from the modification of climate obviously, while in the northern part, the landscape pattern changes were mainly caused by human activities, such as the conversion between farmland and saline-alkali land. This phenomenon showed that human activities played more important role in the north than in the south of Da＇an County.     

A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF TIDAL CURRENT RIDGES

Tidal current ridges, widely distributed geomorphological phenomena over the continental shelf of the world, are studied. They are formed by tidal current and the trend of their sand bodies runs parallel to the direction of tidal current. There are two types of the plane shapes: the parallel and the fingered. Conditions of forming tidal current ridges are the velocities of tidal current ranging from 1 to 3.5 knots and the supply of abundant sediments. Tidal current ridges often develop in following morphological locations: the bays, estuaries, the mouths of channels, as well as the offshore area with strong tidal current. Tidal current ridges occur generally at a water depth of less than 35 metres.The sediments of tidal current ridges are mainly composed of sand. The grain size of the sedi-ments is uniform and well sorted. The characteristics of grain size of the sand imply that their formation mechanism is similar to that of river sand, that is, both of them are the result of flow movements in A trough     

The Pleistocene Glaciation in the KarakoramMountains： Reconstruction of Past Glacier Extensions and Ice Thicknesses

Geomorphological and Quaternarygeological field- and laboratory data (Fig.1) are introduced and interpreted with regard to the maximum Ice Age (LGM) glaciation of the Central and South Karakoram in the Braldu-, Basna-, Shigar and Indus valley system as well as on the Deosai plateau between the Skardu Basin and the Astor valley (Fig.2). These data result from two research expeditions in the years 1997 and 2000. They show that between c. 6o and 2o Ka the Central Karakorum and its south slope were covered by a continuous c. 125000 km^2 sized ice stream network. This ice stream network flowed together to a joint parent glacier, the Indus glacier. The tongue end of the Indus glacier reached down to 850 ～ 800m a.s.l. In its centre the surface of this Indus ice stream network reached a height of a good 6ooo m. Its most important ice thicknesses amounted to c. 2400 ～ 2900 m.     

Paleo-shoreline changes in moraine dammed lake Khagiin Khar,Khentey Mountains,Central Mongolia

The formation and evolution of glacier moraine-dammed lakes are closely related to past glacier expansion and retreat. Geomorphic markers such as lacustrine terraces and beach ridges observed in these lakes provide important evidence for regional paleoenvironment reconstruction. We document the magnitude of paleo-shoreline fluctuations and timings of highstands of lake water by using cosmogenic ~(10)Be surface exposure dating and optically stimulated luminescence(OSL) dating on samples collected from lacustrine sediment and bedrock strath in Lake Khagiin Khar. The lake was initially impounded by glacier moraine at the Global Last Glacial maximum(gLGM; 21–19 ka), and the lake reached its maximum paleo-shoreline level of 1840 m at sea level(a.s.l.). At that time, the stored lake water amount was up to seven times greater and the surface area was three times larger than the present values. The paleolake experienced higher shoreline levels at 1832, 1822, and 1817 m a.s.l. and reached the present lake level after 0.4 ka. We interpret that decrease in the paleolake level was caused by spillover. The increase in melt water after the gLGM and the Late Glacial exceeded the storage threshold of the lake, and the paleolake water overflowed across the lowest drainage divides. The lake spilled over across the lowest bedrock ridge at 15.9 ± 0.6 ka, and the outlet was incised since that time at a rate of 3.72 ± 0.15 mm/yr. The initial stream of the Khiidiin Pass River was disturbed by LGM moraine damming and was rerouted into the present course running through moraine after the spillover at 15.9 ± 0.6 ka.     

Glacier extent changes and possible causes in the Hala Lake Basin of Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Glacier is a common sensitivity indicator of environmental and global climate change.Examining the relationship between glacier area and climate change will help reveal glacier change mechanisms and future trends. Glacier changes are also of great significance to the regulation of regional water resources. This study selected the Hala Lake Basin in the northeastern Qinhai-Tibet Plateau as a study area, and examined the relationships between the temporal and spatial change of glaciers in the northeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and climate change based on remote sensing imagery,climatological data, and topographic data during the past 30 years. Results showed that glacier area in the Hala Lake basin fluctuated and decreased from106.24 km~2 in 1986 to 78.84 km~2 in 2015, with a decreasing rate of 0.94 km~2·yr~(-1). The number of glacier patches, mean patch area, and largest patch index all decreased from 1986 to 2015, while the splitting index increased from 1986 to 2015,indicating that the landscape fragmentation of glacier in the Hala Lake Basin was increasing significantly during the study period. Glacier area change was mainly concentrated in the slopes 25° with an altitude of 4500-5000 m, and the retreating rate of glacier of sunny slope was obviously higher than that of shady slope. Geometric center of glacier in the basin moved from southwest to northeast towards high altitude. Results of the response of glacier extent to climate change showed that temperature was the dominant factor affecting glacier area dynamic change in the Hala Lake Basin. It is predicted that in future several years, the glacier area will decrease and fragment continually as a result of global warming on the Tibetan Plateau.     

Post-sedimentary Transformation of Lateral Moraines-the Tributary Tongue Basins of the Kvíárj(o)kull(Iceland)

The Kvíárj(o)kull.a southern outlet glacier of the Vatnaj(o)kull,is confined in the mountain foreland by lateral moraines measuring a height of up to 150 m.Each of the lateral moraines shows consjderable breaches with deviations of the main moraine ridges.The paper discusses the possible origins of these modifications of the lateral moraines as result of:1)ice overlappings during glacier advances and subsequent breaches of the lateraltongue triggered by the preglacial relief conditions and the prehistorical moraine landscape leading to affiux conditions,3)drainage of ice-marginal glacier lakes and 4.volcanic activities,such as lava flows and volcanic-induced j(o)kulhlaups. A historic-genetic model of the formation of the lateral moraines is presented considering the breaches in the lateral moraines as result from glacier bifurcations and therefore as former tributary tongue basins.Such breaches in the lateral moraines are also common landscape features at glaciers outside of Iceland and are from wider importance for the paleoreconstruction of former glacier stages.The knowledge of their development is essential for an adequate relative age classification of individual moraine ridges.In regard to the origin of the debris the resedimentation of prehistoric till deposits by younger glacier advances plays a role in the formation of the lateral moraines apart from englacial and supraglacial sediment transfer processes.     

New findings concerning the Pleistocene Glaciation of the Leh Basin,Ladakh (34°03′ N/77°38′ E)

Like for most parts of High Asia, researches concerning the Pleistocene landscape evolution of the Leh Basin (34°03′ N/77°38′ E) have also left contradictions. To push this topic, three up to now unexplored Ladakh Range tributaries of the Leh Basin (Stagmo-, Arzu- and Nang-Valley) have been investigated. U-shaped profiles, transfluence passes, moraine mantled and glacially rounded peaks and ridges, roches moutonnées, glacial flank polishings and ground moraines document the former glaciation of the study area. The ice fillings of these tributaries reached a minimum thickness up to 540 m. Even at the valley outlets and on the orographic right side of the Leh Basin, the glaciation was more than 350 m thick. Based on these empirically extracted results, theoretical snow line considerations lead to the conclusion that the whole Leh Basin was filled up by a former Indus-Valley glacier. An ice injection limited to the nourishment areas of the Ladakh Range valleys could not have caused the reconstructed ice cover (down to 3236 m a.s.l.), which is proved by extended ground moraine complexes. Only an Indus ice stream network (most likely during the LGP), nourished by inflowing glaciers of the Ladakh- and Stok Range, explains the widespread existence of the glacial sediments at the outlets of the investigated valleys.     

山东临朐柳山地区发现早白垩世冰碛砾岩及其意义

20世纪90年代在山东临朐县柳山镇地区的早白垩世莱阳群城山后组底部砾岩中发现具压坑、冰川擦痕、压裂张裂隙、压磨蚀平面的石英岩质、石灰岩质砾石和塑性变形形成的灯盏石、马鞍石石灰岩质砾石,经研究认为其成因属冰碛砾石,组成了冰碛砾岩。并探讨分析该冰川事件形成的古地理和古气候条件,指出为大陆上升局部形成的高山寒冷气候小冰期,形成了大陆型高原山岳山谷冰川。依据古生物和同位素地质年龄推断该小冰期发生在距今128~130Ma早白垩世热河期早期,建议称为临朐柳山小冰期。推断在我国东部地区其分布具一定区域性,应引起广大工作者的关注和研究。     

松辽冰盖与松辽分水岭翘板迁移间的动力关系探讨

广布于松辽平原科尔沁沙地的巨型弧形沙垄的成因一直未能得到很好解释,该项研究采用罗根冰碛变形机理对该区的巨型弧形沙垄、密布的湖泡等特征地貌进行分析,发现其与斯堪的纳维亚冰盖、劳伦泰德冰盖的冰下软基变形地貌特征具有同一性,从而确认巨型弧形沙垄为冰盖冰流形成的巨型流线、罗根冰碛与锅穴构造的遗留,从而佐证了“松辽冰盖”的存在。研究发现松辽平原的巨型弧形流线显示出具有从盆地周围向沉降中心延伸、汇聚的特征,这表明流线的走向受制于地势的控制,而非所谓的风力所为。此外根据巨型冰川流线的展布形态与松辽分水岭之间存在的反常关系,发现在冰盖消融后松辽分水岭发生了北移现象,这一现象的产生可能与冰盖消融后导致的松辽盆地的失压反弹隆升有关。根据松辽分水岭的迁移时间、风沙层序年龄、荷载构造扰动地层年龄的综合约束,初步判断松辽冰盖的最近一次的发生时间在晚更新世早期(MIS4阶段)的东山冰期。     

QUATERNARY GLACIATION SERIES ANDGLACIAL LANDFORM IN GONGWANG MOUNTAINS INNORTHEAST PART OF YUNNAN PROVINCE, CHINA

Therearemanyquaternaryglaciallandformsinalpineareasahave3100ma.s.1.intheGongWangMountainsinthenortheastpartofYunnanProvinceofChina.TheglaciationseriesandtheglaciallandformsoftheQuaternaryhaveoncebeencoveredinanarticlesketchily(Yietal.,1991).Onthebasisoffieldinvestigationsinrecentyears,we'11goastepfurthertodiscusstheQuaternaryglaciationseriesandtheglacierlandfo~sthereinthisPaper.I.TabsQU~ANANYG~W~TheGOngWangMountainsissituatedbetweentwobranchesoftheJinshaRiver,theXiaojiangandthePudu…     

Glacier variations and rising temperature in the Mt. Kenya since the Last Glacial Maximum

High-resolution imagery can be used to reconstruct former glacier boundaries through the identification of glacial erosional and sedimentary geomorphology. We employed moraine mapping and the accumulation–area ratio method(AAR), in conjunction with Landsat, Google Earth, and SRTM imagery, to reconstruct glacier boundaries and equilibrium-line altitudes(ELAs) for Mt. Kenya in the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM), the Little Ice Age(LIA), and at present. Our results show that the areas of Lewis Glacier and the Tyndall-I glacier system were 0.678 km~2 and 0.390 km~2, respectively, during the maximum of LIA. Those mean that the both glaciers have shrunken by 87.0% and 88.7%, respectively since the LIA. Area change ratios for each glacier were significantly larger in the period of 2000 through 2015 than the former periods, indicating that glacier recession has accelerated. Continuous ice loss in this region has been driven by rising temperature and fluctuating precipitation. Linear regression data for Lewis glacier show that mass balance sensitivity to dry season temperature was –315 mm w.e./℃, whereas the sensitivity to dry season precipitation was 5.2 mm w.e./mm. Our data also show that the ELA on the western slope of Mt. Kenya rose by 716-816 m from the LGM to the modern era, corresponding to that temperature rose by 5.2℃-6.5℃.     

Development and Conservation of Glacier Tourist Resources —— A Case Study of Bogda Glacier Park

1 Introduction As a special kind of tourism, glacier tourism is popular to tourists all over the world owing to its meeting tourists’ needs for seeking after freshness, difference, surprise and risk. Differing from conventional tourism, glacier tour- ism has its special characters while there is little literature on it. It is of great significance to study its characters and seek after the harmonious development in exploitation and protection of glacier tourism resources. Glacier tourism refe…