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Journal of Resources and Ecology >

2017 , Vol. 8 >Issue 1: 97 - 104

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2017.01.012

Articles

Glacier Changes on the Qiangtang Plateau between 1976 and 2015: A Case Study in the Xainza Xiegang Mountains

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  • 1. Institute of Mountain Hazards and Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chengdu, Sichuan 610041, China;
    2. Department of Geography and Resource Sciences, Sichuan Normal University, Chengdu, Sichuan 610101, China;
    3. Key Laboratory of Land Surface Pattern and Simulation, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China;
    4. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China

Received date: 2016-11-15

  Online published: 2017-01-20

Supported by

National Natural Science Foundation of China (41571104, 41101082), the Key Foundation Project of Basic Work of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China (2012FY111400) and China Scholarship Council (20140491029).

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Abstract

Xainza County on the Qiangtang Plateau (QP) spans a transitionally climatic and eco-environmental zone and is therefore a very sensitive region. Glaciers in this area are one of the most important kinds of land cover as well as key water resources, yet our understanding of their current status and spatio-temporal change remains limited. Using Landsat images, this study investigated the current distribution of glaciers (2015) in the Xainza Xiegang Mountains as well as the spatio-temporal changes that took place over six time periods between 1976 and 2015. Results show that, in 2015, 131 glaciers covered a total area of 74.59 ± 5.25 km2, mainly located between 5,600 and 6,000 m above sea level (a.s.l). Between 1976 and 2015, the total number of glaciers increased by 12, while their areas decreased by 24.98% (24.83 km2). Glacial retreat has induced a loss of water resources of 11.77 × 108 m3 over the last 39 years, while spatial heterogeneities in glacial changes across various sub-basins, aspects, and altitudinal zones are also clearly observed. Climate warming is the key factor driving this continuous glacial retreat; the high-quality dataset presented in this paper for the Xainza Xiegang study area is crucial for the ongoing assessment of climatic and eco-environmental changes.

Key words： Landsat images; Qiangtang Plateau; remote sensing; water resources; Glacier

Cite this article

NIE Yong, YANG Chao, ZHANG Yili, LIU Linshan, XU Xia . Glacier Changes on the Qiangtang Plateau between 1976 and 2015: A Case Study in the Xainza Xiegang Mountains[J]. Journal of Resources and Ecology, 2017 , 8(1) : 97 -104 . DOI: 10.5814/j.issn.1674-764x.2017.01.012

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