Mass balance of saline lakes considering inflow loads of rivers and groundwater: the case of Lake Issyk-Kul, Central Asia

Since the Little Ice Age, most glaciers in the Tien Shan mountains have been retreating. Owing to an increase in precipitation in most parts of the mountains during the late 1950s to early 1970s, the percentage of receding glaciers and the speed of retreat have tended to decrease in the 1970s. However, the general trend of continuous glacier retreat remains unchanged, in part because the summer air temperature shows no tendency to decrease.In the Tien Shan mountains, as the degree of climatic continentality increases the mass balance becomes more dependent on summer temperature, and accumulation and ablation tend to be lower. Therefore, the responses of glaciers to climatic fluctuations in more continental areas are not synchronous with those in less continental areas, and the amplitude of the glacier variations becomes smaller.

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Impacts of climate change on the discharge and glacier mass balance of the different glacierized watersheds in the Tianshan Mountains, Central Asia

Hydrological Processes ◽

10.1002/hyp.11409 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 32 (1) ◽

pp. 126-145 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Min Xu ◽

Hao Wu ◽

Shichang Kang

Keyword(s):

Climate Change ◽

Mass Balance ◽

Central Asia ◽

Tianshan Mountains ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Impacts Of Climate Change

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Comparison of Glacier Mass Balance Data in the Tien Shan and Pamir, Central Asia

Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research ◽

10.1657/aaar0015-076 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 133-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sabine Baumann

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Central Asia ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Glacier Mass Balance

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Re-establishing glacier monitoring in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, Central Asia

10.5194/gi-2017-31 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Martin Hoelzle ◽

Erlan Azisov ◽

Martina Barandun ◽

Matthias Huss ◽

Daniel Farinotti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Central Asia ◽

Former Soviet Union ◽

Global Climate ◽

Water Shortage ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Data Series ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Monitoring Strategy ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Glacier mass loss is among the clearest indicators of atmospheric warming. The observation of these changes is one of the major objectives of the international climate monitoring strategy developed by the Global Climate Observing System. Long-term glacier mass balance measurements are furthermore the basis to calibrate and validate models simulating future runoff of glacierized catchments. This is essential for Central Asia, which is one of the driest continental regions of the northern hemisphere. In the highly populated regions, water shortage due to decreased glacierization potentially leads to pronounced political instability, drastic ecological changes, and endangered food security. As a consequence of the collapse of the former Soviet Union, however, many valuable glacier monitoring sites in the Tien Shan and Pamirs were abandoned. In recent years, multinational actors have re-established a set of important in-situ measuring sites to continue the invaluable longterm data series. This paper introduces the applied monitoring strategy for selected glaciers in the Kyrgyz and Uzbek Tien Shan and Pamir, highlights the existing and the new measurements on these glaciers and presents an example for how the old and new data can be combined to establish multidecadal mass balance time series. This is crucial for understanding the impact of climate change on glaciers in this region.

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Erosion rates deduced from seasonal mass balance along the upper Urumqi River in Tianshan

Solid Earth ◽

10.5194/se-2-283-2011 ◽

2011 ◽

Vol 2 (2) ◽

pp. 283-301 ◽

Cited By ~ 16

Author(s):

Y. Liu ◽

F. Métivier ◽

J. Gaillardet ◽

B. Ye ◽

P. Meunier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Central Asia ◽

Chemical Weathering ◽

Annual Runoff ◽

Mountain Stream ◽

High Mountain ◽

Mountain Range ◽

Cosmogenic Dating ◽

Denudation Rates ◽

Sand And Gravel

Abstract. We report measurements performed during two complete flow seasons on the Urumqi River, a proglacial mountain stream in the northeastern flank of the Tianshan, an active mountain range in Central Asia. This survey of flow dynamics and sediment transport (dissolved, suspended and bed loads), together with a 25-year record of daily discharge, enables the assessment of secular denudation rates on this high mountain catchment of Central Asia. Our results show that chemical weathering accounts for more than one-third of the total denudation rate. Sediment transported as bed load cannot be neglected in the balance, given that sand and gravel transport accounts for one third of the solid load of the river. Overall, the mean denudation rates are low, averaging 46 t × km−2 × yr−1(17–18 m Myr−1). We furthermore analyse the hydrologic record to show that the long-term sediment budget is not dominated by extreme and rare events but by the total amount of rainfall or annual runoff. The rates we obtain are in agreement with rates obtained from the mass balance reconstruction of the Plio-Quaternary gravely deposits of the foreland but signicantly lower than the rates recently obtained from cosmogenic dating of the Kuitun River sands, west of the Urumqi River. We show that the resolution of this incompatibility may have an important consquence for our understanding of the interplay between erosion and tectonics in the semi-humid ranges of Central Asia.

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Comparison of glaciological and geodetic mass balance at Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Tian Shan, Central Asia

Global and Planetary Change ◽

10.1016/j.gloplacha.2014.01.001 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 114 ◽

pp. 14-22 ◽

Cited By ~ 32

Author(s):

Puyu Wang ◽

Zhongqin Li ◽

Huilin Li ◽

Wenbin Wang ◽

Hongbing Yao

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Central Asia ◽

Geodetic Mass Balance ◽

Tian Shan

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Geodetic mass balance of Abramov Glacier from 1975 to 2015

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/jog.2020.108 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-12

Author(s):

Florian Denzinger ◽

Horst Machguth ◽

Martina Barandun ◽

Etienne Berthier ◽

Luc Girod ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Loss ◽

Mass Balance ◽

Central Asia ◽

Aerial Imagery ◽

Time Intervals ◽

Thickness Change ◽

Time Period ◽

Stereo Imagery ◽

Geodetic Mass Balance

Abstract Multi-decadal mass loss estimates are available for few glaciers of Central Asia. On Abramov Glacier (Pamir-Alay, Kyrgyzstan), comprehensive long-term glaciological measurements have been carried out from 1968 to 1999 and re-initiated in 2011. A climatological interpretation of this benchmark glacier in Central Asia requires bridging the gap between historical and renewed measurements. This is achieved here by computing the geodetic mass balance from 1975 to 2015 using previously unreleased Soviet aerial imagery and Pléaides stereo-imagery. During 1975–2015, Abramov Glacier lost 2.2 km2 (8.2%) of its area. The mean annual thickness change was − 0.43 ± 0.14 m a−1 for the period 1975–2015, corresponding to a volume change of − 0.45 ± 0.15 km3. The average specific geodetic mass balance amounts to − 0.38 ± 0.12 m w.e. a−1. The 1975–2015 glacier mass loss lies within the range of glaciological and geodetic mass-balance estimates that were previously published for disparate and shorter time intervals since 1968. This study covers a much longer time period than earlier geodetic estimates and demonstrates the capacity to geodetically constrain glacier change at high spatial resolution in Central Asia using historic aerial imagery and Structure from Motion techniques. Therefore, it could serve as a benchmark for future studies of regional mass change.

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