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Glacial Area Changes in the Ili River Catchment (Northeastern Tian Shan) in Xinjiang, China, from the 1960s to 2009
Joint Authors
Xu, Junli
Liu, Shiyin
Guo, Wanqin
Zhang, Zhen
Wei, Junfeng
Feng, Tong
Source
Issue
Vol. 2015, Issue 2015 (31 Dec. 2015), pp.1-12, 12 p.
Publisher
Hindawi Publishing Corporation
Publication Date
2015-11-30
Country of Publication
Egypt
No. of Pages
12
Main Subjects
Abstract EN
The Ili River originates in the Tian Shan Mountains of Northwest China before flowing into Kazakhstan and Lake Balkash.
Melting snow and ice are its major contributors.
We analyzed glacial changes in the upper Ili River basin between the 1960s and 2007/2009 using topographic maps and satellite imagery from a Landsat TM.
The relationships between glacial changes and glacial size, topographic factors, and debris cover were examined.
Our results found that total glacial area decreased by 485 ± 177.3 km2 (24.2% ± 8.8%) during the study period, and there were no advancing glaciers.
Additionally, 331 glaciers disappeared and 18 disintegrated into two or three smaller glaciers.
This study demonstrated a linear relationship between glacial area change and elevation.
Changes in glaciers smaller than 1 km2 were affected by both glacial size and topographic factors, while larger ones were affected by size only.
Area losses in debris-covered glaciers were smaller by 2.5% to 7.5% compared to clean ice of the same size in this basin.
As in other glaciated regions, glacial retreat in the Ili River basin is attributed to global warming.
The slightly increasing precipitation over the study period could not offset the ice melting.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Xu, Junli& Liu, Shiyin& Guo, Wanqin& Zhang, Zhen& Wei, Junfeng& Feng, Tong. 2015. Glacial Area Changes in the Ili River Catchment (Northeastern Tian Shan) in Xinjiang, China, from the 1960s to 2009. Advances in Meteorology،Vol. 2015, no. 2015, pp.1-12.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1052835
Modern Language Association (MLA)
Xu, Junli…[et al.]. Glacial Area Changes in the Ili River Catchment (Northeastern Tian Shan) in Xinjiang, China, from the 1960s to 2009. Advances in Meteorology No. 2015 (2015), pp.1-12.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1052835
American Medical Association (AMA)
Xu, Junli& Liu, Shiyin& Guo, Wanqin& Zhang, Zhen& Wei, Junfeng& Feng, Tong. Glacial Area Changes in the Ili River Catchment (Northeastern Tian Shan) in Xinjiang, China, from the 1960s to 2009. Advances in Meteorology. 2015. Vol. 2015, no. 2015, pp.1-12.
https://search.emarefa.net/detail/BIM-1052835
Data Type
Journal Articles
Language
English
Notes
Includes bibliographical references
Record ID
BIM-1052835