Quantified mass loss of the Laohugou ice core and its precipitation signal during 1961–2005 at high elevation in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau

• Published in: Journal of glaciology 2023-12, Vol.69 (278), p.1687-1697
• Main Authors: Du, Wentao, Kang, Shichang, Chen, Jizu, Sun, Weijun, Qin, Xiang, Ji, Zhenming, Sun, Wenxuan, Qiu, Yanan
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ablation; Accumulation; Air temperature; Climate change; Climate trends; Evaporation; Glaciers; Ice; Ice accumulation; Ice core; Ice cores; Meltwater; meltwater loss; Missing data; Precipitation; quantified ice mass loss; Radiation; Reconstruction; Snow; Sublimation; sublimation/evaporation; Temporal variations; Tibetan Plateau
• ISSN: 0022-1430; 1727-5652
• DOI: 10.1017/jog.2023.51

Ice records provide a qualitative rather than a quantitative indication of the trend of climate change. Using the bulk aerodynamic method and degree day model, this study quantified ice mass loss attributable to sublimation/evaporation (S/E) and meltwater on the basis of integrated observations (1960–2006) of glacier-related and atmospheric variables in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau. During 1961–2005, the average annual mass loss in the ice core was 95.33 ± 20.56 mm w.e. (minimum: 78.97 mm w.e. in 1967, maximum: 146.67 mm w.e. in 2001), while the average ratio of the revised annual ice accumulation was 21.2 ± 7.7% (minimum: 11.0% in 1992, maximum 44.8% in 2000). A quantitative formula expressing the relationship between S/E and air temperature at the monthly scale was established, which could be extended to estimation of S/E changes of other glaciers in other regions. The elevation effect on alpine precipitation determined using revised ice accumulation and instrumental data was found remarkable. This work established a method for quantitative assessment of the temporal variation in ice core mass loss, and advanced the reconstruction of long-term precipitation at high elevations. Importantly, the formula established for reconstruction of S/E from temperature time series data could be used in other regions.