Recent glacial retreat in High Asia in China and its impact on water resource in Northwest China

• 作 者: YAO Tandong WANG Youqing LIU S
• 机 构: Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research,Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research I
• 出 处: 中国科学D辑（英文版）
• 发表日期: 2004年期
• 关键词: High Asia glacial fluctuation impact on water resource
• 基金项目: the Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences;中国科学院资助项目;国家自然科学基金

Under the impact of climatic warming, the glaciers in the High Asia in China have been retreating continuously with negative glacial mass balance in recent several decades. The retreat became more intensive in the past 10 years. The spatial pattern of the glacial retreat in the High Asia in China is that the smallest magnitude of retreat is in the inland of the Tibetan Plateau, the magnitude increases from the inland to the margin of the Tibetan Plateau, and the largest magnitude at the margin of the Tibetan Plateau. The glacial retreat in the High Asia in China has an important impact on the water resource of the arid regions in Northwest China. This study shows that the glacial retreat in the 1990s has caused an increase of 5.5% in river runoff in Northwest China. In the Tarim River basin, the increase of river runoff is higher than 5.5%.