Kongur Mountain is the largest center of modern glaciation on the Pamir Plateau.During the glacial-interglacial cycles of the Quaternary,Kongur Mountain was extensively and repeatedly glaciated,and the glacial landforms from multiple glaciations are well-preserved in valleys,in basins,and on the piedmonts.Dating samples have been collected according to the distribution and weathering of the glacial tills,the relationship among the glacial deposits,and the loess or soil developed on the moraines. Electron spin resonance(ESR) dating of the samples was done using the germanium(Ge) centers in the glacial quartz grains,which are sensitive to both sunlight and grinding.The ages of the glacial deposits can be divided into four clusters,i.e.,13.1±0.8-27.0±2.2,36.4±3.3-48.7±5.7,65.6±6.8-86.6±8.9,and 105.6±9.4-178.3±17.8 ka.Six glacial advances in this region have been confirmed,which are equivalent in age to the Little Ice Age(LIA) ,Neoglaciation,marine oxygen isotope stages(MIS) 2,mid-MIS3,MIS4,and MIS6.The largest local last glacial maximum(LGML) occurred during MIS4 rather than the global Last Glacial Maximum(LGMG) of MIS2,and a glacial advance that occurred during mid-MIS3 was also larger than the LGMG.Furthermore,deeply weathered tills below 3500 m a.s.l.on the western slope of Kongur Mountain,when compared with the ages of the oldest glaciation of the Muztag Ata region,likely occurred prior to the penultimate glacial cycle.The glacial landforms prior to the penultimate glacial cycle on the northern slope are not well-preserved due to erosion after deposition. Several glacial deposits are only speculated to be distributed at higher elevations on the southwest side of the Gaizi Checkpoint. The extensive hummocky moraines on the western slope were formed by multiple glacial advances,and the latest glacial advance corresponded to mid-MIS3.
WANG JieZHOU ShangZheZHAO JingDongZHENG JingXiongGUO XiangZhong
The Gongga Mountain is the largest area of modern glaciation in the Hengduan Mountains and,with a summit elevation of 7556 m,is the highest mountain on the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau.During the Quaternary glacial-interglacial cycles the Gongga Mountain was extensively and repeatedly glaciated,and glacial landforms and outwash deposits from multiple glaciations are well-preserved in valleys,in basins,and on piedmonts.To constrain the glacial chronology of the eastern slope of Gongga Mountain,sample sites were selected based on the distribution and weathering of glacial tills,relationships among glacial deposits,and soil development on moraines.Dating of the tills and glaciofluvial deposits was undertaken with electron spin resonance(ESR) and optically stimulated luminescence(OSL).The ages of the glacial deposits can be divided into four clusters:2.2±0.5,11.9±0.6,35.9±2.7-58.0±6.3 and 119.2±15.9-194.2±32.8 ka.Five glacial advances in this region have been identified,which are equivalent in age to the Little Ice Age(LIA),Neoglaciation,marine oxygen isotope stage(MIS) 2,mid-MIS3,and MIS6.The largest local last glacial maximum(LGML) occurred on Gongga Mountain during mid-MIS3,characterized by a cold-humid climate,rather than the global Last Glacial Maximum(LGMG) of MIS2.The Gongga,Nanmenguangou(NMGG) and Yajiageng Glaciations occurred during the late part of the last glacial cycle,the middle of the last glacial cycle and the penultimate glacial cycle,respectively.On the basis of geomorphological,sedimentological,and compositional characteristics,landforms of the Moxi Platform and terraces can be grouped by facies and geochronology.In combination with the dating results,this analysis indicates the basal part of the Moxi Platform between Xinxin and the Moxi Hotel is correlative with the till of the Nanguanmen Glaciation(mid-MIS3).This basal unit has occasional lenses of glaciofluvial sandy gravel and lacustrine sediments.The remainder of the Moxi Platform and the terraces beside the platform are glaciof
WANG JiePAN BaoTianZHANG GuoLiangCUI HangCAO BoGENG HaoPeng
The Pochengzi Glaciation is a typical glaciation in Quaternary in the Tianshan Mountains. The glacial landforms comprise several integrated end moraines, like a fan spreading from the north to the south at the mouth of the Muzhaerte River valley and on the piedmont on the southeastern slope of the Tumur Peak, the largest center of modern glaciation in the Tianshan Mountains. The landforms recorded a complex history of the ancient glacier change and contained considerable information of the glacial landscape evolution, and dating these landforms helps us understand the temporal and spatial shifts of the past cryosphere in this valley and reconstruct the paleoenvironment in this region. Electron spin resonance (ESR) dating of the glacial tills in the upper stratum from a well-exposed section, end moraines, and associated outwashes was carried out using Ge centers in quartz grains, which are sensitive to the sunlight and grinding. The results could be divided into three clusters, 13.6–25.3, 39.5–40.4 and 64.2–71.7 ka. Based on the principle of geomorphology and stratigraphy and the available paleoen- vironmental data from northwestern China, the end moraines were determined to deposit in the Last Glaciation. The landforms and the three clusters of ages demonstrate that at least three large glacial advances occurred during the Pochengzi Glaciation, which are corresponding to marine oxygen isotope stage 4 (MIS4), MIS3b and MIS2. The landforms also indicate that the gla- ciers were compound valley glacier in MIS2 and MIS3b and piedmont glacier in MIS4, and the ancient Muzhaerte glacier were 94, 95 and 99 km at their maximum extensions in these three glacial advances.
Glacier area changes in the Qangtang Plateau are analyzed during 1970-2000 using air photos,relevant photogrammetric maps and satellite images based on the multi-temporal grid method.The results indicate that the melting of glaciers accelerated,only a few of glaciers in an advancing state during 1970-2000 in the whole Qangtang Plateau.However,the glaciers seemed still more stable in the study area than in most areas of western China.We estimate that glacier retreat was likely due to air temperature warming during 1970-2000 in the Qangtang Plateau.Furthermore,the functional model of glacier system is applied to study climate sensitivity of glacier area changes,which indicates that glacier lifespan mainly depends on the heating rate,secondly the precipitation,and precipitation increasing can slow down glacier retreat and make glacier lifespan prolonged.
WANG LipingXIE ZichuWANG XinLIU ShiyinDING LiangfuSHANGGUAN Donghui
