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Arid Land Geography ›› 2024, Vol. 47 ›› Issue (9): 1472-1481.doi: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2023.673

• The Third Xinjiang Scientific Expedition • Previous Articles     Next Articles

Spatiotemporal characteristics and driving forces of glacial lakes in Tianshan Mountains

WANG Nan1,2(), LIU Zexuan1,2, ZHENG Jianghua1,2(), ZHONG Tao3, MENG Chengfeng1   

  1. 1. College of Geography and Remote Sensing Sciences, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang, China
    2. Key Laboratory of Oasis Ecology, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang, China
    3. College of Geology and Mining Engineering, Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830017, Xinjiang, China
  • Received:2023-11-29 Revised:2024-02-26 Online:2024-09-25 Published:2024-09-24
  • Contact: ZHENG Jianghua E-mail:wsf@stu.xju.edu.cn;zheng.jianghua@xju.edu.cn

Abstract:

Glacial lake area change is an indicator of global climate change. The topography of Tianshan Mountains is complex, and the glacial lakes are widely distributed, so their variation characteristics and response mechanism to climate change need to be further explored. Based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform, this paper studied the changes of glacial lakes in the Tianshan Mountains in the past 20 years, and analyzed the driving forces in combination with precipitation and temperature. The results showed that: (1) There were 1532 glacial lakes in Tianshan Mountains in 2020, with an area of 164.02 km2. The distribution of glacial lakes in the Tianshan Mountains was characterized by more in the west and less in the east, and glacial lake area with an annual average growth rate of 3.47% and 0.63% in the east and west, respectively. (2) The glacial lakes at lower altitudes (<3600 m) in the study area generally showed an expanding trend, and the glacial lakes with an area <0.1 km2 showed a more obvious change. (3) The results of the geographic detector showed that temperature and glaciers were the main driving factors affecting the change of the glacial lakes in Tianshan Mountains. From 2000 to 2020, the precipitation in the eastern Tianshan Mountains increased significantly, while the temperature showed an insignificant trend of decrease. The glacial lake area in this region continued to expand under the stable and sufficient glacial meltwater and runoff recharge. Research results can provide scientific basis for the rational development of water resources and the risk assessment of glacial lake outburst disaster in the Tianshan Mountains.

Key words: spatiotemporal characteristics, glacial lakes, GEE, climate change, driving force analysis