Variations in suspended and dissolved matter fluxes from glacial and non-glacial catchments during a melt season at Urumqi River, eastern Tianshan, central Asia

Li, Zhongqin; Zhang, Mingjun; Gao, Wenyu

doi:10.1016/j.catena.2012.03.002

Cited by 6 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…The high average air temperature usually occurs during late July and early August. Generally, mean air temperature with the UG1 catchment is about 1.24 times higher than that of the EC catchment (Li et al ., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…This indicates that dust storms are important to the variation of suspended sediment, especially for the fine particle materials. A previous study also demonstrated that glacier meltwater had relatively high SSCs (Li et al ., ). However, in the EC catchment, the dust deposits mainly over the bare rock and gravel/tundra soil because of the absence of glacier cover; thus, fewer dust particles can be washed into the river.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Because the UG1 catchment (3693 m above sea level) has a slightly lower elevation than the EC catchment (3804 m above sea level), the air temperature and precipitation in the UG1 catchment are both a little higher than those of the EC catchment. Even though both catchments have similar climate patterns, the effects of climatic conditions on the variation of suspended sediment and dissolved matter are different between the UG1 catchment and the EC catchment (Li et al ., ), and yet, the influence of climate to the river materials is due to runoff; thus, runoff contributions from glacier meltwater, snowmelt water and stormflow are of importance to the river material transport and will be discussed in the next section.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Locations of the gauging/sampling sites and the hydrometeorological stations at the headwaters of the Urumqi River (with the shaded areas designating glaciers) (from Li et al ., )…”

Section: Site Description and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suspended sediment and total dissolved solid yield patterns at the headwaters of Urumqi River, northwestern China: a comparison between glacial and non‐glacial catchments

Gao

et al. 2013

Hydrological Processes

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In order to understand the differences in the suspended sediment and total dissolved solid (TDS) yield patterns between the glacial and non‐glacial catchments at the headwaters of Urumqi River, northwestern China, water samples were collected from a glacier catchment and an empty cirque catchment within the region, during three melting seasons from 2006 to 2008. These samples were analyzed to estimate suspended sediment and TDS concentrations, fluxes and erosion rates in the two adjoining catchments. There were remarked differences in suspended sediment and TDS yield patterns between the two catchments. Suspended sediment concentrations were controlled mainly by the sediment source, whereas TDS concentrations were primarily related to the hydrologic interaction with soil minerals. Generally, the glacial catchment had much higher suspended sediment and TDS yields, together with higher denudation rates, than the non‐glacial catchment. Overall, glacial catchment was mainly dominated by physical denudation process, whereas the non‐glacial catchment was jointly influenced by physical and chemical denudation processes. The observed differences in material delivery patterns were mainly controlled by the runoff source and the glacial processes. The melting periods of glacier and snow were typically the most important time for the suspended sediment and TDS yields. Meanwhile, episodic precipitation events could generate disproportionately large yields. Subglacial hydrology dynamics, glaciers pluck and grind processes could affect erodibility, and the large quantities of dust stored on the glacier surface provided additional sources for suspended sediment transport in the glacial catchment. These mechanisms imply that, in response to climate change, the catchment behaviour will be modified significantly in this region, in terms of material flux. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Locations of the gauging/sampling sites and the hydrometeorological stations at the headwaters of the Urumqi River (with the shaded areas designating glaciers) (from Li et al ., )…”

Section: Site Description and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Suspended sediment and total dissolved solid yield patterns at the headwaters of Urumqi River, northwestern China: a comparison between glacial and non‐glacial catchments

Gao

et al. 2013

Hydrological Processes

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“…[38]. There is a significant positive correlation existing between air temperature and river fluxes in both catchments, especially in the glacial catchment in the Urumqi River in the eastern Tianshan [39]. In Tianshan, as estimated by Min et al [14], the increase of runoff occurred mainly in the ablation season (from May to October).…”

Section: The Runoffmentioning

confidence: 84%

Glacier Mass-Balance Variation in China during the Past Half Century

Yagoub¹,

Li²,

Siddig³

et al. 2018

GEP

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The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of temperature trend on glacier-mass balance, snow density, snowmelt, snow depth and runoff by using observations of nine glacier stations that covered most of the China over the period of 1979-2013. Trend analysis showed an increasing trend of temperature on all of the selected stations. On an average, temperature (˚C) was increasing at the rate of 0.46/10a. The increasing trend of temperature showed a negative relationship with annual glacier-mass balance on most of the stations and caused a decrease in annual balance. Results of Pearson's correlation analysis showed a highly significant negative correlation between temperature and snow density (correlation coefficient (CC = −0.661 at 0.01 significance level). There was a significant positive correlation between temperature and snowmelt (CC = 0.532 at 0.01 significance level). There was a significant negative correlation between temperature and snow depth (correlation coefficient (CC = −0.342 at 0.05 significance level). Moreover, there was a significant positive correlation between temperature and runoff (CC = 0.586 at 0.01 significance level). Increasing trend of temperature caused an increasing trend of annual snowmelt and runoff anomaly% at the rate of 24.82/10a and 9.87/10a, respectively. On the other hand, a declining trend in annual snow density and snow depth anomaly% was found at a rate of −5.32/10a and −1.93/10a, respectively. We concluded that the snow density, snowmelt and runoff are significantly sensitive to temperature in China. This contribution has provided information for further understanding of glacier variation and its influencing factors.

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Proglacial river sediment fluxes in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Mingyong Glacier in the Upper Mekong River

Zhang

Hsia

et al. 2022

Hydrological Processes

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Glacial and proglacial erosion are important sediment sources in river basins. The retreat of many glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau has important implications on the supply of fresh water and sediment dynamics for downstream river basins. Despite the importance of water and sediment dynamics at these catchments, existing quantification of suspended sediment fluxes from glacial catchments on the Tibetan Plateau is limited due to poor accessibility and challenging environments. This study presents the results of in-situ investigations of water discharge and suspended sediment fluxes from the Mingyong Glacier catchment in Yunnan, Southwest China, between August 2013 and July 2017. The results show that the variation in water discharge and suspended sediment was highly seasonal. The variation of average suspended sediment concentration was large-69 ± 45; 119 ± 104; and 94 ± 97 mg/L in 2013, 2015, and 2016, respectively. We estimate that the sediment yield from the Mingyong catchment was highly variable ranging from 1104 t/km 2 /year in 2013 to 2281 t/km 2 /year in 2016, with 65%-78% of the total annual sediment load occurring during the summer (June to August). These annual variations in sediment yield can be attributed largely to precipitation patterns and extreme melting events. This study has provided a benchmark dataset that can be used for further works that investigate the impact of climate change on sediment dynamics in glacierized catchments in the Tibetan Plateau. Subsequently, the study helps us to better understand the increasing sediment supply to the Upper Mekong River from glacierized headwater catchments.

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Variations in suspended and dissolved matter fluxes from glacial and non-glacial catchments during a melt season at Urumqi River, eastern Tianshan, central Asia

Cited by 6 publications

References 35 publications

Suspended sediment and total dissolved solid yield patterns at the headwaters of Urumqi River, northwestern China: a comparison between glacial and non‐glacial catchments

Suspended sediment and total dissolved solid yield patterns at the headwaters of Urumqi River, northwestern China: a comparison between glacial and non‐glacial catchments

Glacier Mass-Balance Variation in China during the Past Half Century

Proglacial river sediment fluxes in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau: Mingyong Glacier in the Upper Mekong River

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