Great earthquakes in the 21st century and geodynamics of the Tibetan Plateau

2013 ◽  
Vol 584 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Zhen Zhang ◽  
Eric Robert Engdahl
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
21St Century ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Great Earthquakes

scholarly journals Slight glacier reduction over the northwestern Tibetan Plateau despite significant recent warming

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yetang Wang ◽  
Shugui Hou ◽  
Wenling An ◽  
Hongxi Pang ◽  
Yaping Liu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
21St Century ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Early 21St Century ◽  
Mountain Glaciers ◽  
Recent Warming ◽  
Kunlun Mountain ◽  
Western Kunlun ◽  
Significant Area ◽  
The Early 21St Century

Abstract. "Pamir–Karakoram–Western-Kunlun-Mountain (northwestern Tibetan Plateau) Glacier Anomaly" has been a topic of debate due to the balanced, or even slightly positive glacier mass budgets in the early 21st century. Here we focus on the evolution of glaciers on the western Kunlun Mountain and its comparison with those from other regions of the Tibetan Plateau. The possible driver for the glacier evolution is also discussed. Western Kunlun Mountain glaciers reduce in area by 0.12 % yr−1 from 1970s to 2007–2011. However, there is no significant area change after 1999. Averaged glacier thickness loss is 0.08 ± 0.09 m yr−1 from 1970s to 2000, which is in accordance with elevation change during the period 2003–2008 estimated by the ICESat laser altimetry measurements. These further confirm the anomaly of glaciers in this region. Slight glacier reduction over the northwestern Tibetan Plateau may result from more accumulation from increased precipitation in winter which to great extent protects it from mass reductions under climate warming during 1961–2000. Warming slowdown since 2000 happening at this region may further mitigate glacier mass reduction, especially for the early 21st century.

scholarly journals Numerical simulations of Gurenhekou Glacier on the Tibetan Plateau using a full-Stokes ice dynamical model

2013 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 145-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. Zhao ◽  
L. Tian ◽  
T. Zwinger ◽  
R. Ding ◽  
J. Zong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Climate Models ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
Mountain Range ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. We investigate the impact of climate change on a small Tibetan glacier that is representative of the tens of thousands of mountain glaciers in the region. We apply a three-dimensional, thermo-mechanically coupled full-Stokes model to Gurenhekou Glacier located in the southern Tibetan Plateau. The steep and rugged geometry requires use of such a flow model to simulate the dynamical evolution of the glacier. We parameterize the temperature and mass balance using nearby automatic weather stations and an energy balance model for another glacier in the same mountain range. Summer air temperature increased at 0.02 K a−1 over the past 50 yr, and the glacier has retreated at an average rate of 8.3 m a−1. Prognostic simulations suggest an accelerated retreating rate up to 14 m a−1 for the next 50 yr under continued steady warming, which is consistent with observed increased retreat in the last decade. However, regional climate models suggest a marked increase in warming rate over Tibet during the 21st century, and this rate causes about a 1% per year loss of glaciated area and glacier volume. These changes imply that this small glacier will probably disappear in a century. Although Tibetan glaciers are not particularly sensitive to climate warming, the rather high warming rates predicted by regional climate models combined with the small sizes of most Tibetan glaciers suggest that significant numbers of glaciers will be lost in the region during the 21st century.

scholarly journals Numerical simulations of Gurenhekou glacier on the Tibetan Plateau

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (219) ◽  
pp. 71-82 ◽  
Author(s):  
Liyun Zhao ◽  
Lide Tian ◽  
Thomas Zwinger ◽  
Ran Ding ◽  
Jibiao Zong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Climate Models ◽  
Average Rate ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Regional Climate Models ◽  
Balance Model ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Surface Mass ◽  
The Impact

AbstractWe investigate the impact of climate change on Gurenhekou glacier, southern Tibetan Plateau, which is representative of the tens of thousands of mountain glaciers in the region. We apply a three-dimensional, thermomechanically coupled full-Stokes model to simulate the evolution of the glacier. The steep and rugged bedrock geometry requires use of such a flow model. We parameterize the temperature and surface mass-balance (SMB) uncertainties using nearby automatic weather and meteorological stations, 6 year measured SMB data and an energy-balance model for a nearby glacier. Summer air temperature increased at 0.02 Ka−1 over the past 50 years, and the glacier has retreated at an average rate of 8.3 m a−1. Prognostic simulations suggest an accelerated annual average retreat rate of ~9.1 ma−1 along the central flowline for the next 25 years under continued steady warming. However, regional climate models suggest a marked increase in warming rate over Tibet during the 21st century, and this rate causes about a 0.9 ± 0.3% a−1 loss of glaciated area and 1.1 ± 0.6% a−1 shrinkage of glacier volume. These results, the rather high warming rates predicted and the small sizes of most Tibetan glaciers, suggest that significant numbers of glaciers will be lost in the region during the 21st century.

Elevation-Dependent Climate Change in the Tibetan Plateau

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaodong Liu ◽  
Libin Yan
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Global Warming ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Environmental Consequences ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Maximum Temperatures

As a unique and high gigantic plateau, the Tibetan Plateau (TP) is sensitive and vulnerable to global climate change, and its climate change tendencies and the corresponding impact on regional ecosystems and water resources can provide an early alarm for global and mid-latitude climate changes. Growing evidence suggests that the TP has experienced more significant warming than its surrounding areas during past decades, especially at elevations higher than 4 km. Greater warming at higher elevations than at lower elevations has been reported in several major mountainous regions on earth, and this interesting phenomenon is known as elevation-dependent climate change, or elevation-dependent warming (EDW).At the beginning of the 21st century, Chinese scholars first noticed that the TP had experienced significant warming since the mid-1950s, especially in winter, and that the latest warming period in the TP occurred earlier than enhanced global warming since the 1970s. The Chinese also first reported that the warming rates increased with the elevation in the TP and its neighborhood, and the TP was one of the most sensitive areas to global climate change. Later, additional studies, using more and longer observations from meteorological stations and satellites, shed light on the detailed characteristics of EDW in terms of mean, minimum, and maximum temperatures and in different seasons. For example, it was found that the daily minimum temperature showed the most evident EDW in comparison to the mean and daily maximum temperatures, and EDW is more significant in winter than in other seasons. The mean daily minimum and maximum temperatures also maintained increasing trends in the context of EDW. Despite a global warming hiatus since the turn of the 21st century, the TP exhibited persistent warming from 2001 to 2012.Although EDW has been demonstrated by more and more observations and modeling studies, the underlying mechanisms for EDW are not entirely clear owing to sparse, discontinuous, and insufficient observations of climate change processes. Based on limited observations and model simulations, several factors and their combinations have been proposed to be responsible for EDW, including the snow-albedo feedback, cloud-radiation effects, water vapor and radiative fluxes, and aerosols forcing. At present, however, various explanations of the mechanisms for EDW are mainly derived from model-based research, lacking more solid observational evidence. Therefore, to comprehensively understand the mechanisms of EDW, a more extensive and multiple-perspective climate monitoring system is urgently needed in the areas of the TP with high elevations and complex terrains.High-elevation climate change may have resulted in a series of environmental consequences, such as vegetation changes, permafrost melting, and glacier shrinkage, in mountainous areas. In particular, the glacial retreat could alter the headwater environments on the TP and the hydrometeorological characteristics of several major rivers in Asia, threatening the water supply for the people living in the adjacent countries. Taking into account the climate-model projections that the warming trend will continue over the TP in the coming decades, this region’s climate change and the relevant environmental consequences should be of great concern to both scientists and the general public.

Prediction of CH4 emissions from potential natural wetlands on the Tibetan Plateau during the 21st century

2019 ◽  
Vol 657 ◽  
pp. 498-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tingting Li ◽  
Hailing Li ◽  
Qing Zhang ◽  
Zhenfeng Ma ◽  
Lingfei Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
21St Century ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Ch4 Emissions ◽  
Natural Wetlands
Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document