Glacier mass balance and its potential impacts in the Altai Mountains over the period 1990–2011

摘要

Highlights?Surface mass balance of glaciers in the Altai Mountains is modeled based on WRF outputs.?A mass loss rate of ?0.69mw.e.yr?1is estimated during 1990–2011.?Besides temperature rise, complicated changes in precipitation contribute to sub-region differences in mass loss.?Glaciers’ contribution to regional water resources and sea-level change becomes larger than before.AbstractThe Altai Mountains contain 1281 glaciers covering an area of 1191km2. These glaciers have undergone significant changes in glacial length and area over the past decade. However, mass changes of these glaciers and their impacts remain poorly understood. Here we present surface mass balances of all glaciers in the region for the period 1990–2011, using a glacier mass-balance model forced by the outputs of a regional climate model. Our results indicate that the mean specific mass