Mass Balance of the Qiyi Glacier in the Qilian Mountains: A New Observation

A new observation has been made on the Qiyi Glacier in the Qilian Mountains since 2001. The observation shows that mass balance of the glacier was -810 mm in 2001/2002 and -316 mm in 2002/2003, respectively, suggesting that the glacier was thinning dramatically. However, the glacier experienced positive mass balance of about 360 mm per year in the 1970s and 4 mm per year in the 1980s. In last two to three years the glacier has characterized by strong negative mass balance and its snow line has gone up steadily. Now the equilibrium line of the glacier has reached the highest altitude since the glacier has been observed. Both the mass balance and snow line respond sensitively to the global warming. Under the condition of global warming, it is expected that the glacier will experience negative mass balance, thinning, shrinking and snow line rising.