Abstract:The runoff records of streams draining basins with between 0 and approximately 54% glacier cover, located at the headwaters of the Urumqi River in eastern Tianshan, central Asia, have been examined for the purpose of assessing climatic and glacial influences on temporal patterns of streamflow for the period . Runoff in the highest glacierized basin is found to be inversely correlated with the glacier mass-balance data and increased by 165Ð1 ð 10 4 m 3 or 1Ð5 times on average from 1959 to 2006, whereas flow from a glacier-free basin reflects precipitation changes associated with temperature that may enable either ground ice formation or ice storage release. For the basin with a glacier cover of 18Ð5%, the runoff increased approximately 355Ð4 ð 10 4 m 3 or 29Ð6% on average from 1983 to 2006, which underscores expected results based on glacier melt and precipitation increase, especially after 2000. This is due to several possible reasons including enhanced evaporation, groundwater percolation, increased water consumption due to plant colonization and runoff decrease from glacier basins subject to area reduction. From the measurement at Urumqi glacier No. 1 gauging station and a simple water balance model, the glacial runoff during the period 1959-2006 was calculated and found to have increased by 145Ð5 ð 10 4 m 3 a 1 (a factor of 2) over the 48-year span. A significant amount of the increase occurred after 1987, particularly after 1995, and coincides with increases in both temperature and precipitation.

A B S T R A C TThe isotopic composition of precipitation has been measured in samples simultaneously collected during individual precipitation events at two neighbouring high-altitude stations (Houxia at 2100 m a.s.l. and Gaoshan at 3545 m a.s.l.) in the Tianshan Mts., northwest China. The observed changes of δ 18 O (δ 2 H) and deuterium excess with surface air temperature, altitude and season have been evaluated to derive information on the effects of subcloud evaporation and moisture recycling on the formation of precipitation and its isotopic composition under arid climatic conditions. Consulting the long-term monthly averages of 'd' excess and temperature of the nearest GNIP station Wulumuqi, a striking similarity was found with the results of the two high-altitude stations concerning the relation between 'd' excess and temperature. The 'd' excess-temperature plot of the Wulumuqi data shows an hysteresis effect which appears to signify seasonal changes in the interplay between subcloud evaporation and moisture recycling. Finally, for the first time a negative altitude gradient of the d excess has been found for all stations including two more GNIP stations in northwest China but far away from the study area. This 'inverse altitude effect' may manifest a decrease of the recycled fraction in air moisture with altitude.

Based on the statistics of glacier area variation measured in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains since 1960, the response of glacier area variation to climate change is discussed systematically. As a result, the total area of the glaciers has been reduced by 11.5% in the past 50 years, which is a weighted percentage according to the glacier area variations of 10 drainage basins separated by the Glacier Inventory of China (GIC). The annual percentage of area changes (APAC) of glaciers in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains is 0.31% after the standardization of the study period. The APAC varies widely for different drainage basins, but the glaciers are in a state of rapid retreat, generally. According to the 14 meteorological stations in the Chinese Tianshan Mountains, both the temperature and precipitation display a marked increasing tendency from 1960 to 2009 at a rate of 0.34℃·(10a) −1 and 11 mm·(10a) −1 , respectively. The temperature in the dry seasons (from November to March) increases rapidly at a rate of 0.46℃·(10a) −1 , but the precipitation grows slowly at 2.3 mm·(10a) −1 . While the temperature in the wet seasons (from April to October) grows at a rate of 0.25 ·(10a) ℃ −1 , but the precipitation increases at 8.7 mm·(10a) −1 . The annual and seasonal climatic trends accelerate the retreat of glaciers.

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Abstract. High-resolution, well-dated climate archives provide an opportunity to investigate the dynamic interactions of climate patterns relevant for future projections.