Previous studies have suggested that the Bayan Har Shan and Lake Donggi Cona areas on the northeastern Tibetan Plateau were not glaciated during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; MIS2). However, the La Ji Shan, which is at a lower elevation than the Bayan Har Shan and Lake Donggi Cona areas but has similar annual precipitation, experienced a glacial event during the LGM. To investigate this discrepancy, factors controlling glacier development in the Bayan Har Shan, Lake Donggi Cona, and La Ji Shan were examined. First, a coupled mass balance and ice flow model was used to reconstruct the LGM climatic conditions in the La Ji Shan, and then the factors controlling glacier development were assessed based on the modeled LGM climatic conditions. With LGM precipitation being 70%–80% of present-day values, the modeled LGM temperature decrease was 3.9°C–4.3°C, which is consistent with other reconstructed LGM climatic conditions on the Tibetan Plateau. A comparison of the topography and climate of the La Ji Shan, Bayan Har Shan and Lake Donggi Cona areas indicates that a lower LGM summit height above the LGM equilibrium line altitude (ELA) and LGM annual precipitation at the LGM ELA are the main reason for the lack of LGM glacial expansion in the Bayan Har Shan and Lake Donggi Cona areas.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.