Che, Yanjun, Wang, Shijin, Cao, Yun, Lv, Weiwei, Ma, Xinggang, Han, Congzheng, Zhong, Jian ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1026-8695 and Wu, Rong (2026) Temperature sensitivity and rainfall heat flux drive rapid mass loss of low-latitude glaciers in the Southeastern Qinghai–Tibet plateau. CATENA, 267:109991. ISSN 0341-8162 (Print), 1872-6887 (Online) (doi:10.1016/j.catena.2026.109991)

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Abstract

The response of glacier mass balance to air temperature and precipitation exhibits nonlinear sensitivity, and change of snowfall-to-rainfall is accelerating to glacier mass loss due to climate warming. To examine the rain heat flux in the temperature glacier ablation, a glacier surface energy-mass balance (SEB) model is driven using the meteorological records in Yulong Snow Mountain of southeastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Simulations indicate that the response of Baishui River Glacier No.1 (BRG No.1) to air temperature shows nearly linear sensitivity, while it presents nonlinear sensitivity to precipitation. The rainfall heat flux should not be neglected in the temperature glacier melt of QTP, as it is significantly higher than that of cold glacier; it accounts for approximately 6% of the total of ablation energy. In addition, the +1 °C warming in air temperature needs to be compensated by a 47% increase in precipitation in the temperature glacier, which is more than that required for cold glaciers in mid- and high-latitude regions of the QTP. Thus, SEB captures the linear response of temperate glaciers to temperature, explaining the cause of rapid retreat in low-latitude glaciers in southeastern QTP.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	nearly linear sensitivity, glacier mass balance, sensible energy of rain, Qinghai-Tibet plateau
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GB Physical geography G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences Q Science > Q Science (General) Q Science > QA Mathematics > QA75 Electronic computers. Computer science
Faculty / School / Research Centre / Research Group:	Faculty of Engineering & Science Faculty of Engineering & Science > School of Computing & Mathematical Sciences (CMS)
Last Modified:	02 Apr 2026 09:49
URI:	https://gala.gre.ac.uk/id/eprint/52800

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