摘要
In the Third Pole (TP) region, there are about 100,000 km2of glaciers [1], distributed mainly in the Tibetan Plateau and its surroundings. Glacier melt-water from these glaciers not only feeds rivers, such as the Indus, Brahmaputra, Ganges, Yellow and Yangtze, which finally reach the seas, but also feeds the rivers, such as the Tarim River, Heihe River and a lot of other rivers, which finally reach the arid areas or deserts. The Asian Water Tower [2]is, therefore, proposed to characterize the significance of the glaciers and glacier melt water at all the river heads in the TP, which is important water resource both for regulating seasonal water demands in the arid areas or deserts and for sea level rising. In addition, they also change the water cycle at a large scale [3].
基金
supported by the International Partnership Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (131C11KYSB20160061)
the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA20100309)
