Climatic and hydrologic changes in the Tien Shan, central Asia
- Univ. of California, Santa Barbara, CA (United States)
The authors analyze climatic hydrologic data from 110 sites collected from the middle of the twentieth century to the present in the Tien Shan, one of the largest mountain systems of central Asia. In spite of a few confounding interregional variations in the temporal changes of surface air temperature, precipitation, runoff, glacier mass, and snow thickness in the Tien Shan, it has been possible to establish statistically significant long-range, with slightly lower values below 2000-m elevation. The precipitation in the Tien Shan increased 1.2 mm yr{sup -1} over the past half-century. The precipitation increase is larger at low altitudes in the northern and western regions than at altitudes above 2000 m. A decrease in snow resources occurred almost everywhere in the Tien Shan; the maximum snow thickness an snow duration have decreased on average 10 cm and 9 days, respectively. The annual runoff is the type of precipitation (liquid or solid). Over the last few decades, periods of glacier decline have coincided with declining river runoff. 45 refs., 8 figs., 2 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 567291
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Climate, Vol. 10, Issue 6; Other Information: PBD: Jun 1997
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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