Impact of the Glacial Change on Water Resources in the Tarim River Basin

The Tarim River Basin, a river system converged by nine source tributaries, is the mostly glacierised watershed in the arid northwest China, where there are 11665 glaciers with a total area of 19878 km2 and a volume of 2313 km3. Glaciers in the basin play a significant role in the water resource formation and variations. An estimation indicated that glaciers provide meltwater of about 133×108 m3 every year, taking 39% of the total river runoff. With the influence of global warming, northwest China has experienced a general warming and drying change of climate since the mid-19th century. However, a so-called warm and wet transition of climate in the region has occurred since the late 1980s, exhibiting as an increase both in precipitation and outlet discharge in Xinjiang and neighborhood regions. This paper attempts to reveal how glaciers in the Tarim River Basin response to such a warming and wetting change and what impact glacier changes exert. We analyzed the variations of more than 3000 glaciers since the 1960s by applying topographical maps, high resolution satellite images and aerial photos for the river basin. Results indicate that glaciers in the basin has been mostly in retreat in recent 40 years, and the ice wastage have significantly influenced the variations of water resources in the Tarim River Basin.