Transparent mengke glacier

Laohugou glacier 12

synonym

Transparent mengke glacier generally refers to No. 12 glacier in Laohugou

Laohugou glacier No.12, also known as transparent mengke glacier, is located in the western part of Qilian Mountains in Subei Mongolian Autonomous County, Gansu Province. Transparence mengke comes from the transliteration of Mongolian, which originally means tall and broad snow mountain.

According to the catalogue of glaciers in China, Laohugou Glacier No. 12 is the largest valley glacier in Qilian Mountain with a length of 10.1 km, an area of 21.9 square kilometers and an ice storage capacity of 2.63 cubic kilometers. The glacier is located and monitored by the Qilian Mountain Glacier and ecological environment comprehensive observation and research station, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

brief introduction

essential information

Laohugou glacier No.12 belongs to Daxueshan, which is a complete small mountain in Qilian Mountains. Qilian Mountain is very long, with more than 2000 kilometers. Daxueshan mountain is very short, with only 88 kilometers. However, it is home to the largest valley glacier in Qilian Mountain, glacier 12 in Laohugou.

There are 44 glaciers in Laohugou area, covering an area of about 54.3 square kilometers. Laohugou glacier No.12 is the largest valley glacier in Northwest China. The Qiyi glacier (2.78 square kilometers) near jiaxiaguan in Gansu Province and Baishui No.1 glacier (1.52 square kilometers) in Yulong Snow Mountain in Yunnan Province, which have been developed in China, are only one tenth of the area of Laohugou No.12 glacier. Such an open snow field and transparent, clean and smooth ice surface are also beyond the above glaciers.

geographical position

Laohugou glacier No.12 is about 200 kilometers away from Dunhuang, and is the valley glacier closest to railway lines, airports and highways in Asia. From Dunhuang to Dunhuang, most of the roads are paved with asphalt except the earth roads which are more than 30 kilometers close to the glacier. Even buses can easily drive to the base camp at the end of the glacier.

Daxueshan mountain is the highest mountain in the north of Qilian Mountain. Because it is located in the center of Northwest Airflow and rich in precipitation, it has bred as many as 203 glaciers. There are 44 glaciers in the Laohugou area of Laohugou No.12 glacier. As the largest valley glacier in Qilian Mountains, Laohugou No.12 glacier is 10 km long, with an altitude of 4200 meters at the end of the glacier. Most tourists can climb the glacier without obvious mountain reaction.

Comprehensive application

Scientific research observation

In 1958, when the Chinese modern glacier expedition first discovered this glacier, it was called Laohugou Glacier No. 20; in the 1970s, it was renamed Laohugou Glacier No. 12. "Transparent mengke" is a transliteration of Mongolian, which means tall and broad. This is the name given by Chinese glaciologist Wang Zongtai when he returned to Laohugou in 2001.

From 1958 to 1962, the Chinese Academy of Sciences set up China's first glacier positioning observation station near the end of the glacier to carry out monitoring and Research on glacial meteorology, glacial movement, glacial mass balance, glacial hydrology, etc., and then the detection was terminated for various reasons.

From 1975 to 1979, we carried out the investigation and Study on "glacier change and its impact on water resources" in this area, and from 1984 to 1985, we carried out the short-term investigation on "glacier, climate and runoff change" in this area.

In May 2005, with the support of related scientific research projects, researchers from the Institute of environment and Engineering in cold and arid regions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences resumed the observation of the material balance, modern snow and ice processes, glacier movement and meteorology of Laohugou glacier 12. In December 2007, the Institute of environment and Engineering in cold and arid regions of the Chinese Academy of Sciences decided to resume the comprehensive and systematic glacier positioning observation and Research on Laohugou Glacier No. 12, and named it "Qilian Mountain Glacier and ecological environment comprehensive observation and research station".

According to the distribution map of glacier types in China, Daxueshan glacier in the western part of Qilian Mountains is a typical continental glacier, which is an ideal site for comprehensive observation of glacier and ecological environment. The Qilian Mountain Glacier and ecological environment comprehensive observation and research station established in 2007 is mainly for the long-term comprehensive positioning observation of the atmosphere, glacier, frozen soil, vegetation, hydrology, etc., making it a comprehensive observation and research station for the coupling research and environmental change monitoring of the atmosphere, glacier, frozen soil, vegetation, etc., the comprehensive utilization of water resources and the development and utilization of water resources in the inland river basin of arid area . And focus on the modern process of cryosphere, atmospheric environment process, ice air interface and ground air interface process, carry out the research on the change and adaptation of various types of vegetation at different altitudes and their relationship with environmental factors, apply high-resolution remote sensing images, carry out dynamic monitoring and comparative research on modern environmental changes in typical sections of different natural zones, and reveal the impact of natural and human activities Based on the observation of the hydrological process of frozen soil and snow in a typical watershed, a distributed hydrological model including glacier change, snow melting and frozen soil freezing and thawing process is constructed to explore the mechanism of water cycle in the cold region watershed, predict the future climate and environmental change in the Qilian Mountains, and evaluate the future cryosphere change and its impact on water resources.

In the past 50 years, Glacier No. 12 in Laohugou has retreated more than 300 meters. The observation data since 1958 show that Glacier No. 12 has been retreating, and the fastest melting period is in July and August every year. The observation of more than 50 years shows that Glacier No. 12 retreats more than 6 meters per year on average.

Tourism development

Development history

The highest peak of No. 12 glacier in Laohugou is 5483 meters above sea level, which is also a paradise for mountaineers. In the mid-1980s, a Japanese mountaineering team first revealed the climbing history of the mountain.

As one of the six most beautiful glaciers in China, the ice scene here is rich, and the surrounding landscape is magnificent. The film "see the dragon and remove the armor" was shot on location here. With the continuous expansion of the influence, the adventure tourism is also heating up.

Mid September to mid October is the best season for climbing. For ordinary tourists, July to August is the best travel season. At this time, not only the ice temperature is high, but also the landscape is full of changes.

Development advantages

1. The glacier, which is rarely touched in people's life, is covered with mystery, while the large-scale Glacier No. 12 in Laohugou is especially rich in scenery. In addition to its diverse tourism functions, it has become one of the highlights of tourism development in Western China in the 21st century, and therefore has broad market prospects. All the regions without glaciers are potential sources of tourists, especially the foreign market, which has great potential.

2. Located more than 100 kilometers south of Lanzhou Xinjiang Railway, 312 National Highway and Dunhuang airport, Laohugou glacier 12 is the axis of Subei County, Dunhuang, Guazhou, Yumen and Jiayuguan fan-shaped urban agglomeration. It can be served by planes, trains and cars, with excellent geographical location.

3. To the north of Glacier No. 12 in Laohugou is the Silk Road tourist route. To the East is the world-famous ancient city of Jiayuguan, to the west is the world cultural heritage Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang, and to the south is the multi-ethnic folk custom park of Mongolian, Yugur and Kazak. The surrounding scenery in recent weeks include the Shibao city site of the ancient castle of the Han and Tang Dynasties, the famous Yulin grottoes, a large number of rock paintings, the Tianchi of YEMA peak, the scenery of ivory mountain and the modern wildlife reserve. Transparent mengke glacier is surrounded by cultural landscape and folk scenery, with strong complementarity, high tourism grade and good location conditions.

4. The average gradient of the valley bed and ice surface of Laohugou gully is 2.6-6.6 ° and the route is gentle without any slope break and scarp. Now there is a simple lane to reach 100m in front of the glacier with excellent accessibility. The lithology of the gully is siliceous limestone, schist and quartzite of Cambrian and Precambrian. No earthquake, no thawing settlement, no debris flow. It creates excellent conditions for the construction of grade highway.

5. The annual runoff in the ditch is 47.7 million m3, with good water quality and sufficient water. The transmission line can start from shibaocheng and Changma. It is more than 40 kilometers long. The 10kv High-voltage Line is easy to connect. Shi Bao Cheng and Chang Ma Lie program-controlled telephones are also very easy to connect.

6. Subei County is an "advanced county of national unity and progress", "well-off county" and "three no county" (non-toxic, no gambling, no yellow), with simple, enthusiastic people and stable society. The summer grassland of herdsmen is near the No.12 glacier of Laohugou. The unique Mongolian custom provides a good social environment for the development of No.12 glacier of Laohugou.

7. Subei County attaches great importance to the tourism development of No.12 glacier in Laohugou as a breakthrough for the development of tourism, and will provide preferential policies and strong support for financing groups and individuals at home and abroad.

honor

Related selection

In 2005, China National Geographic magazine named the six most beautiful glaciers in China, and the No. 12 glacier in Laohugou was on the list. The other five most beautiful glaciers in China are Rongbu glacier, Tomur glacier, Hailuogou Glacier, midui glacier and telamkanli glacier.

In this selection activity held by National Geographic of China, it is known as "China glacier"