title: Contrasting responses of Central Asian rock glaciers to global warming.
abstract: While the responses of Tien Shan glaciers--and glaciers elsewhere--to climatic changes are becoming increasingly well understood, this is less the case for permafrost in general and for rock glaciers in particular. We use a novel approach to describe the climate sensitivity of rock glaciers and to reconstruct periods of high and low rock glacier activity in the Tien Shan since 1895. Using more than 1500 growth anomalies from 280 trees growing on rock glacier bodies, repeat aerial photography from Soviet archives and high-resolution satellite imagery, we present here the world's longest record of rock glacier movements. We also demonstrate that the rock glaciers exhibit synchronous periods of activity at decadal timescales. Despite the complex energy-balance processes on rock glaciers, periods of enhanced activity coincide with warm summers, and the annual mass balance of Tuyuksu glacier fluctuates asynchronously with rock glacier activity. At multi-decadal timescales, however, the investigated rock glaciers exhibit site-specific trends reflecting different stages of inactivation, seemingly in response to the strong increase in air temperature since the 1970s.
authors: 1] Climatic Change and Climate Impacts Group, Institute for Environmental Sciences (ISE), University of Geneva, Route de Drize 7, CH-1227 Carouge, Switzerland [2] dendrolab.ch, Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Berne, Baltzerstrasse 1 + 3, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.
authors: Annina
authors: A
authors: Sorg
authors: Department of Geosciences, University of Oslo, P.O. Box 1047, N-0316 Oslo, Norway.
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Kääb
authors: dendrolab.ch, Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Berne, Baltzerstrasse 1 + 3, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Roesch
authors: Forest Ecology, Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems, Department of Environmental Systems Science, ETH Zurich, Universitätstrasse 16, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland.
authors: Christof
authors: C
authors: Bigler
authors: 1] Climatic Change and Climate Impacts Group, Institute for Environmental Sciences (ISE), University of Geneva, Route de Drize 7, CH-1227 Carouge, Switzerland [2] dendrolab.ch, Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Berne, Baltzerstrasse 1 + 3, CH-3012 Berne, Switzerland [3] Department of Earth Sciences, University of Geneva, Rue des Maraîchers 13, CH-1211 Geneva 4, Switzerland.
authors: Markus
authors: M
authors: Stoffel
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