Bulletin ofGlacierResearch5（1987）103MlO9 J圧ブ ⑥DataCenterforGlacierResearch，JapaneseSocietyofSnowandIce

PermafrostandperiglaciaIphenomenainWestKunlun MountainsofChina

Li Sfiude

LarlZbouInsもituteofGiaciolロ宮yandGeく〉CryOlogy，ÅcademiaSinica，Lanzbou，Chi！1a

（ReceivedJanuary5，1987；RevisedmanuscriptreceivedJanuary12，1987）

Abstract

TheWestKuniunmountainsininlandChinapossessanextremecontinentalciimate．Thepresentsnowline reachesto5700N6100mabovesealevel．Thelowerlimitofpermafrost，about4600mapproximatelycorre－ spondstothe…4．3DCisothermofmeanannualairtemperatllre，400叫600mhigherthanthatinthemiddieandeast partoft壬IeKun量unMolユnta払s．Theactiveiayervariesintbicknesswi偽eievationandti－etypeOfsoil．For instance，itis150cmincoarsegravelsoiland50cminfinegrainedsoilat500Oma．s．l．Groundicecanbe dividedintotwocategoriesaccordingtoitsorigins．Oneisburiedice（glaciericeandlakeice）whichexistsin thetilioI了tbefringeoftbeGuoZbaandZ壬10咽ぎengiaciers．Tbetbicknessof也eexposedicelayerwitあsoil reacheslOm，Theothertypeisfabricicewhichwasdiscovered主ntheiacustrirledepositsneartheTianshuihai Lake．Boththeicelayerwithasmallsoiトcontent，7to8minthicknessexposedinanaturalsectionneara thcrmokarstlakeandthepuremassiveicelayer，0．8tol．Ominthickness，foundinthefoundationofabuilding arerarelyseeninC壬1払a．Becauseofhighait主tⅥde，dryandcoldclimaもeandviolentfrostweatbering，払ereare lotsofperiglacialphenomenai‡1血isregio軋 Theloweriimitofperigiacialzoneisabotltat3800m．Mai‡l periglacialphcnomenaareasfollows：sortedrock－Circles，＄tOnenetS，SOlifluctions，pingos，frostmoundstony mo11nd，upIleaVingstones，thermokarstlake，perennialaIldseasonalriverlClngS，andsoon．

1．lntroduction re‡ief，butr100bviotlSVerticalzo‡1ation．Theupper part ofthemountainsisoccupied by tundra dcsert， TheexpeditionorganizedbythePeople’sRepub－ directly connecting wilh the permanent snow cover 1icofChinaalldJapanexploredtbepermafrostand andtheperiglacialzone（ScientificExpeditiontoXin giacieronasol血－ねcingslopeintbel野estKunlun Jia喝andtbeQiIlghaトⅩizangI｝lateau，1978；1983）． MountainsinthePeople’sRepublicofChina（Fig．1）． TheChineseg‡acioiogistsandgeocryologistsex－ Based on the fieldinformation，this paper mainly ploredmiddleandeasternKunlunMountainsseveral dealswithtbedistributionofpemafrosと，grOundice times．Tbe Chir絶壁geOCryOlogists have been spe－ andperigiacialpbenome11ainthisreg10n． Ciallyresearchingfrozengrolユndalo‡lgtheQingbaト Ⅹizanghighwaysince1960’s．Theinvestigationin蠣 dicates that thelowerlimit of permafrostin the 2．GeoIogicaJand geographicaJenvironments KliniuれPassandXitatanareaalongQingbai一Ⅹizang Highwayisabout4，150m；whilet‡1elowerlimitof The Kunlun Mountains stretches for 2500 km widespread pcrmafrostis about 4，350劃4，560 m． fromthe Pamirsinthe west to the western part of Pingos and rock glaciersare the typicalperiglacial SicbuanProvilュCeintbeeast，Vit‡ltberidgesintbe phe王10mena foundthere．Tbe expedition sponsored west beiIlg bigb訂tban t‡10Sein tbe ea軋 Modern bythe‡｝eopie’s Repl血iic ofChina and WesternGer－ glaciers developed on the top of mountains．The manyin1981exploredtheAnimaqingShanintheEast lⅣestKuniunMo11ntains，WithQinghai榊Xiza‡1gProv－ Kunlun Mountains．The preliminary results shoⅥr ince．Thereisagreatdifferenceintbelocalrelative tilattheiowerl主mit ofpermaたost orlnO珪h岬facing 了以 Bulletin of Glacier Research

Legemd 画 Gl∂⊂ier ［二壷］ldng ［亘］Frost Mound ［亘］Massive Ground ke ［≡］River and Lakel⊂e ［二重］FrostJa⊂king Stone ［画 Stone⊂irde ［亘］so冊u⊂tion ［；司ThawSettlement 匡司 Thaw Depression ［萱∃ Thaw Lake ［姦］stone Field

Fig．1．PeriglacialDistributionMapoftheWestKunlunMountainsinChina．

Slopesisabout4，000mwhileonsoughLfacingslopes itisabout4，400m．Themeanannualair temper－ atureatthelowerlimitofpermafrostisbetween－2． 3．Distribution ofpermafrost OCC and L3．6OC．The mainperiglacialphenomena areturfhummOCks，thawcollapseandthermokarst， The distribution of permafrost in the West （イ（、． Kunlun Mountains depends mainly upon vertical TheWestKunlunMountainsarehigherthanthe ZOnation．TherearesomeriverlClngSWithaheight Tianshan and AltaiMountains，but due to the Oflr2mintheriverbednearShengliBridgeatthe influence ofitsgeographicallocation，theprecipita－ heightofabout4，000m．Turfhummocks，SeaSOnal tionismuchlessthanthatintheTianshanandAltai frostmoundsandgelifractionterracesdevelopinthe Mountains．The West Kunlun Mountainsis one of marshlandinlowdepressions．Little glaciers deveT the driest mountainsin China．According to the lopabove4，800m．AllofthosehavethecharacterT records of the Kangxiwa weather station in West isticsofpermafrostandperiglacialphenomena．The KunlunMountains，theannualprecipitationisabout lowerlimit ofpermafrostinthisreglOnis4，600m， 36．3mm，relative humidity33－36％（from1968to where sporadic permafrost develops in the marsh 1985）；64mmattheheightof5，243m；71．1mmat land，Whilewidespreadpermafrostdevelopsabove4， GanWeatherStationattheheightof4，232m；23 800m．Debris slopes and debris cones developin 25mmatKalahashiWeatherStation．BecausepreCip－ Mazha，located at the second terracein the upper itationisveryrare，therecentsnowlineliesatabout reaches of the Yarkant River，With strong frost 5，700－6，100m．Mean annualair temperature de－ Weathering great sandstorm sand，nO Vegetation creaseswithincreasingelevation．TheODCisotherm beingfeaturesofthearidalpinevalley；thedepthof usually coincides with the3，800misohypse．Ac－ SeaSOnalfrostisl．2－1．5mattheheightofabout4， COrdingtotherecords，meanannualairtemperature 000m．Kangxiwaislocatedinaflatval1eyatabout is－0．6OCatKangxiwaweatherstationattheheight4，000m，mean annualair temperatureis－0．60C， Of3，975mand－9．70Cattheheightof5，243m．Theprecipitation36．3mm，andthedepthofseasonalfrost lapserateofdecreaslngtemperaturetOelevationisO． is aboutl．5m．Seasonalfrost mounds develop and 65qC／100m．PrecipitationattheendofGuoza Gla－ SOmepaleorplngOremantSeXistinmarshland．For CierinJuly of1985was only3．4mm．Two recent instance，thereisanellipticdepressionwithadiame－ SnOWfallswereonlyO．3cmand7．5cminthickness．ter oflO－15 m（Fig，2）．The formation of this Jり．う

Fig．2．ThawDepressionintheWestKunlunMountains， depressionresultedfromthethawofalargepingo． atthetopofthelayer．Froml．2to6．5mwasanice Near Tianshuihai，numerOuS pingos develop，the layerwithsoil，VOlumetricicecontentfroml．2to2． heightsusuallyareaboutlm，themaximumisupto 5mwasabout60r70％withalOcmpureicelayer： l．5m；minimumO．5mattheheightof4，800min from2．6to5．Om，about50％withaconglomerated awidespreadpermafrostreglOn．Meanannualair texture：from5．O to6．5mless than40％ with temperatureisaboutr5．60C．Accordingtothefield gravel；below6．8m，greaterthan50％volumetric investigation，thedepthofthawisaboutl．5m．Dry ice contentincreased again．Below8．O m and beL ground surface，nO Vegetation and a salinization neath thelake surface the profile became unclear． cementedlayerarethefeaturesonthesurface． On the other bank in the thaw collapse profile the thaweddepthasofthe18thofJulywasabout80cm． FromO to O．4m wasdry，wind－deposited sand； 4．Frozen groundtextureandgroundice fromo．4to O．8m，Wet andgranular sandy clay； fromO．8tol．5ma waslayeredandmicro－－1ayered humussandyclaywithoutobviousgroundice． On the south－facing slopes of the Western Inaddition，anicemassofaboutlcubic meter Kunlunmountains，grOundicedevelopedwidelyinthe was discovered near new buildingsin Tianshuihai． upperlayer of permafrost and soil（rock）forms According to reports from thelocalpeople，When massive，1ayered andconglomerated textures，With building those houses，they discovered this kind of most of them being horizontallylayered．Forin－ pureicemassatmanysites．Perhapsitwasriveror stance，OnthesoutheasternbankofTianshuihaialong othersurfaceice（riverice，1akeice，etC．）buriedby theXing－ZangHighway，grOundiceof6minthickT windpdepositedsand．Theburieddepthwasabout ness was observed in profile undergoing thawing l．O tol．5m． collapse．Theprofilebetweenthebanksurfaceand AroundthelakeattheendofZhongfengGlacier， lakesurfacewasabout8m．Thegroundsurfacewas aboutlOmgroundicecanbeseen．Accordingtothe verydrywithnovegetation．FromOtol．2minthe fieldinvestigation，there are two possible explana－ profilewasasandyclaylayerwithalittlefinegravel tionsofhowthatitiskindofgroundiceformed，One j∂6 BulletinofGlacier Research isthatiti＄buriedglacierice；anotheristhatitis Qinghai一Ⅹizang Plateau．In addition，there are plngOiceresultingたomfreeziilgglaciermeltⅥ7aterOr SOmepingOSWitbaheightofaboutlOmontheend SprlngWater－ moraineofZhongfengGlacieratthebeigbtof5，400m Asa wbole，t壬IelVest Kunlu‡lMountainshasa intheupperreachesofLitianRiver，andsomenew verydrycontinentalclimate，annualprecipitationis frost moundswith a height of aboutlm near the only severalcentimeters，butitis really rare that thawinglake． massivegroundiceisdevelopedandpreserved，eSper cially massive groundice as found on the natural き．プ．Zダね5≠カ戊わ鬱材sわ邦搭 profileinTia‡1Sbuibai．TbeformationerlVironment Frost jacking of stonesis o触n discoveredin andageofmassivegroundicestillneedstobeinvesti－ permafrostregionsandmorainehills．Someaimost gatedinfuture． straightupanddownstoneswithaheightof20－30 cm were observed at a high1ateralmoraine of thc Guoza Flat Top Glacier．There was a disturbed 5．Periglacialphenomena grave11ayer betw既n thelower part of tbe frost jackiれgStOneSand払euppertableofthepermafrost High altitude，dry and cold climate conditions with anicelayer，Therefore，frost jackingstones resultinstrongfrostweatheringandnumerouskinds wereformedinsaturatedfinegrainedmaterialunder ofperiglacialphenomena．Thetypes ofperiglacial repeatedfreezingandthawingconditions． action with vertical zonation belong to the alpine perigiacialzo王1e．Theloverlimit of tbe alpine こラ．J∴J．〃在り・ん、tl perigiacialzonecanextenddowntotheheightof3， Rivericingandspringicingarew主delydistributed 800m while normally the extent of the periglacial phenomenaincoldreglOnS．Duringtheexploration zoneis about4，000m．There are many typical period，SeaSOnalrivericeandrivericingwerefound periglacialphenomena（Fig．1）．The followingdisr inseveralplaces，uSuallydistributedinflatshallow cussion mainly deals with the characteristics and riverbedsattheheightof4，000m，Whilepermanent formationprocessesofsometypicalperiglacialp壬Ie－ riverice orrivericingwasdevelopedattbeendく）f nOmena． Zho‡1裏engGlacier，Witha払icknessofaboutl，0－1． 5m．Fromnaturalprofileobservation，theicelayer ．う．ノ．什ノな山（、んJ／♪んり＝〃汀仙J／1lI．／）…／／…バナ隼（J‘イ高一J haslaminationsandadirtsurface．Rivericingofl． 5．j．J．舟抑＝糀脚適 0州1，5mthicknessdevelopsontheriver．Seasonal Frostrr10Ⅵndiso11etypicalperiglacialphenomena Sprlngicingdevelopsinthawinglakesattheheightof inpermafrostregions．Åccordingtotheleng洩oftime 5，400m． thatitexists，itcanbediv言dedintotwotypes二i．e． seasonallyfrostmoundandpingo．Accordingtothe ．了．ユふりナ／岬小・．／石バ／′汀／ん明．∫／り〃＝イ甘ん∴J／（肋IJけ／ lithologicalchar・aCter，it can be dividedinto frost ‘川（／∫／（り八・J■りメl・ mound earth andlithicalfrost mound．Earth frost Stone nets are mainly distributedin thewide motlndwidelydevelopsinTianshuihaiareaalo一喝the ValieyoftheupperreachesoftheLitianRiverattbe Xing－ZalてgHighwayin軌elⅣestKtlnlunMountains， hei感ItOf5，280m，VitbadiameとerofaboutlO－40 withaheightusual1yabo11tl．Ometer．Thecreaks Cm，takingtheshapeofanellipseofacircle．The withtheくt＋”shapeappearonthetopoffrostmound． Centeris occupied by fine grained soilwith great Thedepthwasabout20N40cm．Seasonallythawed Water COntent，Whilethe edgeis of broken stones． depth was aboutl．1－1．5m．Beneath the active Duringthemiddleofjuly，thecenterofthestonedish layer，WaStbeicelayerwitbsoil．Tbelithical打ost freezesint王IemOrni‡1臥Vbileitthawsill軌eafterIlOOn moundwidelydevelopsinwetlandattheheightof4， With some waterCOVer．The stone dishis the prト 8005，200m between HekesayiLake and Litian marystageofthestonecircle．CuiZhijiunamedit RiveronthesouthfacingslopeintheWestKunlun thcmicroStOneCircle（Fig．3）． Mountains．Brokenstonesinthetopoffrostmounds Stonecirclesandstonerosesdevelopnotonlyin Standup straight，With tbe height of about50－100 thewidevalleyintheupperreachesoflitianRiverin Cm，foming a stringlitbicalたost｝ⅥOund gro11p． tbewestKunlunMountains，blユtalsoint壬IemOraine Chen（1979）discoveredmanylithicalfrostmoundson aroundtheG110Za FlatTopGlacier．Thediameter J〃7

Fig．3．StonecircleintheWestKunlunMountains．

Fig．・I．Stoneeircl亡・FrOuPi11theWest KunIunM11untaiTIS＿ ぶ漕 Bulietin of Glacier Research

Fig．5．Gelifluclionat5．800mintheWes（KuntunMountains・

FiF・‘i・ThawlakL、iTITianshuihaiAreaintheWビStKL］nh】nl Li J脚

Of stone circles are usually about2．0－4．O m up a Rock fields were observed on top of almost every maximlユm Of8．O m．Tbe sides are broken gravel mountainin the West Kunhln Mo11ntains．Rock withadiameterof2－10cm．Thelithologicalchar－streams usually were developed on the moraine in acterisgranite，SandstoneandLimestone．Thereis frontofmodernglaciersattheheightof5，000m． amicro－pOlygontextureinthecenter（Fig．4）．Å great number of stone roses were observed on the 丁子．ごう．什rむ山（、んJJ♪んtwtけ仙リノ（J恒仙川イナノg．■ 仙…・ん山 gerltlelopeinfrontofamorainelakeattheheightof ‘J〃〔7Jん川・∫‘イ／／り明り両 5，700m．Theindividualdiameterwasabout2－4m I）uetothechangeofnaturalconditionsandthe 払rmlngabeautifulpictureonthegroundsurねce． in恥erlCeOfartificialfactors，tbebeatbalancecondi－ tionsofpermafrostisdestroyed，reSultingindifferen－ こ；．ご才．什ナ東山（・山／♪ん「〃（り机・肘たl・甘J坤汀／ん明 tial thaw settlement of the ground surface which Afterseasonalthawing，thesaturatedsoilmoves causesanescapeOfwater，fromthemeltingofexcess down along the slope．This phenomenumis called iceinthefrozenground，untilathawlakeisformed， gelifractiorl．Thesaturatedsandy claymovingdowれ 1Ⅳithout wateriTlthe cerlter，itis ca11ed t‡laW de－ along a seasonally freezing surface on a300slope pression．Massivegroundicewidelydevelopsinthe formstbeLittlegelほraction，Wherethethaweddepth lacustrinedepositsintheTianshl血aiRegioninthe inthelast10daysofJuly wasonly50cm（Fig．5）． West Kunlun Mountains．After the thawing of ThisisoneofthehighestreglOnSWheresolifluction groundice，a thawlakeisformedwithanarea of distributesintheworld． about severalsquare kiloNmeterS（Fig．6）．Such lakeisveryseldomseenalongtheXingMZangHigh・ J盲．－J．丑Jせ山（血／♪んr〃り〃佑肌卜恒ノ元）ヾ／！（－川仙川毎卜川（ノ Way．BecauseoftheinfhlenCeOfawarmspringatthe g7即fぬめ邦 endofZhongfengGlacier，themeltingofglacierand 許Olindicei‡lpermafrosとformstわethal哲Iakedeveト こ了．J．J．几－か五J／りハ、′仙′（ムーわ太∩仙、 Oped on modern moraine．Itis also rarein modern Undertbedrya‡ldcoldclimateconditiorlS，bare glacierreglOnS． bedrockontheupperpartofmountainssuffersstrong frostweathering，withbrokenrocksgraduallymov・ ing down the siope and at the bottom of slope． forming a slope covered by broken rocks，Called References モtrocksiope”．BrokerlrOCksdepos主短dat偽el）OttOm of a slopeis called t’rock cone”．Rock slopes and ChenGuodong（1979）：Lithicalfrostmounds，（inChinese），Jouト nalofGlaciologyandCryopedology，No．1，4950． rock cons are widely distributedin 払e Maza】血 GeomorphologyGroupintもeComprehensiveExp感iとionTeam Tianshuihaimountainousareas． to xinJiang（1978）：Geomorphology of XinJiang・（in Chi†1eSe），5kiencePress，Beijing，145－154． 5．4．2．ガ¢Cゐ．粒㍍α邦♂和C烏5g柁α椚 鮎ientificExpeditionto払eQingbai－Ⅹiza喝platea11㍑983〉： Rock field generally develops on the top and Geomorphology of Xizang（Tibet）．（in Chinese），Science Pre＄，Beiji喝，137】147－ upperslopeofmountainsconsistingofhardbedrock．