Hailuogou Glacier activities during the past six centuries inferred from tree rings and 14C dating

This paper presents a dendroglaciological study of Hailuogou Glacier, a maritime glacier in Hengduan Mountains, southwest China. We used tree-ring data collected from the glacier forefield, including buried wood and oldest living trees on moraine ridges, to reconstruct the glacier fluctuations during the past six centuries. The tree-ring data were combined with radiocarbon dating and remote sensing interpretation to determine the ages of moraine ridges and glacial deposits. The results show that Hailuogou Glacier experienced five equilibrium stages since the Little Ice Age, with the most extensive advance around 1760s AD and the most rapid retreat since the 20th century. The glacier fluctuations were compared with temperature and precipitation reconstructions from nearby regions, and the response relationship between the glacier and climate change was discussed. The paper demonstrates the potential of dendroglaciology to provide high-resolution records of maritime glacier history and its link to climate change in the Tibetan Plateau. The paper also contributes to the better understanding of the long-term relationship between the fluctuation of maritime glaciers and climate change, and provides a scientific basis and basic data for the prediction of glacier change under the future climate change scenario.