Scientists have identified the thickest glacier on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, known as Asia's water tower, following the discovery of a nearly 400-meter-thick ice field.
The record was obtained by researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) at a glacier with an altitude of 6,100 meters on the Purog Kangri Glacier in Tsonyi County of southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, replacing the previous record of 308.6 meters measured in the Guliya Ice Cap in the west of the Kunlun Mountains in the Ali Prefecture of Xizang in 1992.
Drilling data showed that the average thickness of glaciers on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau is over 100 meters, and the discovery is of great significance for studying the climate and environmental changes on the plateau.
Since ice core drilling requires low temperature conditions, most of the work is done at night, and the team will stick to the high-altitude post throughout the National Day holiday, which runs through Oct. 1 to 7, according to researchers.
China launched the scientific expedition mission on Aug. 18 to investigate the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau with a target region encompassing "one glacier, two lakes and three rivers".
The target region includes the Purog Kangri Glacier, the third-largest glacier in the world; Siling Lake and Namtso Lake, the largest and second-largest lakes in Xizang, respectively; and the source of the Yangtze River, Nujiang River, and Yarlung Zangbo River.
At present, the main scientific expedition work involving more than 400 scientific expedition members has been basically completed.
Scientists discover thickest glacier on Qinghai-Xizang Plateau
