%A YuShuo Liu, Xiang Qin, WenTao Du %T Changes of glacier area in the Xiying River Basin, East Qilian Mountain, China %0 Journal Article %D 2017 %J Sciences in Cold and Arid Regions %R 10.3724/SP.J.1226.2017.00432 %P 432-437 %V 9 %N 5 %U {http://www.scar.ac.cn/CN/abstract/article_56.shtml} %8 2017-10-01 %X The Xiying River, one of eight tributaries of the Shiyang River, located at Lenglongling, east Qilian Mountain, is formed by the confluence of Luotuo, Qingyang, Ningchan, and Shuiguan rivers. In the Xiying River Basin, where have 42 glaciers which toward NE in the majority. In this study, three Landsat images and two topographic maps were used to extract boundaries by artificial vector quantization. Results show that glacier area in Xiying Basin increased slightly around 1987, since then, has been reduced considerably. From 1956/1972 to 2008, glacier area in Xiying River Basin was reduced by 20.76%, nine glaciers have disappeared, and below 4,100 m a.s.l., there is no ice cover. Variation tendency of glacier retreat was obviously controlled by orientation. Temperature increase especially after 1987 is the main reason of glacier shrinkage, where glaciers in the Xiying River Basin are more sensitive to climate change.