The Glacier Inventory of China

Following recommendations from the International Commission on Snow and Ice for a world glacier inventory, an inventory of glaciers in China was carried out by Chinese glaciologists from 1978 to 2002. Each glacier was measured from aerial photographs and topographical maps and 34 parameters recorded. These parameters were then analyzed statistically for the various river systems in China. Twelve volumes of the Glacier Inventory of China (GIC) have been published, consisting of 22 parts in 21 books. The data were subsequently abridged into a Concise GIC, published in Chinese (2005) and in English (2008), to make the glacier inventory more accessible and better adapted for assessing glacier response to climate change. After the GIC was completed, new aerial photographs became available and remote-sensing techniques became more common. To investigate glacier changes since completion of the first GIC, a second Glacier Inventory of China was initiated in 2007. This 5 year project, supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology, will be undertaken mainly using remote-sensing techniques.