Tanggula Cryosphere and Environment Observation Station [Candidate]
Integrated CryoNet Cluster Information

The Tanggula Cryophere Observatory is located in the central of the Tibet Plateau at an elevation of 5050m a.s.l. It is situated at the Tanggula mountain main divide, which is a crucial climate demarcation line. The railway and highway that reaches the peak has the highest elevation in the world. It also is lies in one of the source of the Dangqu River, the geographic headwaters of the Yangtze. Therefore, it is important to conduct hydrological and climatological observations at Tanggula Pass.
In 1989, an observation program focusing on glacier and climatic change was initiated and the half-positioning observation stations were set up by Prof. TanDong Yao etc. At that time, the observation focused on the 16.40 km² Dongkemadi Glacier, which lies in Dongkemadi River Basin, the backland of the Tibetan Plateau over the mid part of Tanggula Mountain (92°04'E, 33°05'N). In 2005, a modern monitoring system focused on multi sphere was built by Prof. Baisheng YE, which is covering the atmosphere, the hydrosphere, the biosphere and the cryosphere.

Zhang Y, Yao T, Pu J. 1997. The features of hydrological processes in the Dongkemadi River Basin , Tanggula Pass , Tibetan Plateau. Journal of glaciology and Geocryology 19: 214-222
Fujita K, Ageta Y. 2000. Effect of summer accumulation on glacier mass balance on the Tibetan Plateau revealed by mass-balance model. Journal of Glaciology 46: 244-252.
Pu Jianchen, Yao Tandong. 2008, Rapid decrease of mass balance observed in the Xiao (Lesser) Dongkemadi Glacier, in the central Tibetan Plateau. Hydrology Process, 22: 2953-2958.
Shangguan DH, Liu SY, Ding YJ, Zhang YS, Du EJ, Wu Z. 2008. Thinning and retreat of Xiao Dongkemadi glacier, Tibetan Plateau, since 1993. Journal of Glaciology 54: 949-951
Yao Tandong, Thompson L, Yang Wei. 2012,Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau and surroundings. Nature Climate Change, 2: 663-667.