Researchers bid to unlock mystery of shrinking mountain peaks(3)

Disconnected trail

Several years ago at Lao Guanjingtai in Hailuogou, tourists could trek down moraine slopes, but now significant glacial retreat and failure of these slopes have resulted in the trail to the glacier becoming disconnected from the forest, Liu said.

Meanwhile, the retreat of glaciers has caused significant changes to the water flow of rivers, giving rise to various disasters, Liu said.

When flooding occurs, moraine materials consisting of unstable glacial deposits combine with water, resulting in the flow of glacial debris that can cause severe destruction. Infrastructure along riverbanks, including roads and bridges, is particularly susceptible to such damage, Liu added.

In addition, the flooding can cause significant damage to hydroelectric power stations.

Recent observations suggest that Mount Gongga and other peaks may be experiencing a decrease in their heights due to melting glaciers and an associated reduction in glacial mass.

Liu said that while the possibility of peaks experiencing such a reduction due to glacial melting cannot be ruled out entirely, the current evidence does not provide definitive proof.

"The ongoing process of glacial melting, and the subsequent decrease in glacial ice mass, can potentially contribute to a reduction in the altitude of mountain peaks. But without direct ground measurements, the notion that declining snow cover is the primary cause of such decreasing altitudes remains to be ascertained," Liu said.

"There is no data about changes to ice and snow thickness at mountain summits," he added.

To the contrary, some theories suggest that as glaciers experience loss of mass, the pressure on their underlying crust is reduced, causing the heights of mountain summits to rise, he said.