A climate change laboratory
Hailuogou Glacier, also known as Glacier No. 1, is a temperate maritime glacier on the eastern slope of Mount Gongga, a 7,556-meter peak on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The glacier itself stretches 14.7 kilometers and covers about 16 square kilometers. Its most unusual feature is its low altitude. The glacier's tongue extends down to 2,850 meters, pushing for 6 kilometers into a primeval forest. This creates a rare landscape where a river of ice coexists with dense woods.
This low-altitude terminus makes Hailuogou exceptionally sensitive to climate change and an ideal location for scientific monitoring. The Gongga Mountain Alpine Ecosystem Observation and Experiment Station, operated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, actively tracks changes in the glacier and surrounding environment. Research shows a dramatic and accelerating retreat. Between 1966 and 1989, the glacier receded at an average rate of 12.7 meters per year. That rate more than doubled to 27.4 meters per year between 1998 and 2008. Overall, the glacier has retreated more than 2 kilometers during the 20th century. This rapid melt is attributed to rising local temperatures, which at the 3,000-meter level show a mean annual temperature of 4.6°C.