Processes and environmental significance of the subglacial chemical deposits in Tianshan Mountains

作     者：LIU Gengnian LUO Risheng CAO Jun CUI Zhijiu 

作者机构：College of Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing 100871 China College of Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing 100871 China College of Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing 100871 China College of Environmental Sciences Peking University Beijing 100871 China 

出 版 物：《Science China Earth Sciences》 (中国科学（地球科学英文版）)

年 卷 期：2005年第48卷第9期

页      面：1470-1478页

核心收录：

学科分类：07[理学] 08[工学] 

基　　金：supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.40271014 and 90102016) 

主　　题：subglacial processes, chemical deposits, continental glacier. 

摘      要：On the bedrock surface of Glacier No.1 in the headwater of Urumqi River, Tianshan Mts., well layered and crystallized subglacial calcite precipitations were discovered. Based on observations and analysis of the surface form, sedimentary texture and structure, and chemical composition of the deposits, clues about the subglacial processes and environment are deduced. The radial-growth crustation texture of the deposits, which builds up in the saturated CaCO3 so- lution, proves the existence of pressure melting water and water films under Glacier No.1; and their rhythmic beddings, dissolved planes and unconformable contacts show that the water films responsible for the formation of these structures were in a wide range of spatial as well as tem- poral variations. Though formed under continental glacier in non-limestone area, the deposits are quite similar to those formed under temperate glaciers in limestone areas, a fact that shows a similar process of chemical precipitation between the two. Hence the enrichment of calcium in the subglacial melting water and the process of precipitation have actually little to do with the bedrock lithology and the glacier types. The cemented detritus in the deposits are rich in Fe and Al while depleted in K, Na and Si; also the included clay mineral consists mainly of illite, which reveals some weak chemical weathering under the continental glacier. The subglacial CaCO3 precipitates when plenty of Ca++ melt into the subglacial melting water on a comparatively en- closed ice-bedrock interface under a high CO2 partial pressure, the forming of subglacial chemical deposits therefore offers unequivocal evidence for the ongoing of subglacial chemical reactions.