HYDROLOGICAL CYCLES ON THE NORTH AND SOUTH PERIPHERIES OF MOUNTAIN-GLACIAL BASINS OF CENTRAL-ASIA

Four high mountain glacial basins of the northern and southern periphe ry of central Asia were studied to determine their interaction with th e external hydrological cycle over the Eurasian continent. Two of them located in the northern periphery are closed drainage basins with con tinental climate and the other two are open basins located in the sout hern periphery. Calculations of mass energy exchange, glacial runoff a nd components of the hydrological cycles were conducted. For glaciers with a continental climate, the calculations of snow-ice melt and runo ff were based on solar parameters. For glaciers with a marine climate regime, glacier melt and runoff were based on air temperature. The rel ative errors of simulated annual flows were, on average, 8-14%. The co mponents of the regional hydrological cycles (precipitation, condensat ion, runoff and evaporation) were quantified for each glacial system a nd their share in total atmospheric moisture was determined. The close d basins of the northern periphery in central Asia stored annually abo ut 0.1-2.4% of the total external atmospheric moisture in the Aralo-Ca spian and Tarim hydrographic systems. About 0.22-0.24% of the external water cycle is transferred annually in open glacial basins of the sou thern periphery. The glaciers of these regions return 0.25-0.30% of th e external water cycle per year to the Pacific and Indian oceans, 0.03 % and 0.06% of this external moisture is taken from the glacial resour ces of the Gongga and Xixibangma glaciers. (C) 1997 by John Wiley & So ns, Ltd.