Cao Zhentang
Based on the hydrometeorological information obtained during Sino-Japan joint expedition to west Kunlun glacier in June-August 1987 and observation in the adjacent area, the formation, norishment, and seasonal distribution of runoff in the glaciation area near Gozha glacier, on the south slope of the West Kunlun Mts., were analysed in the present paper.Gozha glacier, an extreme continental one, covers about 47 percent of the glaciation area. The ablation period, from the last ten days of May to the end of September, is about 130 days. Of all factors which influence the ablation of the glacier, air temperature is the most important one.The runoff depth of the glacial meltwater is 200.2 mm, which is the lowest values of recorded in China now. The runoff modulus is 17.7 L/s·km2.The glacial meltwater accounts for 80 percent of annual runoff amount. The large seasonal variation of the glacial meltwater runoff is surprisingly pronounced. In summer (June to August) the meltwater made up 80 percent of the annual meltwater runoff, and in the period from July to September about 86.3 percent.