LHASA, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- Scientists have identified the thickest glacier on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, known as Asia's water tower, following the discovery of a nearly 400-meter-thick ice field.
The ice field, with a maximum measured thickness of nearly 400 meters, is part of the Purog Kangri Glacier in Tsonyi County, southwest China's Xizang Autonomous Region, according to researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS).
The measurement has determined that the Purog Kangri Glacier is now the thickest glacier on the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, replacing the Guliya Ice Cap in Ngari Prefecture.
Glaciers contain important information about the Earth's climate history. Previously, scientists drilled a 308.6-meter ice core from Guliya, which was formed over a period of more than 700,000 years.
Scientists are currently extracting ice cores from the Purog Kangri Glacier, which they believe contain older ice.
"Currently, glaciers worldwide are retreating. Once they melt, the historical records encapsulated within them will also disappear," said Lonnie Thompson, a foreign academician of the CAS and a member of the American Academy of Sciences.
"Therefore, extracting and preserving ice cores is crucial for retrieving historical information," added Thompson, who took part in the measurement process. ■