Assessment of precipitation type discrimination methods on glacier of Qilian Mountains

Solid precipitation is not only the main supply for glacier mass, but also exerts an important influence on surface albedo and intensifies glacier melting. However, precipitation type observation is very scarce in the high alpine glaciers, which limits the precise simulation of glacier mass balance. This study assessed three discrimination methods of precipitation types including Ding method, Dai method and Froidurot method based on surface albedo observation data on the Laohugou Glacier No. 12 (LHG Glacier) in western Qilian Mountains. The results showed that Ding method had a best applicability on the LHG Glacier, the other two need to calibrate parameters when they are used in the high elevation glacier region. Then we fitted the relationship between snowfall probability and fresh snow albedo, and put forward a revised formula to simulate fresh snow albedo based on Ding method, which is expected to reduce the uncertainty in glacier mass and energy balance model. Finally, we found a best air temperature threshold of 4°C for discriminating monthly precipitation types. In order to accurately simulate the glacier melt, it is necessary to obtain the threshold temperature appropriately in different glacier region with different elevation and humidity.