A research team from the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, inspects the "quilt" experiment they conducted on the Dagu glacier in Southwest China's Sichuan Province aimed at slowing down the melting of the glacier. Photo: Screenshot of a video posted by CCTV

Chinese scientists have discovered a unique and effective method for slowing the melting of glaciers after a 500-square-meter "quilt" that was put on the Dagu glacier on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau was shown to reduce melting by a meter in two months. 

The experiment was conducted on August 5 by a research team from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who set up the test area on the glacier at an altitude of about 5,000 meters by covering the surface of the glacier with thermal insulation and reflective material, reported CCTV on Monday. 

Located on the eastern edge of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, the Dagu glacier has shrunk by 70 percent in the past 50 years, making the use of artificial means to slow the loss of glaciers a matter of great urgency, said Wang Feiteng, deputy director of the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). 

Wang's team found the melting thickness of the glacier's body in the quilted area was slowed down by up to one meter, compared with that in the uncovered area, during the two-month experiment. 

It was estimated that the melting size of the glacier could be slowed down by about 70 percent using this method.  

The team also used 3D laser scanning on the glacier to make detailed measurements in the research to further quantify the effect of the glacier "quilt" test and provide accurate data support for subsequent glacier ablation and mitigation tests.

The Dagu Glacier Administration signed a strategic cooperation agreement with CAS in 2019 and carried out a series of collaborations in scientific research into the sustainable development of the glacier.