Glaciers on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, known as the “Asian Water Tower”, directly affect the utilization of water resources in downstream regions. The currently available instrumental climatic dataset covers only a short period, and the resolution of proxy-based climate reconstructions is low, and these limitations restrict the accurate exploration of glacial changes on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau within the context of long-term climate change. Here, annual-resolution tree ring samples were collected from the oldest pioneer trees (Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. yunnanensis), from the bottom of a glacial valley on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau, and used to reconstruct the glacial changes based on the relationship between the ages of the trees and their distances from the glacier terminal. Results indicate that Zepu glacier has been retreating since 1778 CE, with a total retreat distance of 2757 m and an average retreat rate of 11 m yr⁻¹. The rate of retreat has varied over time, with a maximum of 40 m yr⁻¹ between the 1950s CE and 1970s CE, and glacial retreat has been modulated mainly by temperature variability over interdecadal to centennial timescales. This study provides a new way to reconstruct the history of glacial retreat.

被称为“亚洲水塔”的青藏高原东南部冰川直接影响着下游地区的水资源利用。目前可用的仪器气候数据集覆盖时间短，基于代理的气候重建分辨率低，这些局限性限制了长期气候变化背景下青藏高原东南部冰川变化的准确探索。在这里，从最古老的先锋树（Hippophae rhamnoides subsp. yunnanensis)，来自青藏高原东南部冰川谷底部，用于根据树木年龄与其距冰川末端距离之间的关系重建冰川变化。结果表明，泽普冰川自公元1778年以来一直在后退，总后退距离为2757 m，平均后退率为11 m yr ^-1。退缩率随时间变化，在公元 1950 年代和 1970 年代之间最大为 40 m yr ^-1，并且冰川退缩主要受年代际到百年时间尺度的温度变化的调节。该研究为重建冰川退缩的历史提供了新的途径。