Glacier mass balance provides a sensitive barometer of climate-glacier interactions, yet only a few glaciers have been continuously well-documented. Here we evaluated the retreat status of Baishui River Glacier No. 1 (reference glacier of Yulong Snow Mountain) during the 1951-2020 period and explored its response to climate change. In particular, based on 12-years of continuous in-situ measurements, we presented the first comprehensive set of mass balance for the Baishui River Glacier No. 1 from 2008 to 2020. The result shows that the Baishui River Glacier No. 1 suffered sustained shrinkage in terms of both its area (which fell by 36 %) and reserves (with cumulative mass losses over 32.38±3.62 m w.e.) over the past 70-years. The terminus rose from 4,100 m asl in 1982 to 4,395 m asl in 2017. The equilibrium line altitude has risen above the glacier’s summit since 2010, and the accumulation zone disappeared. Since the 1980s, the acceleration of glacier retreat has become established, and has been further strengthened after 2000, this corresponds to the process of climate warming. In-situ measurements showed that any glacial accumulation during the non-monsoon period (with a multiyear mean of 0.53±0.08 m w.e.) fell far short of offsetting the ablation driven by both air temperature and liquid precipitation in the monsoon season (with a multiyear mean of 2.08±0.20 m w.e.), meaning that the glacier could not attain a state of equilibrium, and quickly lost a significant mass (with multiyear mean losses of 1.54±0.30 m w.e.). Given that, the current atmospheric conditions are unlikely to allow Baishui River Glacier No. 1 to suppress its loss trend.

冰川物质平衡提供了气候-冰川相互作用的敏感晴雨表，但只有少数冰川得到了持续的良好记录。在这里，我们评估了 1951-2020 年期间白水河 1 号冰川（玉龙雪山参考冰川）的退缩状况，并探讨了其对气候变化的响应。特别是基于12年连续原位测量，我们首次提出了白水河1号冰川2008年至2020年的综合质量平衡集。结果表明，白水河1号冰川遭受了持续在过去 70 年中，其面积（下降了 36%）和储量（累积质量损失超过 32.38±3.62 m we）都在收缩。终点站从 1982 年的 4,100 米海拔上升到 2017 年的 4,395 米海拔。2010年以来平衡线高度上升到冰川顶峰以上，堆积带消失。1980年代以来，冰川退缩的加速已经确立，2000年后进一步加强，这与气候变暖的过程相对应。现场测量表明，非季风期（多年平均值为 0.53±0.08 m we）的任何冰川堆积都远不能抵消季风季节（多年平均）由气温和液体降水驱动的消融作用。平均 2.08±0.20 m we)，这意味着冰川无法达到平衡状态，并迅速失去了大量质量（多年平均损失为 1.54±0.30 m we）。鉴于此，目前的大气条件不太可能允许白水河一号冰川出现。