Ürümqi Glacier No. 1, in the central Tianshan Mountains of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. To address the limitations in current research regarding multi-temporal-scale analysis of Glacier Mass Balance (GMB), particularly in resolving the synergistic effects of multiple driving factors, this study employs Wavelet Coherence (WTC), Multiple Wavelet Coherence (MWC), and Partial Wavelet Coherence (PWC) to examine the multi-scale relationships between the GMB, meteorological factors, and teleconnections. Results indicate that temperature (T) dominates GMB changes over short periods (3–5 months), while T and precipitation (P) combined dominate over longer periods (>5 months). Furthermore, within a 3–8 month period, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Arctic Oscillation (AO) exert the most significant remote effects on GMB, while over longer periods (> 8 months), the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) has a greater impact on GMB. Additional wavelet coherence analyses between climate teleconnections and meteorological factors reveal that NAO and AO influence T and P in the short and medium periods (3–16 months), while ONI influences them over long periods (>16 months). Overall, this study also reveals the interactive relationships between GMB, meteorological factors, and teleconnections at different time scales. The findings provide a critical multi-scale perspective for predicting future glacier changes and formulating adaptive water resource management strategies in arid regions reliant on glacier meltwater. • In a 4-month summer cycle year, temperature (T) governs glacier mass balance (GMB). • At periods are longer than 5 months, precipitation (P) and T jointly dominate GMB. • At 3–8-month periods, North Atlantic Oscillation and Arctic Oscillation govern GMB. • When periodicities within 8–16 months, the Oceanic Niño Index (ONI) controls GMB. • When periodicities are more than 16 months, ONI dominates T and P.
Jin et al. (Fri,) studied this question.