The glacier snowline altitude (SLA) at the end of the melt season is an indicator of the glacier equilibrium line altitude and can be used to estimate glacier mass balance and reconstruct past climate. This study analyzes the spatiotemporal variability in glacier SLA across High Mountain Asia, including the Altai Mountains, Karakoram Mountains, Western Himalayas, Gongga Mountains, Tian Shan, and Nyainqentanglha Mountains, over the past 30 years (1989–2019) to better elucidate the state of these mountain glaciers. Remote-sensing data are processed to delineate the glacier SLA across these mountainous regions, and nearby weather station data are incorporated to determine the potential relationships between SLA and temperature/precipitation. The mean SLAs across the Altai and Karakoram mountains ranged from 2860 ± 169 m to 3200 ± 152 m and from 5120 ± 159 m to 5320 ± 240 m, respectively, with both regions experiencing an average increase of up to 137 m over the past 30 years. Furthermore, the mean glacier SLAs across the Western Himalayas and Gongga Mountains increased by 190–282 m over the past 30 years, with both regions experiencing large fluctuations. In particular, the mean glacier SLA across the Western Himalayas varied from 4910 ± 190 m in 1989 to 5380 ± 164 m in 2000, and that across the Gongga Mountains varied from 4960 ± 70 m in 1989 to 5330 ± 100 m in 2012. Correlation analyses between glacier SLA and temperature/precipitation suggest that temperature is the primary factor influencing glacier SLA across these High Mountain Asia glaciers. There is a broad increase in glacier SLA from the Altai Mountains to the Karakoram Mountains, with a decrease in glacier SLA with decreasing latitude across the Himalayas; the maximum SLA occurs near the northern slopes of the Western Himalayas. The glacier SLA is lower on the eastern side of the Tibetan Plateau and exhibits a longitudinal distribution pattern. These results are expected to provide useful information for evaluating the state of High Mountain Asia glaciers, as well as their response and feedback to climate change.

The increasing demands for portable, intelligent, and wearable electronics have significantly promoted the development of flexible supercapacitors (SCs) with features such as a long lifespan, a high degree of flexibility, and safety. MXenes, a class of unique two-dimensional materials with excellent physical and chemical properties, have been extensively studied as electrode materials for SCs. However, there is little literature that systematically summarizes MXene-based flexible SCs according to different flexible electrode construction methods. Recent progress in flexible electrode fabrication and its application to SCs is reviewed according to different flexible electrode construction methods based on MXenes and their composite electrodes, with or without substrate support. The fabrication methods of flexible electrodes, electrochemical performance, and the related influencing factors of MXene-based flexible SCs are summarized and discussed in detail. In addition, the future possibilities of flexible SCs based on MXene are explored and presented.

Glaciers in the Qilian Mountains, China, play an important role in supplying freshwater to downstream populations, maintaining ecological balance, and supporting economic development on the Tibetan Plateau. Glacier snowline altitude (SLA) at the end of the melt season is an indicator of the Equilibrium line altitude (ELA), and can be used to estimate the mass balance and climate reconstruction. Here, we employ the height zone-area method to determine the SLA at the end of the melt season during the 1989–2018 period using Landsat, MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) SLA and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) digital elevation model (DEM) data. The accuracy of glacier SLA obtained in 1989–2018 after adding MODIS SLA data to the years without Landsat data increased by about 78 m. The difference between the remote-sensing-derived SLA and measured equilibrium line altitude (ELA) is mostly within 50 m, suggesting that the SLA can serve as a proxy for the ELA at the end of the melt season. The SLA of Qiyi Glacier in the Qilian Mountains rose from 4690 ± 25 m to 5030 ± 25 m, with an average of 4900 ± 103 m during the 30 year study period. The western, central, eastern sections and the whole range of the Qilian Mountains exhibited an upward trend in SLA during the 30 year study period. The mean glacier SLAs were 4923 ± 137 m, 4864 ± 135 m, 4550 ± 149 m and 4779 ± 149 m for the western, central, eastern sections and the whole range, respectively. From the perspective of spatial distribution, regardless of the different orientation, grid scale and basin scale, the glacier SLA of Qilian Mountains showed an upward trend from 1989 to 2018, and the glacier SLA is in general located at a comparably higher altitude in the southern and western parts of the Qilian Mountains while it is located at a comparably lower altitude in its northern and eastern parts. In an ideal condition, climate sensitivity studies of ELA in Qilian Mountains show that if the summer mean temperature increases (decreases) by 1 °C, then ELA will increase (decrease) by about 102 m. If the annual total solid precipitation increases (decreases) by 10%, then the glacier ELA will decrease (rise) by about 6 m. The summer mean temperature is the main factor affecting the temporal trend of SLA, whereas both summer mean temperature and annual total precipitation influence the spatial change of SLA.

Flexible and wearable in-plane micro-supercapacitors (MSCs) are fabricated by one-step stencil printing electrode materials on textiles. The printed electrode can be the current collector and active material simultaneously.