Abstract
ABSTRACT Changes in glaciers in response to climate change in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range were studied using Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI. The entire mountain range contained approximately 6,426 glaciers, covering an area of 6508.03 ± 252.02 km2 in 1999. The glaciers shrank from 1999 to 2015 and the total ice cover was reduced by 1285.99 ± 6.01 km2, accounting for 19.76 ± 3.78% of the glacierized area in 1999. The mean loss of glacier area was 1.24%•a−1 during 1999–2015. The analysis of meteorological data showed a remarkable pattern in mean annual air temperature (especially after 1998), whereas the annual precipitation displayed a stable pattern from 1989 to 2011. The glacier shrinkage in the region can probably be attributed to the increase in air temperature. The largest glaciers in the area show a maximum elevation of about 5,200–5,400 m a.s.l. in 1990, 2013, and 2015. The altitude of glaciers varied from 4,000 m a.s.l. to 6,000 m a.s.l. and the majority of the glaciers were distributed between 4,800 m and 5,800 m. All glaciers, regardless of their orientation, have shrunk, but glaciers mainly south-facing retreated faster than those facing others directions.
Highlights
Glaciers located around the Asian highlands play an important role in the local water cycle (Fujita, Ohta, and Ageta 2007)
Based on remote sensing data, several studies have shown glacier recession on the Tibetan Plateau throughout the past fifty years (Bolch et al 2010a; Ding et al 2006; Duan et al 2009), and this recession has accelerated in the past decade (Tian, Yang, and Liu 2014; Wang et al 2013)
The result showed that the rate of warming is more rapid at higher elevations (0.42°C·(10a) −1) than in lower elevations (0.27°C·(10a)−1) in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, which indicated that the rate of warming was higher in the glaciated areas in our study area
Summary
Glaciers located around the Asian highlands play an important role in the local water cycle (Fujita, Ohta, and Ageta 2007) They collect solid precipitation in winter and release it with a seasonal delay as meltwater in the summer (Hagg et al 2007). They provide an important and reliable water supply for downstream populations and natural systems during drought years when other water sources are depleted (Meier et al 2007; Immerzeel, van Beeke, and Bierkens 2010; Narama et al 2010; Jacob et al 2012). A recent study estimated glacier mass changes on the Tibetan Plateau using ICESat GLAS data and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), and the greatest mass loss was identified for the Qilian Mountains, eastern Kunlun Mountains, eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, Henduan Mountains, and the central and eastern Himalayas; whereas a balanced mass or a slight mass gain was detected for the central Tibetan Plateau (Neckel, Kropáček, and Bolch 2014)
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