Recent glacier mass balance and area changes in the Kangri Karpo Mountains from DEMs and glacier inventories

Shiyin Liu,Junfeng Wei,Kunpeng Wu,Wanqin Guo,Junli Xu,Zongli Jiang

doi:10.5194/tc-12-103-2018

Abstract

Abstract. Due to the influence of the Indian monsoon, the Kangri Karpo Mountains in the south-east of the Tibetan Plateau is in the most humid and one of the most important and concentrated regions containing maritime (temperate) glaciers. Glacier mass loss in the Kangri Karpo is an important contributor to global mean sea level rise, and changes run-off distribution, increasing the risk of glacial-lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Because of its inaccessibility and high labour costs, information about the Kangri Karpo glaciers is still limited. Using geodetic methods based on digital elevation models (DEMs) derived from 1980 topographic maps from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) (2000) and from TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X (2014), this study has determined glacier elevation changes. Glacier area and length changes between 1980 and 2015 were derived from topographical maps and Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI images. Results show that the Kangri Karpo contained 1166 glaciers with an area of 2048.50 ± 48.65 km2 in 2015. Ice cover diminished by 679.51 ± 59.49 km2 (24.9 ± 2.2 %) or 0.71 ± 0.06 % a−1 from 1980 to 2015, although nine glaciers advanced. A glacierized area of 788.28 km2, derived from DEM differencing, experienced a mean mass loss of 0.46 ± 0.08 m w.e. a−1 from 1980 to 2014. Shrinkage and mass loss accelerated significantly from 2000 to 2015 compared to 1980–2000, consistent with a warming climate.

Highlights

Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) feed many rivers and lakes (Immerzeel et al, 2010), are key components in the cryosphere system (Li et al, 2008) and their mass balance is a useful indicator of climate variability (Oerlemans, 1994; T. Yao et al, 2012)
How mass balance relates to climate change, water supply and the risk of glacier-related disasters is the subject of much current research
The highest number of glaciers are in the size class 0.1–0.5 km2, whereas glaciers between 1 and 5 km2 cover the largest area (Fig. 5a)

Summary

Introduction

Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) feed many rivers and lakes (Immerzeel et al, 2010), are key components in the cryosphere system (Li et al, 2008) and their mass balance is a useful indicator of climate variability (Oerlemans, 1994; T. Yao et al, 2012). Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) feed many rivers and lakes (Immerzeel et al, 2010), are key components in the cryosphere system (Li et al, 2008) and their mass balance is a useful indicator of climate variability Many mountain glaciers have lost mass and receded (IPCC, 2013). Some positive mass balances have been reported in the central Karakoram, eastern Pamir and the western TP How mass balance relates to climate change, water supply and the risk of glacier-related disasters is the subject of much current research

Methods

Results

Conclusion