Recent glacier mass balance and area changes in the Kangri Karpo Mountains from DEMs and glacier inventories
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...
Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2018-01-01
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Series: | The Cryosphere |
Online Access: | https://www.the-cryosphere.net/12/103/2018/tc-12-103-2018.pdf |
Summary: | 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 km<sup>2</sup> in 2015. Ice
cover diminished by 679.51 ± 59.49 km<sup>2</sup> (24.9 ± 2.2 <i>%</i>) or 0.71 ± 0.06 <i>%</i> a<sup>−1</sup> from 1980 to 2015, although
nine glaciers advanced. A glacierized area of 788.28 km<sup>2</sup>,
derived from DEM differencing, experienced a mean mass loss of 0.46 ± 0.08 m w.e. a<sup>−1</sup> from 1980 to 2014. Shrinkage and mass loss
accelerated significantly from 2000 to 2015 compared to 1980–2000, consistent
with a warming climate. |
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ISSN: | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |