scholarly journals Glacier changes on the Tibetan Plateau derived from Landsat imagery: mid-1970s – 2000–13

2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (238) ◽  
pp. 273-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
QINGHUA YE ◽  
JIBIAO ZONG ◽  
LIDE TIAN ◽  
J. GRAHAM COGLEY ◽  
CHUNQIAO SONG ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Drainage Basins ◽  
Glacier Inventory ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Study Sites ◽  
Landsat Satellite

ABSTRACTGlacier area changes on the Tibetan Plateau were studied in different drainage basins based on Landsat satellite images from three epochs: 263 in the mid-1970s, 150 in 1999–2002 and 148 in 2013/14. Three mosaics (M1976, M2001 and M2013) with minimal cloud and snow cover were constructed, and the uncertainty due to each epoch having a finite span was accounted for. Glacier outlines (TPG1976, TPG2001 and TPG2013) were digitized manually with guidance from the SRTM DEM v4.1 and Google Earth imagery. To achieve complete multi-temporal coverage in a reasonable time, only debris-free ice was delineated. Area mapping uncertainty was evaluated at three study sites, Mount Qomolangma (Everest), Mount Naimona'Nyi, Mount Geladandong, where the largest differences between present and earlier measurements were within ~±4%. Area differences with previous inventories ranged from −19.6% (TPG1976 minus the first Chinese Glacier Inventory) to −3.6% and −1.1% (TPG2013 and TPG2001, respectively minus the second Chinese Glacier Inventory), while the difference TPG2001 minus the GAMDAM Glacier Inventory was +10.4%. Glacier area on the plateau decreased from 44 366 ± 2827 km2 (1.7% of the study area) in the 1970s to 42 210 ± 1621 km2 in 2001 and 41 137 ± 1616 km2 in 2013. Shrinkage was faster in external drainage basins of the southeast than in the interior basins of the northwest, from a maximum of −0.43% a−1 (−1.60% a−1 during 1994–2013) in the Mekong catchment down to a minimum of −0.12% a−1 in the Tarim interior drainage.

scholarly journals Evaluation of Parameterizations of Incoming Longwave Radiation in the High-Mountain Region of the Tibetan Plateau

2017 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 833-848 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meilin Zhu ◽  
Tandong Yao ◽  
Wei Yang ◽  
Baiqing Xu ◽  
Xiaojun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Longwave Radiation ◽  
Cloud Base ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
Local Conditions ◽  
Clear Sky ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Study Sites

AbstractAccurate evaluations of incoming longwave radiation (Lin) parameterization have practical implications for glacier and river runoff changes in high-mountain regions of the Tibetan Plateau (TP). To identify potential means of accurately predicting spatiotemporal variations in Lin, 13 clear-sky parameterizations combined with 10 cloud corrections for all-sky atmospheric emissivity were evaluated at five sites in high-mountain regions of the TP through temporal and spatial parameter transfer tests. Most locally calibrated parameterizations for clear-sky and all-sky conditions performed well when applied to the calibration site. The best parameterization at five sites is Dilley and O’Brien’s A model combined with Sicart et al.’s A for cloud-correction-incorporated relative humidity. The performance of parameter transferability in time is better than that in space for the same all-sky parameterizations. The performance of parameter transferability in space presents spatial discrepancies. In addition, all all-sky parameterizations show a decrease in performance with increasing altitude regardless of whether the parameters of all-sky parameterizations were recalibrated by local conditions or transferred from other study sites. This may be attributable to the difference between screen-level air temperature and the effective atmospheric boundary layer temperature and to different cloud-base heights. Nevertheless, such worse performance at higher altitudes is likely to change because of terrain, underlying surfaces, and wind systems, among other factors. The study also describes possible spatial characteristics of Lin and its driving factors by reviewing the few studies about Lin for the mountain regions of the TP.

scholarly journals Mapping Croplands in the Granary of the Tibetan Plateau Using All Available Landsat Imagery, A Phenology-Based Approach, and Google Earth Engine

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (12) ◽  
pp. 2289
Author(s):  
Yuanyuan Di ◽  
Geli Zhang ◽  
Nanshan You ◽  
Tong Yang ◽  
Qiang Zhang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Security ◽  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Environmental Change ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Crop Phenology ◽  
Cropland Area ◽  
Google Earth Engine ◽  
Cropland Mapping

The Tibetan Plateau (TP), known as “The Roof of World”, has expansive alpine grasslands and is a hotspot for climate change studies. However, cropland expansion and increasing anthropogenic activities have been poorly documented, let alone the effects of agricultural activities on food security and environmental change in the TP. The existing cropland mapping products do not depict the spatiotemporal characteristics of the TP due to low accuracies and inconsistent cropland distribution, which is affected by complicated topography and impedes our understanding of cropland expansion and its associated environmental impacts. One of the biggest challenges of cropland mapping in the TP is the diverse crop phenology across a wide range of elevations. To decrease the classification errors due to elevational differences in crop phenology, we developed two pixel- and phenology-based algorithms to map croplands using Landsat imagery and the Google Earth Engine platform along the Brahmaputra River and its two tributaries (BRTT) in the Tibet Autonomous Region, also known as the granary of TP, in 2015–2019. Our first phenology-based cropland mapping algorithm (PCM1) used different thresholds of land surface water index (LSWI) by considering varied crop phenology along different elevations. The second algorithm (PCM2) further offsets the phenological discrepancy along elevational gradients by considering the length and peak of the growing season. We found that PCM2 had a higher accuracy with fewer images compared with PCM1. The number of images for PCM2 was 279 less than PCM1, and the Matthews correlation coefficient for PCM2 was 0.036 higher than PCM1. We also found that the cropland area in BRTT was estimated to be 1979 ± 52 km2 in the late 2010s. Croplands were mainly distributed in the BRTT basins with elevations of 3800–4000 m asl. Our phenology-based methods were effective for mapping croplands in mountainous areas. The spatially explicit information on cropland area and distribution in the TP aid future research into the effects of cropland expansion on food security and environmental change in the TP.

scholarly journals The GAMDAM Glacier Inventory: a quality controlled inventory of Asian glaciers

2014 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 2799-2829 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Nuimura ◽  
A. Sakai ◽  
K. Taniguchi ◽  
H. Nagai ◽  
D. Lamsal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
The United States ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
United States Geological Survey ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Temporal Consistency ◽  
Glacier Inventory ◽  
Elevation Model ◽  
Definition Of

Abstract. We present a new glacier inventory for the high mountain Asia named "Glacier Area Mapping for Discharge from the Asian Mountains" (GAMDAM). Glacier outlines were delineated manually using more than 226 Landsat ETM+ scenes from the period 1999–2003, in conjunction with a digital elevation model (DEM) and high-resolution Google Earth imagery. Geolocations are consistent between the Landsat imagery and DEM due to systematic radiometric and geometric corrections made by the United States Geological Survey. We performed repeated delineation tests and rigorous peer review of all scenes used in order to maintain the consistency and quality of the inventory. Our GAMDAM Glacier Inventory (GGI) includes 82776 glaciers covering a total area of 87507 ± 13126 km2 in the high mountain Asia. Thus, our inventory represents a greater number (+4%) of glaciers but significantly less surface area (−31%) than a recent global glacier inventory (Randolph Glacier Inventory, RGI). The employed definition of the upper boundaries of glaciers, glacier recession since the 1970s, and misinterpretation of seasonal snow cover are likely causes of discrepancies between the inventories, though it is difficult to evaluate these effects quantitatively. The GGI will help improve the temporal consistency of the RGI, which incorporated glacier outlines from the 1970s for the Tibetan Plateau, and will provide new opportunities to study Asian glaciers.

scholarly journals Extension of the Upper Yellow River into the Tibet Plateau: Review and New Data

Quaternary ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 14
Author(s):  
Zhengchen Li ◽  
Xianyan Wang ◽  
Jef Vandenberghe ◽  
Huayu Lu
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Yellow River ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Tibet Plateau ◽  
The Yellow River ◽  
Published Data ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Large Lakes ◽  
River Terraces ◽  
The Tibet Plateau

The Wufo Basin at the margin of the northeastern Tibet Plateau connects the upstream reaches of the Yellow River with the lowland catchment downstream, and the fluvial terrace sequence in this basin provides crucial clues to understand the evolution history of the Yellow River drainage system in relation to the uplift and outgrowth of the Tibetan Plateau. Using field survey and analysis of Digital Elevation Model/Google Earth imagery, we found at least eight Yellow River terraces in this area. The overlying loess of the highest terrace was dated at 1.2 Ma based on paleomagnetic stratigraphy (two normal and two reversal polarities) and the loess-paleosol sequence (12 loess-paleosol cycles). This terrace shows the connections of drainage parts in and outside the Tibetan Plateau through its NE margin. In addition, we review the previously published data on the Yellow River terraces and ancient large lakes in the basins. Based on our new data and previous researches, we conclude that the modern Yellow River, with headwaters in the Tibet Plateau and debouching in the Bohai Sea, should date from at least 1.2 Ma. Ancient large lakes (such as the Hetao and Sanmen Lakes) developed as exorheic systems and flowed through the modern Yellow River at that time.

A comparative study of radiocarbon dating on terrestrial organisms and fish from Qinghai Lake in the northeastern Tibetan Plateau, China

The Holocene ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1712-1719 ◽  
Author(s):  
E ChongYi ◽  
YongJuan Sun ◽  
XiangJun Liu ◽  
Guangliang Hou ◽  
ShunChang Lv ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Late Holocene ◽  
Sediment Cores ◽  
Qinghai Lake ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Fish Bones ◽  
Northeastern Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Animal Bones ◽  
Gymnocypris Przewalskii ◽  
The Difference

Qinghai Lake is the largest lake on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and in China and has been a focus of paleoenvironmental and climatic research for decades. However, limited understanding of lake 14C reservoir effects (LRE) has led to inconsistent interpretations among proxies of different sediment cores. As such, the onset of LRE variability during the Holocene is still unclear. 14C dating of archeological samples from four locations (Gangcha, Shaliuheqiaoxi, and Shinaihai sites, and Niaodao section) including naked carp ( Gymnocypris przewalskii, Kessler) fish bones, animal bones and teeth, and charcoal was employed to estimate variations in LRE over the last few thousand years. LRE offsets calculated as the difference between LRE of animal bones and fish bones are more reliable than that of charcoal and fish bones due to the ‘old wood’ effect in charcoal. LRE offsets recorded in fish bones were ~0.5, ~0.6, and ~0.7 ka during the periods of 3.0–3.4 cal ka BP, 0.58–0.60 cal ka BP, and modern lake times, respectively, which may indicate a temporal minimum LRE offset. Unlike the wide spatial variations of LRE ages obtained from surface total organic carbon (TOC) samples of the modern Qinghai Lake, LRE offsets from the three contemporaneous locations in Qinghai Lake were all ~0.5 ka, suggesting efficient carbon mixing occurred in naked carp. However, the late-Holocene (~3.1 ka BP) LRE increased slightly with increasing salinity and decreasing lake level.

Diurnal Variations of Warm-Season Precipitation East of the Tibetan Plateau over China

2011 ◽  
Vol 139 (9) ◽  
pp. 2790-2810 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinghua Bao ◽  
Fuqing Zhang ◽  
Jianhua Sun
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Warm Season ◽  
Propagation Speed ◽  
Western Pacific Subtropical High ◽  
Diurnal Variations ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Diurnal Cycles ◽  
Thermally Driven ◽  
The Difference ◽  
Precipitation Cycle

This study explores the diurnal variations of the warm-season precipitation to the east of the Tibetan Plateau over China using the high-resolution NOAA/Climate Prediction Center morphing technique (CMORPH) precipitation data and the Global Forecast System (GFS) gridded analyses during mid-May to mid-August of 2003–09. Complementary to the past studies using satellite or surface observations, it is found that there are strong diurnal variations in the summertime precipitation over the focus domain to the east of the Tibetan Plateau. These diurnal precipitation cycles are strongly associated with several thermally driven regional mountain–plains solenoids due to the differential heating between the Tibetan Plateau, the highlands, the plains, and the ocean. The diurnal cycles differ substantially from region to region and during the three different month-long periods: the pre-mei-yu period (15 May–15 June), the mei-yu period (15 June–15 July), and the post-mei-yu period (15 July–15 August). In particular, there is a substantial difference in the propagation speed and eastward extent of the peak phase of the dominant diurnal precipitation cycle that is originated from the Tibetan Plateau. This diurnal peak has a faster (slower) eastward propagation speed, the more (less) coherent propagation duration, and thus covers the longest (shortest) distance to the east during the pre-mei-yu (post-mei-yu) period than that during the mei-yu period. The differences in the mean midlatitude westerly flow and in the positioning and strength of the western Pacific subtropical high during different periods are the key factors in explaining the difference in the propagation speed and the eastward extent of this dominant diurnal precipitation cycle.

scholarly journals Brief communication: Updated GAMDAM glacier inventory over high-mountain Asia

2019 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2043-2049 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiko Sakai
Keyword(s):  
Snow Cover ◽  
Landsat Imagery ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Landsat Images ◽  
Glacier Inventory ◽  
Seasonal Snow ◽  
Seasonal Snow Cover

Abstract. The original Glacier Area Mapping for Discharge from the Asian Mountains (GAMDAM) glacier inventory was the first methodologically consistent dataset for high-mountain Asia. Nonetheless, the GAMDAM inventory underestimated glacier area, as it did not include steep ice- and snow-covered slopes or shaded components. During revision of the inventory, Landsat imagery free of shadow, cloud, and seasonal snow cover was selected for the period 1990–2010, after which >90 % of the glacier area was delineated. The updated GAMDAM inventory, comprised of 453 Landsat images, includes 134 770 glaciers with a total area of 100 693±11 790 km2.

Quantitative Estimates of Holocene Glacier Mass Fluctuations on the Western Tibetan Plateau

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juzhi Hou
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Mass Gain ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Alpine Glacier ◽  
Kunlun Mountain ◽  
Western Kunlun ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Western Tibetan Plateau ◽  
The Difference

<p><strong><span>Knowledge of the alpine glacier mass fluctuations is a fundamental prerequisite for understanding glacier dynamics, projecting future glacier change, and assessing the availability of freshwater resources. The glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) are sources of water for most of the major Asian rivers and their fate remains unclear due to accurate estimates of glacier mass fluctuations are lacking over long time scales. Here, we used d</span><sup><span>18</span></sup><span>O record at a proglacial open lake as proxy to estimate the Holocene glacier mass fluctuations in the Western Kunlun Mountain (WKM) quantitatively and continuously. Relative to past decades, maximum WKM glacier mass loss (-28.62±25.76 Gt) occurred at 9.5-8.5 ka BP, and maximum glacier mass gain (24.53±25.02 Gt) occurred at 1.3~0.5 ka BP, the difference in WKM glacier mass between the two periods account for ~20% of the total glaciers. Long-term changes in glacier mass suggests the TP glaciers likely face severe threats at the current rates of global warming. </span></strong></p>

scholarly journals Dynamics and Drivers of the Alpine Timberline on Gongga Mountain of Tibetan Plateau-Adopted from the Otsu Method on Google Earth Engine

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (16) ◽  
pp. 2651
Author(s):  
Wen He ◽  
Chongchong Ye ◽  
Jian Sun ◽  
Junnan Xiong ◽  
Jinniu Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Vegetation Index ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Google Earth ◽  
Vegetation Coverage ◽  
The Tibetan Plateau ◽  
Gongga Mountain ◽  
Alpine Timberline ◽  
Otsu Method ◽  
Google Earth Engine

The alpine timberline, an ecosystem ecotone, indicates climatic change and is tending to shift toward higher altitudes because of an increase in global warming. However, spatiotemporal variations of the alpine timberline are not consistent on a global scale. The abundant and highest alpine timberline, located on the Tibetan Plateau, is less subject to human activity and disturbance. Although many studies have investigated the alpine timberline on the Tibetan Plateau, large-scale monitoring of spatial-temporal dynamics and driving mechanisms of the alpine timberline remain uncertain and inaccurate. Hence, the Gongga Mountain on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau was chosen as the study area because of the most complete natural altitudinal zonation. We used the Otsu method on Google Earth Engine to extract the alpine timberline from 1987–2019 based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI). Then, the alpine timberline spatiotemporal patterns and the effect of topography on alpine timberline distribution were explored. Four hillsides on the western Gongga Mountain were selected to examine the hillside differences and drivers of the alpine timberline based on principal component analysis (PCA) and multiple linear regression (MLR). The results indicated that the elevation range of alpine timberline was 3203–4889 m, and the vegetation coverage increased significantly (p < 0.01) near the alpine timberline ecotone on Gongga Mountain. Moreover, there was spatial heterogeneity in dynamics of alpine timberline, and some regions showed no regular trend in variations. The spatial pattern of the alpine timberline was generally high in the west, low in the east, and primarily distributed on 15–55° slopes. Besides, the drivers of the alpine timberline have the hillside differences, and the sunny and shady slopes possessed different driving factors. Thus, our results highlight the effects of topography and climate on the alpine timberline on different hillsides. These findings could provide a better approach to study the dynamics and formation of alpine timberlines.

scholarly journals Changes in Clemenceau Icefield and Chaba Group glaciers, Canada, related to hypsometry, tributary detachment, length–slope and area–aspect relations

2009 ◽  
Vol 50 (53) ◽  
pp. 133-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hester Jiskoot ◽  
Colleen J. Curran ◽  
Dez L. Tessler ◽  
Leslee R. Shenton
Keyword(s):  
Steady State ◽  
Late Summer ◽  
Glacier Area ◽  
Glacier Inventory ◽  
Digital Elevation ◽  
Area Distribution ◽  
Area Increase ◽  
Landsat 7 ◽  
The Difference

AbstractWe compiled a detailed glacier inventory of 176 glaciers in the Clemenceau Icefield Group (CIG) and adjacent Chaba Group (CH), Canada, based on 2001 Landsat 7 and 2000–03 ASTER satellite imagery and Natural Resources Canada digital elevation models. We used this inventory to measure length and mass-balance changes and their possible controls. A classification of glacier hypsometry in the form of a hypsometric index was used to assess the sensitivity of different glacier systems to a unit rise in snowline. The altitude and AAR of possible steady-state ELAs was derived using several methods, and was compared to late-summer snowlines of 2001 .We further compared planar glacier area to slope-corrected area, and compared the effects on the shape of the hypsometric curves, on the total glacier area and on the aspect–area distribution. In 2001, CIG had a glaciated area of 271 km2 and had lost 42 km2 since the mid-1980s. CH had a total area of 69 km2 and had lost 28 km2. Average retreat rates are 14 ma–1 for the period 1850–2001 (n=39) and 21 ma–1 for 1986/87–2001 (n=23), indicating accelerated retreat. Larger glaciers and those that experience tributary detachment tend to retreat faster. The difference between planar and slope-corrected glacier areas ranges from 5% to 20%, with a 6% increase for the entire CIG/CH region. The area increase does not change the shape of the hypsometric curves.

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