Examining geodetic glacier mass balance in the eastern Pamir transition zone

AbstractGlaciers in the eastern Pamir have reportedly been gaining mass during recent decades, even though glaciers in most other regions in High Mountain Asia have been in recession. Questions still remain about whether the trend is strengthening or weakening, and how far the positive balances extend into the eastern Pamir. To address these gaps, we use three different digital elevation models to reconstruct glacier surface elevation changes over two periods (2000–09 and 2000–15/16). We characterize the eastern Pamir as a zone of transition from positive to negative mass balance with the boundary lying at the northern end of Kongur Tagh, and find that glaciers situated at higher elevations are those with the most positive balances. Most (67% of 55) glaciers displayed a net mass gain since the 21st century. This led to an increasing regional geodetic glacier mass balance from −0.06 ± 0.16 m w.e. a−1 in 2000–09 to 0.06 ± 0.04 m w.e. a−1 in 2000–15/16. Surge-type glaciers, which are prevalent in the eastern Pamir, showed fluctuations in mass balance on an individual scale during and after surges, but no statistical difference compared to non-surge-type glaciers when aggregated across the region.

Download Full-text

Geodetic Mass Balances and Area Changes of Echaurren Norte Glacier (Central Andes, Chile) between 1955 and 2015

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs11030260 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 260 ◽

Cited By ~ 13

Author(s):

David Farías-Barahona ◽

Sebastián Vivero ◽

Gino Casassa ◽

Marius Schaefer ◽

Flavia Burger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Central Andes ◽

Aerial Photographs ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Mass Balances ◽

Positive Mass ◽

Negative Mass ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Elevation Changes ◽

Monitoring Service

The Echaurren Norte Glacier is a reference glacier for the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) network and has the longest time series of glacier mass balance data in the Southern Hemisphere. The data has been obtained by the direct glaciological method since 1975. In this study, we calculated glacier area changes using satellite images and historical aerial photographs, as well as geodetic mass balances for different periods between 1955 and 2015 for the Echaurren Norte Glacier in the Central Andes of Chile. Over this period, this glacier lost 65% of its original area and disaggregated into two ice bodies in the late 1990s. The geodetic mass balances were calculated by differencing digital elevation models derived from several sources. The results indicated a mean cumulative glacier wide mass loss of −40.64 ± 5.19 m w.e. (−0.68 ± 0.09 m w.e. a−1). Within this overall downwasting trend, a positive mass balance of 0.54 ± 0.40 m w.e. a−1 was detected for the period 2000–2009. These estimates agree with the results obtained with the glaciological method during the same time span. Highly negative mass change rates were found from 2010 onwards, with −1.20 ± 0.09 m w.e. a−1 during an unprecedented drought in Central Andes of Chile. The observed area and the elevation changes indicate that the Echaurren Norte Glacier may disappear in the coming years if negative mass balance rates prevail.

Download Full-text

Geodetic Mass Balance of Haxilegen Glacier No. 51, Eastern Tien Shan, from 1964 to 2018

Remote Sensing ◽

10.3390/rs14020272 ◽

2022 ◽

Vol 14 (2) ◽

pp. 272

Author(s):

Chunhai Xu ◽

Zhongqin Li ◽

Feiteng Wang ◽

Jianxin Mu ◽

Xin Zhang

Keyword(s):

Mass Loss ◽

Mass Balance ◽

Laser Scanning ◽

Mean Value ◽

Tien Shan ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Topographic Map ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Elevation Changes ◽

Geodetic Mass Balance

The eastern Tien Shan hosts substantial mid-latitude glaciers, but in situ glacier mass balance records are extremely sparse. Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 (eastern Tien Shan, China) is one of the very few well-measured glaciers, and comprehensive glaciological measurements were implemented from 1999 to 2011 and re-established in 2017. Mass balance of Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 (1999–2015) has recently been reported, but the mass balance record has not extended to the period before 1999. Here, we used a 1:50,000-scale topographic map and long-range terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) data to calculate the area, volume, and mass changes for Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 from 1964 to 2018. Haxilegen Glacier No. 51 lost 0.34 km2 (at a rate of 0.006 km2 a−1 or 0.42% a−1) of its area during the period 1964–2018. The glacier experienced clearly negative surface elevation changes and geodetic mass balance. Thinning occurred almost across the entire glacier surface, with a mean value of −0.43 ± 0.12 m a−1. The calculated average geodetic mass balance was −0.36 ± 0.12 m w.e. a−1. Without considering the error bounds of mass balance estimates, glacier mass loss over the past 50 years was in line with the observed and modeled mass balance (−0.37 ± 0.22 m w.e. a−1) that was published for short time intervals since 1999 but was slightly less negative than glacier mass loss in the entire eastern Tien Shan. Our results indicate that Riegl VZ®-6000 TLS can be widely used for mass balance measurements of unmonitored individual glaciers.

Download Full-text

Glacier mass balance over the central Nyainqentanglha Range during recent decades derived from remote-sensing data

Journal of Glaciology ◽

10.1017/jog.2019.20 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 65 (251) ◽

pp. 422-439 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

KUNPENG WU ◽

SHIYIN LIU ◽

ZONGLI JIANG ◽

JUNLI XU ◽

JUNFENG WEI

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Remote Sensing Data ◽

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission ◽

Topographic Maps ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Ice Surface ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Elevation Changes ◽

Elevation Model

ABSTRACTTo obtain information on changes in glacier mass balance in the central Nyainqentanglha Range, a comprehensive study was carried out based on digital-elevation models derived from the 1968 topographic maps, the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission DEM (2000) and TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X (2013). Glacier area changes between 1968 and 2016 were derived from topographic maps and Landsat OLI images. This showed the area contained 715 glaciers, with an area of 1713.42 ± 51.82 km2, in 2016. Ice cover has been shrinking by 0.68 ± 0.05% a−1 since 1968. The glacier area covered by debris accounted for 11.9% of the total and decreased in the SE–NW directions. Using digital elevation model differencing and differential synthetic aperture radar interferometry, a significant mass loss of 0.46 ± 0.10 m w.e. a−1 has been recorded since 1968; mass losses accelerated from 0.42 ± 0.20 m w.e. a−1 to 0.60 ± 0.20 m w.e. a−1 between 1968–2000 and 2000–2013, with thinning noticeably greater on the debris-covered ice than the clean ice. Surface-elevation changes can be influenced by ice cliffs, as well as debris cover and land- or lake-terminating glaciers. Changes showed spatial and temporal heterogeneity and a substantial correlation with climate warming and decreased precipitation.

Download Full-text

Sensitivity of geodetic glacier mass balance estimation to DEM void interpolation

10.5194/tc-2018-175 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Robert McNabb ◽

Christopher Nuth ◽

Andreas Kääb ◽

Luc Girod

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Direct Impact ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Southeast Alaska ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Regional Basis ◽

The Impact

Abstract. Glacier mass balance is a direct expression of climate change, with implications for sea level, ocean chemistry, oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems, and water resources. Traditionally, glacier mass balance has been estimated using in-situ measurements of changes in surface height and density at select locations on the glacier surface, or by comparing changes in surface height using repeat, full-coverage digital elevation models (DEMs), also called the geodetic method. DEMs often have gaps in coverage (voids) based on the nature of the sensor used and the surface being measured. The way that these voids are accounted for has a direct impact on the estimate of geodetic glacier mass balance, though a systematic comparison of different proposed methods has been heretofore lacking. In this study, we determine the impact and sensitivity of void-filling methods on estimates of volume change. Using two spatially complete, high-resolution DEMs over Southeast Alaska, USA, we compare 11 different void-filling methods on a glacier-by-glacier and regional basis. We find that a few methods introduce biases of up to 20 % in the regional results, while other methods give results very close (

Download Full-text

Remote-sensing estimate of glacier mass balance over the central Nyainqentanglha Range during 1968 – ∼ 2013

10.5194/tc-2018-90 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kunpeng Wu ◽

Shiyin Liu ◽

Zongli Jiang ◽

Junli Xu ◽

Junfeng Wei

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Recent Decade ◽

Shuttle Radar Topography Mission ◽

Quality Data ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Glacier Area ◽

Ice Surface ◽

Air Temperatures ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Elevation Changes

Abstract. With high air temperatures and annual precipitation, maritime glaciers in southeastern Tibet are sensitive to climate change. Current glaciological knowledge of those in the central Nyainqentanglha Range is still limited because of their inaccessibility and low-quality data. To obtain information on changes in glacier area, length and mass balance, a comprehensive study was carried out based on topographic maps and Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI images (1968 and 2016), and on digital-elevation models (DEM) derived from the 1968 maps, from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM (2000), and from TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X (∼ 2013). This showed the area contained 715 glaciers, with an area of 1713.42 ± 51.82 km2, in 2016. Ice cover has been shrinking by 0.68 % ± 0.05% a−1 since 1968, although in the most recent decade this rate has slowed. The glacier area covered by debris accounted for 11.9 % of the total and decreased in SE-NW directions. Using DEM differencing and Differential Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (DInSAR), a significant mass deficit of 0.46 ± 0.04 m w.e. a−1 has been recorded since 1968; mass losses accelerating from 0.42 ± 0.05 m w.e. a−1 to 0.60 ± 0.20 m w.e. a−1 during 1968–2000 and 2000–∼ 2013, with thinning noticeably greater on the debris-covered ice than the clean ice. Surface-elevation changes can be influenced by ice cliffs, as well as debris cover, and land- or lake-terminating glaciers and supraglacial lakes. Changes showed spatial and temporal heterogeneity and a substantial correlation with climate warming.

Download Full-text

Evolution of the debris-covered Miage Glacier

10.5194/egusphere-egu21-14842 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Anne Stefaniak ◽

Ben Robson ◽

Simon Cook ◽

Ben Clutterbuck ◽

Nicholas Midgley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Substantial Reduction ◽

Temporal Analysis ◽

Surface Velocity ◽

High Mountain ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Debris Cover ◽

Geomorphological Changes ◽

Miage Glacier

Glaciers in high-mountain regions typically exhibit a debris cover that moderates their response to climatic change. Here we present an integrated study that integrates long-term observations of debris-covered glacier mass balance, velocity, surface debris evolution and geomorphological changes (such as ponds and ice cliffs) of Miage Glacier, Italian Alps over the period 1952 &#8211; 2018. Analysis of the evolution of Miage Glacier highlighted a reduction in glacier activity associated with a period of sustained negative mass balance (-0.86 &#177; 0.27 metres&#160;per year water equivalent [m&#160;w.e.&#160;a-1]) and a substantial reduction in surface velocity (-46%). Ice mass loss of Miage Glacier was quantified using satellite imagery and derived digital elevation models (DEMs) applying the geodetic approach over a 28-year time period, 1990 &#8211; 2018. Temporal analysis highlighted an increase in surface lowering rates from 2012 &#8211; 2018. Further, the increase in debris-cover extent, supraglacial ponds and ice cliffs was evident since the 1990s. Supraglacial ponds and ice cliffs accounted for up to 8 times the magnitude of the average glacier surface lowering, whilst only covering 1.2 &#8211; 1.5% of the glacier area.Ground-based photogrammetry and bathymetry surveys undertaken in 2017 and 2018 indicated the total volume of water storage at Miage Glacier increased by 46%, however, intermittent drainage events suggest this is highly variable over both seasonal and annual timescales. All ice cliffs underwent substantial vertical retreat upto a maximum rate of -8.15&#160;ma-1 resulting in ice loss of 39,569&#160;m3. Thus, ice loss from supraglacial ponds and ice cliffs are important to account for and have the potential to substantially impact future glacier evolution.

Download Full-text

10 year mass balance by glaciological and geodetic methods of Glaciar Bahía del Diablo, Vega Island, Antarctic Peninsula

Annals of Glaciology ◽

10.3189/2015aog70a958 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 56 (70) ◽

pp. 141-146 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

Sebastián Marinsek ◽

Evgeniy Ermolin

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Antarctic Peninsula ◽

Field Survey ◽

Field Measurements ◽

Mass Change ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Field Surveys ◽

Digital Elevation

AbstractWe present new glacier mass-balance field data from Glaciar Bahía del Diablo, Vega Island, northeastern Antarctic Peninsula. The results provided here represent glacier mass-balance data over a 10 year period (2001–11) obtained by the glaciological and geodetic methods relying on field measurements. Glacier surface digital elevation models (DEMs) were obtained in 2001 and 2011 from a kinematic GPS field survey with high horizontal and vertical accuracies. In situ mass-balance data were collected from yearly stake measurements. The results attained by the two methods agree, which may be considered a measure of their accuracy. A cumulative mass change of –1.90 ± 0.31 m w.e. over the 10 year period was obtained from the annual mass-balance field surveys. The total mass change derived from DEM differencing was –2.16 ± 0.23 m w.e.

Download Full-text

Multi-decadal mass balance series of three Kyrgyz glaciers inferred from transient snowline observations

10.5194/tc-2017-256 ◽

2017 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Martina Barandun ◽

Matthias Huss ◽

Etienne Berthier ◽

Andreas Kääb ◽

Erlan Azisov ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Tien Shan ◽

High Mountain ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

The Past ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Direct Measurements ◽

Pamir Mountains ◽

Continuous Mass

Abstract. Glacier mass balance observations in the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains are sparse and often discontinuous. Nevertheless, glaciers are one of the most important components of the high-mountain cryosphere in the region; they strongly influence water availability in the arid, continental and intensely populated downstream areas. This study provides reliable and continuous mass balance series for selected glaciers located in the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alay. A combination of three independent methods was used to reconstruct for the past two decades the mass balance of the three benchmark glaciers, Abramov, Golubin and No. 354. By applying different approaches, it was possible to compensate for the limitations and shortcomings of each individual method. This study proposes the use of transient snowline observations throughout the melting season obtained from satellite imagery and terrestrial automatic cameras. By combining modelling with remotely acquired information on summer snow depletion, it was possible to infer glacier mass changes for unmeasured years. Multi-annual mass changes based on high accuracy digital elevation models and in situ glaciological surveys were used to validate the results for the investigated glaciers. Substantial mass loss was confirmed for the three studied glaciers by all three methods, ranging from −0.30 ± 0.19 m w. e. a−1 to −0.41 ± 0.33 m w. e. a−1 over the 2004–2016 period. Our results indicate that integration of snowline observations into mass balance modelling significantly narrows the uncertainty ranges of the estimates, and hence highlights the potential of the methodology for application to inaccessible glaciers at larger scales for which no direct measurements are available.

Download Full-text

Multi-decadal mass balance series of three Kyrgyz glaciers inferred from modelling constrained with repeated snow line observations

The Cryosphere ◽

10.5194/tc-12-1899-2018 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 12 (6) ◽

pp. 1899-1919 ◽

Cited By ~ 11

Author(s):

Martina Barandun ◽

Matthias Huss ◽

Ryskul Usubaliev ◽

Erlan Azisov ◽

Etienne Berthier ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Tien Shan ◽

High Mountain ◽

Surface Mass Balance ◽

Glacier Surface ◽

Surface Mass ◽

Temperature And Precipitation ◽

Snow Line ◽

Digital Elevation ◽

Continuous Surface

Abstract. Glacier surface mass balance observations in the Tien Shan and Pamir are relatively sparse and often discontinuous. Nevertheless, glaciers are one of the most important components of the high-mountain cryosphere in the region as they strongly influence water availability in the arid, continental and intensely populated downstream areas. This study provides reliable and continuous surface mass balance series for selected glaciers located in the Tien Shan and Pamir-Alay. By cross-validating the results of three independent methods, we reconstructed the mass balance of the three benchmark glaciers, Abramov, Golubin and Glacier no. 354 for the past 2 decades. By applying different approaches, it was possible to compensate for the limitations and shortcomings of each individual method. This study proposes the use of transient snow line observations throughout the melt season obtained from satellite optical imagery and terrestrial automatic cameras. By combining modelling with remotely acquired information on summer snow depletion, it was possible to infer glacier mass changes for unmeasured years. The model is initialized with daily temperature and precipitation data collected at automatic weather stations in the vicinity of the glacier or with adjusted data from climate reanalysis products. Multi-annual mass changes based on high-resolution digital elevation models and in situ glaciological surveys were used to validate the results for the investigated glaciers. Substantial surface mass loss was confirmed for the three studied glaciers by all three methods, ranging from −0.30 ± 0.19 to −0.41 ± 0.33 m w.e. yr−1 over the 2004–2016 period. Our results indicate that integration of snow line observations into mass balance modelling significantly narrows the uncertainty ranges of the estimates. Hence, this highlights the potential of the methodology for application to unmonitored glaciers at larger scales for which no direct measurements are available.

Download Full-text

Glacier evolution in high mountain Asia under stratospheric sulfate aerosol injection geoengineering

10.5194/acp-2016-830 ◽

2016 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Liyun Zhao ◽

Yi Yang ◽

Doying Ji ◽

John C. Moore

Keyword(s):

Mass Balance ◽

Radiative Forcing ◽

Sulfate Aerosol ◽

Eastern Himalaya ◽

Balance Model ◽

Climate Projections ◽

High Mountain ◽

Glacier Mass Balance ◽

Volume Loss ◽

Glacier Surface

Abstract. Geoengineering by stratospheric sulfate aerosol injection may help preserve mountain glaciers by reducing summer temperatures. We examine this hypothesis for the glaciers in High Mountain Asia using a glacier mass balance model driven by climate simulations from the Geoengineering Model Intercomparison Project (GeoMIP). The G3 and G4 schemes specify use of stratospheric sulphate aerosols to reduce the radiative forcing under the Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) 4.5 scenario for the 50 years between 2020 and 2069, and for a further 20 years after termination of geoengineering. We estimate and compare glaciers volume loss for every glacier in the region using a model based on glacier surface mass balance parameterization under climate projections from 3 Earth System Models under G3, 5 under G4 and 6 under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5. G3 keeps the summer mean temperature from increasing in the geoengineering period, but termination of geoengineering leads to sudden temperature rise of about 1.7 ºC and corresponding increase in glacier retreat. Glacier volume in inner Tibet and eastern Himalaya is least affected by greenhouse gas forcing, and also benefits the most from geoengineering. The ensemble mean projections suggest that glacier shrinkage over the period 2010–2069 are equivalent to sea-level rises of 8.4 mm (G3), 10.7 mm (G4), 14.7 mm (RCP 4.5) and 16.8 mm (RCP8.5). After the termination of geoengineering, annual mean volume loss rate for all the glaciers under G3 increases from 0.39 % a−1 to 0.90 % a−1, which are higher than the 0.70 % a−1 under RCP8.5 at that time. While sulphate 30 aerosol injection geoengineering may slow glacier loss in the region, it cannot prevent about a third of existing glacier coverage disappearing by 2069.

Download Full-text