Articles | Volume 27, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-933-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Special issue:
https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-933-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
01 Mar 2023
Research article |
| 01 Mar 2023
| 01 Mar 2023
Characterizing 4 decades of accelerated glacial mass loss in the west Nyainqentanglha Range of the Tibetan Plateau
Shuhong Wang
State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic
Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, People's Republic of China
College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing
210098, People's Republic of China
British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic
Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, People's Republic of China
College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing
210098, People's Republic of China
Hamish D. Pritchard
British Antarctic Survey, Natural Environment Research Council, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0ET, UK
Linghong Ke
College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing
210098, People's Republic of China
Xiao Qiao
State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic
Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, People's Republic of China
College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing
210098, People's Republic of China
Jie Zhang
State Key Laboratory of Hydrology-Water Resources and Hydraulic
Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, People's Republic of China
College of Hydrology and Water Resources, Hohai University, Nanjing
210098, People's Republic of China
Weihua Xiao
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in
River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, People's Republic of China
Yuyan Zhou
State Key Laboratory of Simulation and Regulation of Water Cycle in
River Basin, China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research, Beijing 100038, People's Republic of China
Related authors
Lu Lin, Man Gao, Jintao Liu, Jiarong Wang, Shuhong Wang, Xi Chen, and Hu Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1145–1157, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1145-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1145-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, recession flow analysis – assuming nonlinearized outflow from aquifers into streams – was used to quantify active groundwater storage in a headwater catchment with high glacierization and large-scale frozen ground on the Tibetan Plateau. Hence, this work provides a perspective to clarify the impact of glacial retreat and frozen ground degradation due to climate change on hydrological processes.
Alice C. Frémand, Peter Fretwell, Julien A. Bodart, Hamish D. Pritchard, Alan Aitken, Jonathan L. Bamber, Robin Bell, Cesidio Bianchi, Robert G. Bingham, Donald D. Blankenship, Gino Casassa, Ginny Catania, Knut Christianson, Howard Conway, Hugh F. J. Corr, Xiangbin Cui, Detlef Damaske, Volkmar Damm, Reinhard Drews, Graeme Eagles, Olaf Eisen, Hannes Eisermann, Fausto Ferraccioli, Elena Field, René Forsberg, Steven Franke, Shuji Fujita, Yonggyu Gim, Vikram Goel, Siva Prasad Gogineni, Jamin Greenbaum, Benjamin Hills, Richard C. A. Hindmarsh, Andrew O. Hoffman, Per Holmlund, Nicholas Holschuh, John W. Holt, Annika N. Horlings, Angelika Humbert, Robert W. Jacobel, Daniela Jansen, Adrian Jenkins, Wilfried Jokat, Tom Jordan, Edward King, Jack Kohler, William Krabill, Mette Kusk Gillespie, Kirsty Langley, Joohan Lee, German Leitchenkov, Carlton Leuschen, Bruce Luyendyk, Joseph MacGregor, Emma MacKie, Kenichi Matsuoka, Mathieu Morlighem, Jérémie Mouginot, Frank O. Nitsche, Yoshifumi Nogi, Ole A. Nost, John Paden, Frank Pattyn, Sergey V. Popov, Eric Rignot, David M. Rippin, Andrés Rivera, Jason Roberts, Neil Ross, Anotonia Ruppel, Dustin M. Schroeder, Martin J. Siegert, Andrew M. Smith, Daniel Steinhage, Michael Studinger, Bo Sun, Ignazio Tabacco, Kirsty Tinto, Stefano Urbini, David Vaughan, Brian C. Welch, Douglas S. Wilson, Duncan A. Young, and Achille Zirizzotti
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 2695–2710, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2695-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-2695-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This paper presents the release of over 60 years of ice thickness, bed elevation, and surface elevation data acquired over Antarctica by the international community. These data are a crucial component of the Antarctic Bedmap initiative which aims to produce a new map and datasets of Antarctic ice thickness and bed topography for the international glaciology and geophysical community.
Chunqiao Song, Chenyu Fan, Jingying Zhu, Jida Wang, Yongwei Sheng, Kai Liu, Tan Chen, Pengfei Zhan, Shuangxiao Luo, Chunyu Yuan, and Linghong Ke
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 14, 4017–4034, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4017-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-14-4017-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Over the last century, many dams/reservoirs have been built globally to meet various needs. The official statistics reported more than 98 000 dams/reservoirs in China. Despite the availability of several global-scale dam/reservoir databases, these databases have insufficient coverage in China. Therefore, we present the China Reservoir Dataset (CRD), which contains 97 435 reservoir polygons. The CRD reservoirs have a total area of 50 085.21 km2 and total storage of about 979.62 Gt.
Jiarong Wang, Xi Chen, Man Gao, Qi Hu, and Jintao Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 3901–3920, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3901-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-3901-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The accelerated climate warming in the Tibetan Plateau after 1997 has strong consequences for hydrology, geography, and social wellbeing. In hydrology, the change in streamflow as a result of changes in dynamic water storage originating from glacier melt and permafrost thawing in a warming climate directly affects the available water resources for societies of some of the most populated nations in the world.
Rebecca Dell, Neil Arnold, Ian Willis, Alison Banwell, Andrew Williamson, Hamish Pritchard, and Andrew Orr
The Cryosphere, 14, 2313–2330, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2313-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2313-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
A semi-automated method is developed from pre-existing work to track surface water bodies across Antarctic ice shelves over time, using data from Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8. This method is applied to the Nivlisen Ice Shelf for the 2016–2017 melt season. The results reveal two large linear meltwater systems, which hold 63 % of the peak total surface meltwater volume on 26 January 2017. These meltwater systems migrate towards the ice shelf front as the melt season progresses.
Lu Lin, Man Gao, Jintao Liu, Jiarong Wang, Shuhong Wang, Xi Chen, and Hu Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1145–1157, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1145-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1145-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
In this paper, recession flow analysis – assuming nonlinearized outflow from aquifers into streams – was used to quantify active groundwater storage in a headwater catchment with high glacierization and large-scale frozen ground on the Tibetan Plateau. Hence, this work provides a perspective to clarify the impact of glacial retreat and frozen ground degradation due to climate change on hydrological processes.
Zhongkai Li, Hu Liu, Wenzhi Zhao, Qiyue Yang, Rong Yang, and Jintao Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 4685–4706, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4685-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-4685-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
A database of soil moisture measurements from the middle Heihe River basin of China was used to test the potential of a soil moisture database in estimating the soil water balance components (SWBCs). We determined SWBCs using a method that combined the soil water balance method and the inverse Richards equation. This work confirmed that relatively reasonable estimations of the SWBCs in coarse-textured sandy soils can be derived using soil moisture measurements.
Man Gao, Xi Chen, and Jintao Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-453, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2019-453, 2019
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Lindsey I. Nicholson, Michael McCarthy, Hamish D. Pritchard, and Ian Willis
The Cryosphere, 12, 3719–3734, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3719-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3719-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Ground-penetrating radar of supraglacial debris thickness is used to study local thickness variability. Freshly emergent debris cover appears to have higher skewness and kurtosis than more mature debris covers. Accounting for debris thickness variability in ablation models can result in markedly different ice ablation than is calculated using the mean debris thickness. Slope stability modelling reveals likely locations for locally thin debris with high ablation.
Lu Lin, Man Gao, Jintao Liu, Xi Chen, and Hu Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2018-541, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2018-541, 2018
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
In the paper, recession flow analysis assuming nonlinearized outflow from aquifers into streams was used to quantify active groundwater storage in a headwater catchment with larger glacierization and large-scale frozen ground on the Tibetan Plateau, which provides a perspective to clarify the way of glacial retreat and frozen ground degradation on hydrological processes. We are very grateful to all editors and reviewers for their efforts to help us improve the quality of the manuscript.
Zhongkai Li, Hu Liu, Wenzhi Zhao, Qiyue Yang, Rong Yang, and Jintao Liu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2018-518, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-2018-518, 2018
Manuscript not accepted for further review
Short summary
Short summary
A database of soil moisture measurements was used to test the potential of a soil moisture database in estimating the SWBCs. Although the planting of the past decade have significantly increased the soils' water-holding ability, the magnitude of increase in most of the parameters was independent of the treatments. Significant variances were observed among the plots in both the cumulative irrigation volumes and deep drainages, and the ET demands for all the plots behaved pretty much the same.
Ning Qiu, Xi Chen, Qi Hu, Jintao Liu, Richao Huang, and Man Gao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 2891–2901, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2891-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-2891-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
The spatial runoff is decomposed into a deterministic trend and deviations from it caused by stochastic fluctuations which are described by Budyko method and stochastic interpolation. This coupled method is applied to spatially interpolate runoff in the Huaihe River basin of China. Results show that the coupled method reduces the error in overestimating low runoff and underestimating high runoff suffered by the other two methods, so it improves the prediction accuracy of the mean annual runoff.
Edward C. King, Hamish D. Pritchard, and Andrew M. Smith
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 8, 151–158, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-151-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-8-151-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Large, fast-moving glaciers create long, linear mounds of sediments covering large areas. Understanding how these features form has been hampered by a lack of data from the bed of modern-day ice sheets. We give a detailed view of the landscape beneath an Antarctic glacier called Rutford Ice Stream. We towed a radar system back and forth across the glacier to measure the ice thickness every few metres. This is the first place such a highly detailed view of the sub-ice landscape has been created.
P. Fretwell, H. D. Pritchard, D. G. Vaughan, J. L. Bamber, N. E. Barrand, R. Bell, C. Bianchi, R. G. Bingham, D. D. Blankenship, G. Casassa, G. Catania, D. Callens, H. Conway, A. J. Cook, H. F. J. Corr, D. Damaske, V. Damm, F. Ferraccioli, R. Forsberg, S. Fujita, Y. Gim, P. Gogineni, J. A. Griggs, R. C. A. Hindmarsh, P. Holmlund, J. W. Holt, R. W. Jacobel, A. Jenkins, W. Jokat, T. Jordan, E. C. King, J. Kohler, W. Krabill, M. Riger-Kusk, K. A. Langley, G. Leitchenkov, C. Leuschen, B. P. Luyendyk, K. Matsuoka, J. Mouginot, F. O. Nitsche, Y. Nogi, O. A. Nost, S. V. Popov, E. Rignot, D. M. Rippin, A. Rivera, J. Roberts, N. Ross, M. J. Siegert, A. M. Smith, D. Steinhage, M. Studinger, B. Sun, B. K. Tinto, B. C. Welch, D. Wilson, D. A. Young, C. Xiangbin, and A. Zirizzotti
The Cryosphere, 7, 375–393, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-375-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-375-2013, 2013
Related subject area
Subject: Snow and Ice | Techniques and Approaches: Remote Sensing and GIS
Estimating spatiotemporally continuous snow water equivalent from intermittent satellite observations: an evaluation using synthetic data
Development and validation of a new MODIS snow-cover-extent product over China
Processes governing snow ablation in alpine terrain – detailed measurements from the Canadian Rockies
Evaluation of MODIS and VIIRS cloud-gap-filled snow-cover products for production of an Earth science data record
Characterising spatio-temporal variability in seasonal snow cover at a regional scale from MODIS data: the Clutha Catchment, New Zealand
Icelandic snow cover characteristics derived from a gap-filled MODIS daily snow cover product
The recent developments in cloud removal approaches of MODIS snow cover product
Now you see it, now you don't: a case study of ephemeral snowpacks and soil moisture response in the Great Basin, USA
Assessment of a multiresolution snow reanalysis framework: a multidecadal reanalysis case over the upper Yampa River basin, Colorado
Snow cover dynamics in Andean watersheds of Chile (32.0–39.5° S) during the years 2000–2016
A new remote hazard and risk assessment framework for glacial lakes in the Nepal Himalaya
A snow cover climatology for the Pyrenees from MODIS snow products
Cloud obstruction and snow cover in Alpine areas from MODIS products
Application of MODIS snow cover products: wildfire impacts on snow and melt in the Sierra Nevada
LiDAR measurement of seasonal snow accumulation along an elevation gradient in the southern Sierra Nevada, California
Early 21st century snow cover state over the western river basins of the Indus River system
Validation of the operational MSG-SEVIRI snow cover product over Austria
Reducing cloud obscuration of MODIS snow cover area products by combining spatio-temporal techniques with a probability of snow approach
CREST-Snow Field Experiment: analysis of snowpack properties using multi-frequency microwave remote sensing data
Snow cover dynamics and hydrological regime of the Hunza River basin, Karakoram Range, Northern Pakistan
Responses of snowmelt runoff to climatic change in an inland river basin, Northwestern China, over the past 50 years
Assessing the application of a laser rangefinder for determining snow depth in inaccessible alpine terrain
Xiaoyu Ma, Dongyue Li, Yiwen Fang, Steven A. Margulis, and Dennis P. Lettenmaier
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 27, 21–38, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-21-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-27-21-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
We explore satellite retrievals of snow water equivalent (SWE) along hypothetical ground tracks that would allow estimation of SWE over an entire watershed. The retrieval of SWE from satellites has proved elusive, but there are now technological options that do so along essentially one-dimensional tracks. We use machine learning (ML) algorithms as the basis for a track-to-area (TTA) transformation and show that at least one is robust enough to estimate domain-wide SWE with high accuracy.
Xiaohua Hao, Guanghui Huang, Zhaojun Zheng, Xingliang Sun, Wenzheng Ji, Hongyu Zhao, Jian Wang, Hongyi Li, and Xiaoyan Wang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 26, 1937–1952, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1937-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-26-1937-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
We develop and validate a new 20-year MODIS snow-cover-extent product over China, which is dedicated to addressing known problems of the standard snow products. As expected, the new product significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art MODIS C6.1 products; improvements are particularly clear in forests and for the daily cloud-free product. Our product has provided more reliable snow knowledge over China and can be accessible freely https://dx.doi.org/10.11888/Snow.tpdc.271387.
Michael Schirmer and John W. Pomeroy
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 143–157, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-143-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-143-2020, 2020
Short summary
Short summary
The spatial distribution of snow water equivalent (SWE) and melt are important for hydrological applications in alpine terrain. We measured the spatial distribution of melt using a drone in very high resolution and could relate melt to topographic characteristics. Interestingly, melt and SWE were not related spatially, which influences the speed of areal melt out. We could explain this by melt varying over larger distances than SWE.
Dorothy K. Hall, George A. Riggs, Nicolo E. DiGirolamo, and Miguel O. Román
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 5227–5241, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-5227-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-5227-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Global snow cover maps have been available since 2000 from the MODerate resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), and since 2000 and 2011 from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (S-NPP) and the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS), respectively. These products are used extensively in hydrological modeling and climate studies. New, daily cloud-gap-filled snow products are available from both MODIS and VIIRS, and are being used to develop an Earth science data record.
Todd A. N. Redpath, Pascal Sirguey, and Nicolas J. Cullen
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3189–3217, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3189-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3189-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
Spatio-temporal variability of seasonal snow cover is characterised from 16 years of MODIS data for the Clutha Catchment, New Zealand. No trend was detected in snow-covered area. Spatial modes of variability reveal the role of anomalous winter airflow. The sensitivity of snow cover duration to temperature and precipitation variability is found to vary spatially across the catchment. These findings provide new insight into seasonal snow processes in New Zealand and guidance for modelling efforts.
Andri Gunnarsson, Sigurður M. Garðarsson, and Óli G. B. Sveinsson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 3021–3036, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3021-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-3021-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
In this study a gap-filled snow cover product for Iceland is developed using MODIS satellite data and validated with both in situ observations and alternative remote sensing data sources with good agreement. Information about snow cover extent, duration and changes over time is presented, indicating that snow cover extent has been increasing slightly for the past few years.
Xinghua Li, Yinghong Jing, Huanfeng Shen, and Liangpei Zhang
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 23, 2401–2416, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2401-2019, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-23-2401-2019, 2019
Short summary
Short summary
This paper is a review article on the cloud removal methods of MODIS snow cover products.
Rose Petersky and Adrian Harpold
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 4891–4906, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4891-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-4891-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Ephemeral snowpacks are snowpacks that persist for less than 2 months. We show that ephemeral snowpacks melt earlier and provide less soil water input in the spring. Elevation is strongly correlated with whether snowpacks are ephemeral or seasonal. Snowpacks were also more likely to be ephemeral on south-facing slopes than north-facing slopes at high elevations. In warm years, the Great Basin shifts to ephemerally dominant as rain becomes more prevalent at increasing elevations.
Elisabeth Baldo and Steven A. Margulis
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3575–3587, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3575-2018, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-22-3575-2018, 2018
Short summary
Short summary
Montane snowpacks are extremely complex to represent and usually require assimilating remote sensing images at very fine spatial resolutions, which is computationally expensive. Adapting the grid size of the terrain to its complexity was shown to cut runtime and storage needs by half while preserving the accuracy of ~ 100 m snow estimates. This novel approach will facilitate the large-scale implementation of high-resolution remote sensing data assimilation over snow-dominated montane ranges.
Alejandra Stehr and Mauricio Aguayo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 5111–5126, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5111-2017, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-21-5111-2017, 2017
Short summary
Short summary
In Chile there is a lack of hydrological data, which complicates the analysis of important hydrological processes. In this study we validate a remote sensing product, i.e. the MODIS snow product, in Chile using ground observations, obtaining good results. Then MODIS was use to evaluated snow cover dynamic during 2000–2016 at five watersheds in Chile. The analysis shows that there is a significant reduction in snow cover area in two watersheds located in the northern part of the study area.
David R. Rounce, Daene C. McKinney, Jonathan M. Lala, Alton C. Byers, and C. Scott Watson
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 20, 3455–3475, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3455-2016, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-20-3455-2016, 2016
Short summary
Short summary
Glacial lake outburst floods pose a significant threat to downstream communities and infrastructure as they rapidly unleash stored lake water. Nepal is home to many potentially dangerous glacial lakes, yet a holistic understanding of the hazards faced by these lakes is lacking. This study develops a framework using remotely sensed data to investigate the hazards and risks associated with each glacial lake and discusses how this assessment may help inform future management actions.
S. Gascoin, O. Hagolle, M. Huc, L. Jarlan, J.-F. Dejoux, C. Szczypta, R. Marti, and R. Sánchez
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 19, 2337–2351, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2337-2015, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-19-2337-2015, 2015
Short summary
Short summary
There is a good agreement between the MODIS snow products and observations from automatic stations and Landsat snow maps in the Pyrenees. The optimal thresholds for which a MODIS pixel is marked as snow-covered are 40mm in water equivalent and 150mm in snow depth.
We generate a gap-filled snow cover climatology for the Pyrenees. We compute the mean snow cover duration by elevation and aspect classes. We show anomalous snow patterns in 2012 and consequences on hydropower production.
P. Da Ronco and C. De Michele
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4579–4600, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4579-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4579-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
The negative impacts of cloud obstruction in snow mapping from MODIS and a new reliable cloud removal procedure for the Italian Alps.
P. D. Micheletty, A. M. Kinoshita, and T. S. Hogue
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4601–4615, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4601-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4601-2014, 2014
P. B. Kirchner, R. C. Bales, N. P. Molotch, J. Flanagan, and Q. Guo
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4261–4275, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4261-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4261-2014, 2014
Short summary
Short summary
In this study we present results from LiDAR snow depth measurements made over 53 sq km and a 1600 m elevation gradient. We found a lapse rate of 15 cm accumulated snow depth and 6 cm SWE per 100 m in elevation until 3300 m, where depth sharply decreased. Residuals from this trend revealed the role of aspect and highlighted the importance of solar radiation and wind for snow distribution. Lastly, we compared LiDAR SWE estimations with four model estimates of SWE and total precipitation.
S. Hasson, V. Lucarini, M. R. Khan, M. Petitta, T. Bolch, and G. Gioli
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 4077–4100, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4077-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-4077-2014, 2014
S. Surer, J. Parajka, and Z. Akyurek
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 18, 763–774, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-763-2014, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-18-763-2014, 2014
V. López-Burgos, H. V. Gupta, and M. Clark
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 1809–1823, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1809-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-1809-2013, 2013
T. Y. Lakhankar, J. Muñoz, P. Romanov, A. M. Powell, N. Y. Krakauer, W. B. Rossow, and R. M. Khanbilvardi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 17, 783–793, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-783-2013, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-17-783-2013, 2013
A. A. Tahir, P. Chevallier, Y. Arnaud, and B. Ahmad
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 15, 2275–2290, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2275-2011, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-15-2275-2011, 2011
J. Wang, H. Li, and X. Hao
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 1979–1987, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-1979-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-1979-2010, 2010
J. L. Hood and M. Hayashi
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 901–910, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-901-2010, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-14-901-2010, 2010
Cited articles
Bahr, D. B., Meier, M. F., and Peckham, S. D.: The physical basis of
glacier volume-area scaling, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 102, 20355–20362,
https://doi.org/10.1029/97JB01696, 1997.
Bahr, D. B., Pfeffer, W. T., and Kaser, G.: A review of volume-area scaling
of glaciers, Rev. Geophys., 53, 95–140,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014RG000470, 2015.
Banerjee, A.: Brief communication: Thinning of debris-covered and debris-free glaciers in a warming climate, The Cryosphere, 11, 133–138, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-133-2017, 2017.
Bolch, T., Yao, T., Kang, S., Buchroithner, M. F., Scherer, D., Maussion, F., Huintjes, E., and Schneider, C.: A glacier inventory for the western Nyainqentanglha Range and the Nam Co Basin, Tibet, and glacier changes 1976–2009, The Cryosphere, 4, 419–433, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-4-419-2010, 2010.
Brun, F., Berthier, E., Wagnon, P., Kääb, A., and Treichler, D.: A
spatially resolved estimate of High Mountain Asia glacier mass balances,
2000–2016, Nat. Geosci., 10, 668–673,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-018-0171-z, 2018a.
Brun, F., Wagnon, P., Berthier, E., Shea, J. M., Immerzeel, W. W., Kraaijenbrink, P. D. A., Vincent, C., Reverchon, C., Shrestha, D., and Arnaud, Y.: Ice cliff contribution to the tongue-wide ablation of Changri Nup Glacier, Nepal, central Himalaya, The Cryosphere, 12, 3439–3457, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3439-2018, 2018b.
Brun, F., Wagnon, P., Berthier, E., Jomelli, V., Maharjan, S. B., and
Kraaijenbrink, P. D. A.: Heterogeneous Influence of Glacier Morphology on the Mass Balance Variability in High Mountain Asia, J. Geophys. Res.-Sol. Ea., 124, 1331–1345, https://doi.org/10.1029/2018JF004838, 2019.
Brun, F., Treichler, D., Shean, D., and Immerzeel, W. W.: Limited contribution of
glacier mass loss to the recent increase in Tibetan plateau Lake volume,
Front. Earth Sci., 8, 582060, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.582060,
2020.
Duan, A. and Xiao, Z.: Does the climate warming hiatus exist over the
Tibetan Plateau?, Sci. Rep.-UK, 5, 13711, https://doi.org/10.1038/srep13711,
2015.
Frauenfelder, R. and Kääb, A.: Glacier mapping from multi-temporal optical remote sensing data within the Brahmaputra river basin, in: Proceedings of the 33rd International Symposium on Remote Sensing of Environment, Stresa, Italy, Tucson, Arizona, 4–8 May 2009, Paper 299, International Center of Remote Sensing of Environment, 4 pp., 2009.
Gardelle, J., Berthier, E., Arnaud, Y., and Kääb, A.: Region-wide glacier mass balances over the Pamir-Karakoram-Himalaya during 1999–2011, The Cryosphere, 7, 1263–1286, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1263-2013, 2013.
Guo, W., Liu, S., Xu, J., Wu, L., Shangguan, D., and Yao, X., Wei, J., Bao, W., Yu, P., Liu, Q., and Jiang, Z.: The second chinese glacier inventory: data, methods and results, J. Glaciol., 61, 357–372, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015JoG14J209, 2015.
Han, C., Ma, Y., Wang, B., Zhong, L., Ma, W., Chen, X., and Su, Z.: Long-term variations in actual evapotranspiration over the Tibetan Plateau, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 13, 3513–3524, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-13-3513-2021, 2021.
He, J., Yang, K., Tang, W., Lu, H., Qin, J., and Chen, Y., and Li, X.: The
first high-resolution meteorological forcing dataset for land process studies over China, Sci. Data, 7, 25, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-020-0369-y, 2020.
Kääb, A., Berthier, E., Nuth, C., Gardelle, J., and Arnaud, Y.:
Contrasting patterns of early twenty-first-century glacier mass change in
the Himalayas, Nature, 488, 495–498,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nature11324, 2012.
Kaser, G., Großhauser, M., and Marzeion, B.: Contribution potential of
glaciers to water availability in different climate regimes, P. Natl.
Acad. Sci. USA, 107, 20223–20227, https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1008162107,
2010.
Ke, L., Song, C., Yong, B., Lei, Y., and Ding, X.: Which heterogeneous glacier melting patterns can be robustly observed from space? A multi-scale
assessment in southeastern Tibetan Plateau, Remote Sens. Environ., 242, 111777, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2020.111777, 2020.
Ke, L., Song, C., Wang, J., Sheng, Y., Ding, X., Yong, B., Ma, R., Liu, K., Zhan, P., and Luo, S.: Constraining the contribution of glacier mass balance to the Tibetan lake growth in the early 21st century, Remote Sens. Environ., 268, 112779, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2021.112779, 2022.
Kirkbride, M. P. and Deline, P.: The formation of supraglacial debris
covers by primary dispersal from transverse englacial ebris bands, Earth
Surf. Proc. Land., 38, 1779–1792, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.3416,
2013.
Lau, W., Kim, M. K., Kim, K. M., and Lee, W. S.: Enhanced surface warming
and accelerated snow melt in the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau induced by
absorbing aerosols, Environ. Res. Lett., 5, 025204,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/5/2/025204, 2010.
Lei, Y., Yao, T., Bird, B. W., Yang, K., Zhai, J., and Sheng, Y.: Coherent
Lake growth on the central Tibetan Plateau since the 1970s: Characterization
and attribution, J. Hydrol., 483, 61–67,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.01.003, 2013.
Li, G. and Lin, H.: Recent decadal glacier mass balances over the Western
Nyainqentanglha Mountains and the increase in their melting contribution to
Nam Co Lake measured by differential bistatic SAR interferometry, Global
Planet. Change, 149, 177–190,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2016.12.018, 2017.
Li, Y. J., Ding, Y. J., Shangguan, D. H., and Wang, R. J.: Regional
differences in global glacier retreat from 1980 to 2015 – sciencedirect,
Adv. Clim. Chang. Res., 10, 203–213,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.accre.2020.03.003, 2020.
Lin, L., Gao, M., Liu, J., Wang, J., Wang, S., Chen, X., and Liu, H.: Understanding the effects of climate warming on streamflow and active groundwater storage in an alpine catchment: the upper Lhasa River, Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 24, 1145–1157, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-24-1145-2020, 2020.
Linsbauer, A., Paul, F., and Haeberli, W.: Modeling glacier thickness
distribution and bed topography over entire mountain ranges with GlabTop:
Application of a fast and robust approach, J. Geophys. Res.-Earth, 117, F03007, https://doi.org/10.1029/2011JF002313, 2012.
Luo, W., Zhang, G., Chen, W., and Xu, F.: Response of glacial lakes to
glacier and climate changes in the western Nyainqentanglha range, Sci. Total
Environ., 735, 139607, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.139607, 2020.
Lutz, A. F., Immerzeel, W. W., Shrestha, A. B., and Bierkens, M. F. P.:
Consistent increase in High Asia's runoff due to increasing glacier melt and
precipitation, Nat. Clim. Change, 4, 587–592,
https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate2237, 2014.
MADAS: ASTER products handled by the satellite data retrieval system MADAS, MADAS [data set], https://gbank.gsj.jp/madas/map/index.html, last access: 5 January 2021.
Maurer, J. and Rupper, S.: Tapping into the Hexagon spy imagery database:
A new automated pipeline for geomorphic change detection, ISPRS J.
Photogramm., 108, 113–127, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2015.06.008,
2015.
Maurer, J. M., Rupper, S. B., and Schaefer, J. M.: Quantifying ice loss in the eastern Himalayas since 1974 using declassified spy satellite imagery, The Cryosphere, 10, 2203–2215, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-2203-2016, 2016.
Maurer, J. M., Schaefer, J. M., Rupper, S., and Corley, A.: Acceleration of
ice loss across the Himalayas over the past 40 years, Sci. Adv., 5,
aav7266, https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aav7266, 2019.
McCarthy, M., Pritchard, H., Willis, I. A. N., and King, E.:
Ground-penetrating radar measurements of debris thickness on Lirung Glacier,
Nepal, J. Glaciol., 63, 543–555, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2017.18,
2017.
Ming, J., Cachier, H., Xiao, C., Qin, D., Kang, S., Hou, S., and Xu, J.: Black carbon record based on a shallow Himalayan ice core and its climatic implications, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 8, 1343–1352, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-8-1343-2008, 2008.
Neckel, N., Kropá,J., Bolch, T., and Hochschild, V.: Glacier mass
changes on the Tibetan Plateau 2003–2009 derived from ICESat laser
altimetry measurements, Environ. Res. Lett., 9, 468–475,
https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/9/1/014009, 2014.
Nicholson, L. and Benn, D.: Calculating ice melt beneath a debris layer
using meteorological data, J. Glaciol., 52, 463–470,
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756506781828584, 2006.
Nie, Y., Pritchard, H. D., Liu, Q., Hennig, T., Wang, W., Wang, X., Liu, S., Nepal, S., Denis, S., kenneth, H., and Chen, X.: Glacial change and hydrological implications in the Himalaya and Karakoram, Nat. Rev. Earth Environ., 2, 91–106, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43017-020-00124-w, 2021.
Nuth, C. and Kääb, A.: Co-registration and bias corrections of satellite elevation data sets for quantifying glacier thickness change, The Cryosphere, 5, 271–290, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-271-2011, 2011.
Oerlemans, J. and Fortuin, J.: Sensitivity of Glaciers and Small Ice Caps
to Greenhouse Warming, Science, 258, 115–117,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.258.5079.115, 1992.
Pandey, P., Ali, S. N., Ramanathan, A. L., Champati ray, P. K., and
Venkataraman, G.: Regional representation of glaciers in Chandra Basin
region, western Himalaya, India, Geosci. Front. 8, 841–850,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2016.06.006, 2017.
Pritchard, H. D.: Asia's shrinking glaciers protect large populations from
drought stress, Nature, 569, 649–654,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1240-1, 2019.
Qiao, X., Liu, J., Wang, S., Wang, J., Ji, H., Chen, X., Liu, H. R., and Lu, F.: Lead-lag correlations between snow cover and meteorological factors at multi-time scales in the Tibetan Plateau under climate warming, Theor. Appl. Climatol., 146, 1459–1477, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-021-03802-x, 2021.
Qu, B., Ming, J., Kang, S.-C., Zhang, G.-S., Li, Y.-W., Li, C.-D., Zhao, S.-Y., Ji, Z.-M., and Cao, J.-J.: The decreasing albedo of the Zhadang glacier on western Nyainqentanglha and the role of light-absorbing impurities, Atmos. Chem. Phys., 14, 11117–11128, https://doi.org/10.5194/acp-14-11117-2014, 2014.
Reid, T. D., Carenzo, M., Pellicciotti, F., and Brock, B. W.: Including debris cover effects in a distributed model of glacier ablation, J. Geophys.
Res.-Atmos., 117, D18105, https://doi.org/10.1029/2012JD017795, 2012.
Ren, S., Menenti, M., Jia, L., Zhang, J., and Li, X.: Glacier Mass Balance
in the Nyainqentanglha Mountains between 2000 and 2017 Retrieved from
ZiYuan-3 Stereo Images and the SRTM DEM, Remote Sens., 12, 864,
https://doi.org/10.3390/rs12050864, 2020.
RGI Consortium.: Randolph Glacier Inventory – A Dataset of Global Glacier
Outlines: Version 6.0, July, 1–27, https://ci.nii.ac.jp/naid/40021243259/ (last access: 10 May 2021), 2017.
Scherler, D., Bookhagen, B., and Strecker, M. R.: Spatially variable
response of himalayan glaciers to climate change affected by debris cover,
Nat. Geosci., 4, 156–159, https://doi.org/10.1038/ngeo1068, 2011.
Shangguan, D. H., Liu, S. Y., Ding, L. F., Zhang, S. Q., Gang, L. I., and
Zhang, Y.: Variation of Glaciers inthe Western Nyainqêntanglha Range of Tibetan Plateauduring 1970-2000, J. Glaciol. Geocryol., 30, 206–210, 2008 (in Chinese).
Stokes, C. R., Popovnin, V., Aleynikov, A., Gurney, S. D., and
Shahgedanova, M.: Recent glacier retreat in the Caucasus Mountains, Russia,
and associated increase in supraglacial debris cover and supra-/proglacial
lake development, Ann. Glaciol., 46, 195–203,
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756407782871468, 2007.
Su, F., Zhang, L., Ou, T., Chen, D., Yao, T., and Tong, K.: Hydrological response to future climate changes for the major upstream river basins in the Tibetan Plateau, Global Planet. Change, 136, 82–95, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2015.10.012, 2016.
Surazakov, A. and Aizen, V.: Positional accuracy evaluation of
declassified hexagon KH-9 mapping camera imagery, Photogramm. Eng. Rem. S.,
76, 603–608, https://doi.org/10.14358/PERS.76.5.603, 2010.
Tielidze, L. G., Bolch, T., Wheate, R. D., Kutuzov, S. S., Lavrentiev, I. I., and Zemp, M.: Supra-glacial debris cover changes in the Greater Caucasus from 1986 to 2014, The Cryosphere, 14, 585–598, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-585-2020, 2020.
Thompson, S. S., Benn, D. I., Dennis, K., and Luckman, A.: A rapidly
growing moraine-dammed glacial lake on Ngozumpa Glacier, Nepal,
Geomorphology, 145–146, 1–11,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2011.08.015, 2012.
USGS: Landsat MSS (Collection 2 Landsat 1–5 MSS Digital Object Identifier), USGS [data set], https://doi.org/10.5066/P9AF14YV, 2021a.
USGS: Landsat ETM+ (Collection 2 Landsat 7 ETM+ Digital Object Identifier), USGS [data set], https://doi.org/10.5066/P9TU80IG, 2021b.
USGS: Landsat OLI (Collection 2 Landsat 8–9 OLI/TIRS Digital Object), USGS [data set], https://doi.org/10.5066/P975CC9B, 2021c.
USGS: KH-9 Hexagon products (Declassified Satellite Imagery – 2 Digital Object Identifier), USGS [data set], https://doi.org/10.5066/F74X5684, 2021d.
USGS: SRTM version 3 (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission 1 Arc-Second Global Digital Object Identifier), USGS [data set], https://doi.org/10.5066/F7PR7TFT, 2021e.
Vincent, C., Wagnon, P., Shea, J. M., Immerzeel, W. W., Kraaijenbrink, P., Shrestha, D., Soruco, A., Arnaud, Y., Brun, F., Berthier, E., and Sherpa, S. F.: Reduced melt on debris-covered glaciers: investigations from Changri Nup Glacier, Nepal, The Cryosphere, 10, 1845–1858, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-10-1845-2016, 2016.
Viviroli, D., Dürr, H. H., Messerli, B., Meybeck, M., and Weingartner,
R.: Mountains of the world, – water towers for humanity: Typology, mapping,
and global significance, Water Resour Res., 43, w07447,
https://doi.org/10.1029/2006WR005653, 2007.
Wang, J. R., Chen, X., Liu, J. T., and Qi, H.: Changes of Precipitation–Runoff Relationship Induced by Climate Variation in a Large
Glaciated Basin of the Tibetan Plateau, J. Geophys. Res.-Atmos, 126, e2020JD034367, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JD034367, 2021.
Wang, Q., Yi, S., and Sun, W.: Continuous Estimates of Glacier Mass Balance
in High Mountain Asia Based on ICESat-1,2 and GRACE/GRACE Follow-On Data,
Geophys. Res. Lett., 48, e2020GL090954, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020GL090954, 2021.
Wang, X., Zhou, A. G., Siegert, F., Zhang, Z., and Chen, K. L.: Glacier
temporal-spatial change characteristics in western Nyainqentanglha Range,
Tibetan Plateau 1977–2010, Earth Science – Journal of China University of
Geosciences, 37, 1082–1092, 2012 (in Chinese).
Wu, G., Duan, A., Liu, Y., Mao, J., Ren, R., and Bao, Q., He, B., Liu, B., and Hu, W.: Tibetan Plateau climate dynamics: Recent research progress and outlook, Natl. Sci. Rev., 2, 100–116, https://doi.org/10.1093/nsr/nwu045, 2015.
Wu, K., Liu, S., Jiang, Z., Xu, J., Wei, J., and Guo, W.: Recent glacier mass balance and area changes in the Kangri Karpo Mountains from DEMs and glacier inventories, The Cryosphere, 12, 103–121, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-103-2018, 2018.
Wu, K. P., Liu, S., Jiang, Z., Xu, J. L., and Wei, J.: Glacier mass balance
over the central Nyainqentanglha Range during recent decades derived from
remote-sensing data, J. Glaciol., 65, 422–439,
https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2019.20, 2019.
Wu, K. Q., Liu, S. Y., Guo, W. Q., Wei, J. F., Xu, J. L., Bao, W. J., and Yao, X. J.: Glacier change in the western Nyainqentanglha Range, Tibetan Plateau using historical maps and Landsat imagery: 1970–2014, J. Mt. Sci.-Engl., 13, 1358–1374, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-016-3997-0, 2016.
Wu, Y. and Zhu, L.: The response of lake-glacier variations to climate
change in Nam Co Catchment, central Tibetan Plateau, during 1970–2000, J.
Geogr. Sci., 18, 177–189, https://doi.org/10.1007/s11442-008-0177-3, 2008.
Xie, Z., Haritashya, U. K., Asari, V. K., Young, B. W., Bishop, M. P., and
Kargel, J. S.: GlacierNet: A deep-learning approach for debris-covered
glacier mapping, IEEE Access, 8, 83495–83510, https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2020.2991187, 2020.
Yang, K., He, J., Tang, W., Qin, J., and Cheng, C.: On downward shortwave
and longwave radiations over high altitude regions: Observation and modeling
in the Tibetan Plateau, Agr. Forest Meteorol., 150, 38–46,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2009.08.004, 2010.
Yang, K., He, J., Tang, W., Lu, H., Qin, J., Chen, Y., and Li, X.:
China meteorological forcing dataset (1979–2018), National Tibetan Plateau, Third Pole Environment Data Center [data set], https://doi.org/10.11888/AtmosphericPhysics.tpe.249369.file, 2019.
Yao, T. D., Pu, J., Lu, A., Wang, Y., and Yu, W.: Recent glacial retreat
and its impact on hydrological processes on the tibetan Plateau, China, and
surrounding regions, Arct. Antarct. Alp. Res., 39, 642–650,
https://doi.org/10.1657/1523-0430(07-510)[YAO]2.0.CO;2, 2007.
Yao, T. D., Li, Z. G., Yang, W., Guo, X. J., Zhu, L. P., Kang, S. C., Wu, Y. H., and Yu, W. S.: Glacial distribution and mass balance in the Yarlung Zangbo river and its influence on lakes, Chinese Sci. Bull., 55, 2072–2078,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-010-3213-5, 2010.
Yao, T. D., Thompson, L., Yang, W., Yu, W., Gao, Y., and Joswiak, D.:
Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in tibetan plateau
and surroundings, Nat. Clim. Change, 2, 663–667,
https://doi.org/10.1038/NCLIMATE1580, 2012.
Ye, Q., Zong, J., Tian, L., Cogley, J. G., Song, C., and Guo, W.: Glacier
changes on the Tibetan Plateau derived from Landsat imagery: Mid-1970s –
2000–13, J. Glaciol., 63, 273–287, https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2016.137,
2017.
Yu, W., Yao, T., Kang, S., Pu, J., Yang, W., and Gao, T., Zhao, H., Zhou, H., Li, S., Wang, W., and Ma, L.: Different region climate regimes and topography affect the changes in area and mass balance of glaciers on the north and south slopes of the same glacierized massif (the West Nyainqentanglha Range, Tibetan Plateau), J. Hydrol., 495, 64–73, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.04.034, 2013.
Zhang, B., Wu, Y., Zhu, L., Wang, J., Li, J., and Chen, D.: Estimation and
trend detection of water storage at Nam Co Lake, central Tibetan Plateau, J.
Hydrol., 405, 161–170, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2011.05.018,
2011.
Zhang, G., Yao, T., Shum, C. K., Yi, S., Yang, K., and Yu, J., Xie, H., Feng, W., Bolch, T., Wang, L., Behrangi, A., Zhang, H., Wang, W., Xiang, Y., and Yu, J.: Lake volume and groundwater storage variations in tibetan plateau's endorheic basin, Geophys. Res. Lett., 44, 5550–5560, https://doi.org/10.1002/2017GL073773, 2017.
Zhang, Q. and Zhang, G.: Glacier elevation changes in the western
nyainqentanglha range of the Tibetan Plateau as observed by
TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X images, Remote Sens. Lett., 8, 1143–1152,
https://doi.org/10.1080/2150704X.2017.1362123, 2017.
Zhang, S. Q., Gao, X., Ye, B. S., Zhang, X. W., and Stefan, H.: A modified monthly
degree-day model for evaluating glacier runoff changes in China part II:
application, Hydrol. Process., 26, 1697–1706,
https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.8291, 2011.
Zhao, Q., Ding, Y., Wang, J., Gao, H., Zhang, S., and Zhao, C., Xu, J., Han, H., and Shangguan, D.: Projecting climate change impacts on hydrological processes on the Tibetan Plateau with model calibration against the glacier inventory data and observed streamflow, J. Hydrol., 573, 60–81,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.03.043, 2019.
Zhou, S., Kang, S., Feng, C., and Joswiak, D. R.: Water balance
observations reveal significant subsurface water seepage from Lake Nam Co,
south-central Tibetan Plateau, J. Hydrol., 491, 89–99,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2013.03.030, 2013.
Zhou, Y., Hu, J., Li, Z., Li, J., Zhao, R., and Ding, X.: Quantifying
glacier mass change and its contribution to lake growths in central Kunlun
during 2000–2015 from multi-source remote sensing data, J. Hydrol., 570,
38–50, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2019.01.007, 2019.
Zhu, L., Xie, M., and Wu, Y.: Quantitative analysis of lake area variations
and the influence factors from 1971 to 2004 in the Nam Co basin of the
Tibetan Plateau, Chinese Sci. Bull., 55, 1294–1303,
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-010-0015-8, 2010.
Short summary
We assessed and compared the glacier areal retreat rate and surface thinning rate and the effects of topography, debris cover and proglacial lakes in the west Nyainqentanglha Range (WNT) during 1976–2000 and 2000–2020. Our study will help us to better understand the glacier change characteristics in the WNT on a long timescale and will serve as a reference for glacier changes in other regions on the Tibetan Plateau.
We assessed and compared the glacier areal retreat rate and surface thinning rate and the...
