Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery
Positive glacier-mass balances in the Karakoram region during the last decade have fostered stable and advancing glacier termini positions, while glaciers in the adjacent mountain ranges have been affected by glacier recession and thinning. In addition to fluctuations induced solely by climate, the...
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:b18137fa4e154f5291ec9aa24efb49b1 2023-05-15T18:32:21+02:00 Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery M. Rankl C. Kienholz M. Braun 2014-05-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-977-2014 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/977/2014/tc-8-977-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/article/b18137fa4e154f5291ec9aa24efb49b1 en eng Copernicus Publications 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-8-977-2014 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/977/2014/tc-8-977-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/article/b18137fa4e154f5291ec9aa24efb49b1 undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 8, Iss 3, Pp 977-989 (2014) geo envir Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2014 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-977-2014 2023-01-22T18:13:57Z Positive glacier-mass balances in the Karakoram region during the last decade have fostered stable and advancing glacier termini positions, while glaciers in the adjacent mountain ranges have been affected by glacier recession and thinning. In addition to fluctuations induced solely by climate, the Karakoram is known for a large number of surge-type glaciers. The present study provides an updated and extended inventory on advancing, stable, retreating, and surge-type glaciers using Landsat imagery from 1976 to 2012. Out of 1219 glaciers the vast majority showed a stable terminus (969) during the observation period. Sixty-five glaciers advanced, 93 glaciers retreated, and 101 surge-type glaciers were identified, of which 10 are new observations. The dimensional and topographic characteristics of each glacier class were calculated and analyzed. Ninety percent of nonsurge-type glaciers are shorter than 10 km, whereas surge-type glaciers are, in general, longer. We report short response times of glaciers in the Karakoram and suggest a shift from negative to balanced/positive mass budgets in the 1980s or 1990s. Additionally, we present glacier surface velocities derived from different SAR (synthetic aperture radar) sensors and different years for a Karakoram-wide coverage. High-resolution SAR data enables the investigation of small and relatively fast-flowing glaciers (e.g., up to 1.8 m day−1 during an active phase of a surge). The combination of multitemporal optical imagery and SAR-based surface velocities enables an improved, Karakoram-wide glacier inventory and hence, provides relevant new observational information on the current state of glaciers in the Karakoram. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Unknown The Cryosphere 8 3 977 989 |
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geo envir M. Rankl C. Kienholz M. Braun Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery |
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description |
Positive glacier-mass balances in the Karakoram region during the last decade have fostered stable and advancing glacier termini positions, while glaciers in the adjacent mountain ranges have been affected by glacier recession and thinning. In addition to fluctuations induced solely by climate, the Karakoram is known for a large number of surge-type glaciers. The present study provides an updated and extended inventory on advancing, stable, retreating, and surge-type glaciers using Landsat imagery from 1976 to 2012. Out of 1219 glaciers the vast majority showed a stable terminus (969) during the observation period. Sixty-five glaciers advanced, 93 glaciers retreated, and 101 surge-type glaciers were identified, of which 10 are new observations. The dimensional and topographic characteristics of each glacier class were calculated and analyzed. Ninety percent of nonsurge-type glaciers are shorter than 10 km, whereas surge-type glaciers are, in general, longer. We report short response times of glaciers in the Karakoram and suggest a shift from negative to balanced/positive mass budgets in the 1980s or 1990s. Additionally, we present glacier surface velocities derived from different SAR (synthetic aperture radar) sensors and different years for a Karakoram-wide coverage. High-resolution SAR data enables the investigation of small and relatively fast-flowing glaciers (e.g., up to 1.8 m day−1 during an active phase of a surge). The combination of multitemporal optical imagery and SAR-based surface velocities enables an improved, Karakoram-wide glacier inventory and hence, provides relevant new observational information on the current state of glaciers in the Karakoram. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Rankl C. Kienholz M. Braun |
author_facet |
M. Rankl C. Kienholz M. Braun |
author_sort |
M. Rankl |
title |
Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery |
title_short |
Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery |
title_full |
Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery |
title_fullStr |
Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery |
title_full_unstemmed |
Glacier changes in the Karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery |
title_sort |
glacier changes in the karakoram region mapped by multimission satellite imagery |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-977-2014 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/977/2014/tc-8-977-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/article/b18137fa4e154f5291ec9aa24efb49b1 |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 8, Iss 3, Pp 977-989 (2014) |
op_relation |
1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-8-977-2014 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/8/977/2014/tc-8-977-2014.pdf https://doaj.org/article/b18137fa4e154f5291ec9aa24efb49b1 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-8-977-2014 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
8 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
977 |
op_container_end_page |
989 |
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