Elevation change rates of glaciers in the Lahaul-Spiti (Western Himalaya, India) during 2000-2012 and 2012-2013, links to GeoTIFFs files
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| Format: | Dataset Open Access |
| Langue: | en |
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2016
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| _version_ | 1867169117538091008 |
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| author | Vijay, Saurabh Braun, Matthias Holger |
| author_facet | Vijay, Saurabh Braun, Matthias Holger |
| collection | Datos científicos de ciencias marinas y ambientales |
| contents | Previous studies have shown contrasting glacier elevation and mass changes in the sub-regions of high-mountain Asia. However, the elevation changes on an individual catchment scale can be potentially influenced by supraglacial debris, ponds, lakes and ice cliffs besides regionally driven factors. Here, we present a detailed study on elevation changes of glaciers in the Lahaul-Spiti region derived from TanDEM-X and SRTM C-/X-band DEMs during 2000-2012 and 2012-2013. We observe three elevation change patterns during 2000-2012 among glaciers with different extent of supraglacial debris. The first pattern (< 10 % debris cover, type-1) indicates maximum thinning rates at the glacier terminus and is observed for glacier with no or very low debris cover. In the second pattern (> 10 % debris cover, type-2), maximum thinning is observed up-glacier instead of glacier terminus. This is interpreted as the insulating effect of a thick debris cover. A third pattern, high elevation change rates near the terminus despite high debris cover (> 10 % debris cover, type-3) is most likely associated with either thinner debris thickness or enhanced melting at supraglacial ponds and lakes as well as ice cliffs. We empirically determined the SRTM C- and X-band penetration differences for debris-covered ice, clean ice/firn/snow and correct for this bias in our elevation change measurements. We show that this penetration bias, if uncorrected, underestimates the region-wide elevation change and geodetic mass balance by 20 %. After correction, the region-wide elevation change (1712 sqkm) was estimated to be -0.65±0.43 m/yr during 2000-2012. Due to the short observation period, elevation change measurements from TanDEM-X for selected glaciers in the period 2012-2013 are subject to large uncertainties. However, similar spatial patterns were observed during 2000-2012 and 2012-2013, but at different magnitudes. This study reveals that the thinning patterns of debris-covered glaciers cannot be generalized and spatially detailed mapping of glacier elevation change is required to better understand the impact of different surface types under changing climatic conditions. |
| format | Dataset Open Access |
| id | pangaea_https___doi_org_10_1594_PANGAEA_869541 |
| institution | PANGAEA |
| language | en |
| publishDate | 2016 |
| publisher | PANGAEA |
| record_format | pangaea |
| spellingShingle | Elevation change rates of glaciers in the Lahaul-Spiti (Western Himalaya, India) during 2000-2012 and 2012-2013, links to GeoTIFFs files Vijay, Saurabh Braun, Matthias Holger File content; File name; File size; Himalaya; Lahaul-Spiti; SAT; Satellite remote sensing; Uniform resource locator/link to file Previous studies have shown contrasting glacier elevation and mass changes in the sub-regions of high-mountain Asia. However, the elevation changes on an individual catchment scale can be potentially influenced by supraglacial debris, ponds, lakes and ice cliffs besides regionally driven factors. Here, we present a detailed study on elevation changes of glaciers in the Lahaul-Spiti region derived from TanDEM-X and SRTM C-/X-band DEMs during 2000-2012 and 2012-2013. We observe three elevation change patterns during 2000-2012 among glaciers with different extent of supraglacial debris. The first pattern (< 10 % debris cover, type-1) indicates maximum thinning rates at the glacier terminus and is observed for glacier with no or very low debris cover. In the second pattern (> 10 % debris cover, type-2), maximum thinning is observed up-glacier instead of glacier terminus. This is interpreted as the insulating effect of a thick debris cover. A third pattern, high elevation change rates near the terminus despite high debris cover (> 10 % debris cover, type-3) is most likely associated with either thinner debris thickness or enhanced melting at supraglacial ponds and lakes as well as ice cliffs. We empirically determined the SRTM C- and X-band penetration differences for debris-covered ice, clean ice/firn/snow and correct for this bias in our elevation change measurements. We show that this penetration bias, if uncorrected, underestimates the region-wide elevation change and geodetic mass balance by 20 %. After correction, the region-wide elevation change (1712 sqkm) was estimated to be -0.65±0.43 m/yr during 2000-2012. Due to the short observation period, elevation change measurements from TanDEM-X for selected glaciers in the period 2012-2013 are subject to large uncertainties. However, similar spatial patterns were observed during 2000-2012 and 2012-2013, but at different magnitudes. This study reveals that the thinning patterns of debris-covered glaciers cannot be generalized and spatially detailed mapping of glacier elevation change is required to better understand the impact of different surface types under changing climatic conditions. |
| title | Elevation change rates of glaciers in the Lahaul-Spiti (Western Himalaya, India) during 2000-2012 and 2012-2013, links to GeoTIFFs files |
| topic | File content; File name; File size; Himalaya; Lahaul-Spiti; SAT; Satellite remote sensing; Uniform resource locator/link to file |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.869541 |