High Mountain Asian glacier response to climate revealed by multi-temporal satellite observations since the 1960s
Bhattacharya A. Bolch T. Mukherjee K. King O. Menounos B. Kapitsa V. Neckel N. Yang W. Yao T.
1 December 2021Nature Research
Nature Communications
2021#12Issue 1
Knowledge about the long-term response of High Mountain Asian glaciers to climatic variations is paramount because of their important role in sustaining Asian river flow. Here, a satellite-based time series of glacier mass balance for seven climatically different regions across High Mountain Asia since the 1960s shows that glacier mass loss rates have persistently increased at most sites. Regional glacier mass budgets ranged from −0.40 ± 0.07 m w.e.a−1 in Central and Northern Tien Shan to −0.06 ± 0.07 m w.e.a−1 in Eastern Pamir, with considerable temporal and spatial variability. Highest rates of mass loss occurred in Central Himalaya and Northern Tien Shan after 2015 and even in regions where glaciers were previously in balance with climate, such as Eastern Pamir, mass losses prevailed in recent years. An increase in summer temperature explains the long-term trend in mass loss and now appears to drive mass loss even in regions formerly sensitive to both temperature and precipitation.
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School of Geography and Sustainable Development, University of St Andrews, United Kingdom
Department of Remote Sensing & GIS, JIS University, Kolkata, India
Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, Canada
Institute of Geography, Ministry of Education and Science, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung, Bremerhaven, Germany
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
School of Geography and Sustainable Development
Department of Remote Sensing & GIS
Geography
Institute of Geography
Alfred-Wegener-Institut Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar und Meeresforschung
Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research
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