Glacier elevation and mass changes over the central Karakoram region estimated from TanDEM-X and SRTM/X-SAR digital elevation models. Issue 71 (March 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Rankl, Melanie; Braun, Matthias
• Is Part Of: Annals of glaciology. Volume 57:Issue 71(2016)
• Page Start: 273
• Page End: 281
• Publication Date: 2016-03
• Subjects: glacier mass balance, -- glacier surges, -- mountain glaciers, -- remote sensing; Glaciology -- Periodicals; 551.3105 qA613
• DOI: 10.3189/2016AoG71A024
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0260-3055

Abstract

Abstract: Snow cover and glaciers in the Karakoram region are important freshwater resources for many down-river communities as they provide water for irrigation and hydropower. A better understanding of current glacier changes is hence an important informational baseline. We present glacier elevation changes in the central Karakoram region using TanDEM-X and SRTM/X-SAR DEM differences between 2000 and 2012. We calculated elevation differences for glaciers with advancing and stable termini or surge-type glaciers separately using an inventory from a previous study. Glaciers with stable and advancing termini since the 1970s showed nearly balanced elevation changes of -0.09 ±0.12 m a -1 on average or mass budgets of -0.01 ±0.02Gt a -1 (using a density of 850 kg m -3 ). Our findings are in accordance with previous studies indicating stable or only slightly negative glacier mass balances during recent years in the Karakoram. The high-resolution elevation changes revealed distinct patterns of mass relocation at glacier surfaces during active surge cycles. The formation of kinematic waves at quiescent surge-type glaciers could be observed and points towards future active surge behaviour. Our study reveals the potential of the TanDEM-X mission to estimate geodetic glacier mass balances, but also points to still existing uncertainties induced by the geodetic method.