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| Titel |
Spatial patterns in glacier characteristics and area changes from 1962 to 2006 in the Kanchenjunga–Sikkim area, eastern Himalaya |
| VerfasserIn |
A. E. Racoviteanu, Y. Arnaud, M. W. Williams, W. F. Manley |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1994-0416
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: The Cryosphere ; 9, no. 2 ; Nr. 9, no. 2 (2015-03-16), S.505-523 |
| Datensatznummer |
250116766
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/tc-9-505-2015.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
This study investigates spatial patterns in glacier characteristics and area
changes at decadal scales in the eastern Himalaya – Nepal (Arun and Tamor
basins), India (Teesta basin in Sikkim) and parts of China and Bhutan – based
on various satellite imagery: Corona KH4 imagery, Landsat 7 Enhanced
Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) and Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission
Radiometer (ASTER), QuickBird (QB) and WorldView-2 (WV2). We compare and
contrast glacier surface area changes over the period of 1962–2000/2006 and their dependency
on glacier topography (elevation, slope, aspect, percent debris cover) and
climate (solar radiation, precipitation) on the eastern side of the topographic barrier (Sikkim)
versus the western side (Nepal).
Glacier mapping from 2000 Landsat ASTER yielded 1463 ± 88 km2
total glacierized area, of which 569 ± 34 km2 was located in
Sikkim and 488 ± 29 km2 in eastern Nepal. Supraglacial debris
covered 11% of the total glacierized area, and supraglacial lakes covered
about 5.8% of the debris-covered glacier area alone. Glacier area loss (1962
to 2000) was 0.50 ± 0.2% yr−1, with little difference between
Nepal (0.53 ± 0.2% yr−1) and Sikkim (0.44 ± 0.2% yr−1.
Glacier area change was controlled mostly by glacier area,
elevation, altitudinal range and, to a smaller extent, slope and aspect. In
the Kanchenjunga–Sikkim area, we estimated a glacier area loss of 0.23
± 0.08% yr−1 from 1962 to 2006 based on high-resolution
imagery. On a glacier-by-glacier basis, clean glaciers exhibit more area
loss on average from 1962 to 2006 (34%) compared to debris-covered
glaciers (22%). Glaciers in this region of the Himalaya are
shrinking at similar rates to those reported for the last decades in other
parts of the Himalaya, but individual glacier rates of change vary across
the study area with respect to local topography, percent debris cover or
glacier elevations. |
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