Fluctuations and movements of the Kuksai Glacier, western China, derived from Landsat image sequences

Abstract

Abstract. Nine Landsat thematic mapper/enhanced thematic mapper (TM/ETM)+ images from 1998 to 2010 were analyzed to detect variations in the Kuksai Glacier of Mt. Muztagh Ata, western China. The velocities of glacial movement were quantified using the normalized cross-correlation (NCC) method. The surface debris cover of the glacier makes automated glacier outline mapping difficult, but provides useful features for monitoring glacier movement with the NCC method. Six displacement maps of the Kuksai Glacier, with an accuracy of 7 m, were derived from the band 3 of Landsat images. The NCC method is proven to be very effective in monitoring the activity of debris-covered glaciers. The results indicate that the velocity of the Kuksai Glacier is high in the upper portion and decreases downstream. For most of the years studied, the variability in the glacier movements in the middle and upper parts of the glacier, especially at 9 to 16 km upstream from the glacier terminal, is much larger than that in the downstream part. This study demonstrates that glacial movements can be routinely monitored using Landsat images, providing an input to and an opportunity for the detailed study of glacier dynamics. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

Four decades of glacier variations at Muztagh Ata (eastern Pamir): a multi-sensor study including Hexagon KH-9 and Pléiades data

“…are usually covered by debris, with increasing debris thicknesses of up to several metres at lower altitudes (Yang et al, 2013). This demonstrates that glaciers may have negative mass balances despite thick debris cover and stable terminus positions.…”

“…With a length of ∼ 18 km and an extent of 86.5 km 2 the debris-covered Kekesayi Glacier is by far the largest glacier of this massif (Shangguan et al, 2006;Seong et al, 2009b, a;Yang et al, 2013). Muztagh Ata is situated in one of the driest glacierized areas of China and one of the coldest environments in these low-and mid-latitude regions (Shangguan et al, 2006;Zhou et al, 2014).…”

“…(Shangguan et al, 2006). From 1957 to 2010 the mean annual temperature at this station was measured to be at +3.4 • C, the mean summer temperature at +15.1 • C (June-August), and the mean annual precipitation at ∼ 70 mm (Yan et al, 2013b;Yang et al, 2013). Summer precipitation at the glacier accumulation zone at Muztagh Ata is estimated to account for 30 % of the total annual amount, which was measured to be ∼ 300 mm at 5910 m a.s.l.…”

“…This was previously identified with similar methods by Pellicciotti et al (2015) for debriscovered glaciers in central Himalaya. Yang et al (2013) set a polynomial fit through multi-annual surface movements of Kekesayi Glacier, which were measured between 1998 and 2010 from Landsat imagery. The average upstream velocity of up to 50 m per year (∼ 14 cm per day) is in the range of our measurements, while Zhou et al (2014) presents winter velocities that did not exceed ∼ 11 m per year from 2008 to 2010.…”

“…of anomalously high topography reaches ∼ 1500 m higher than most neighbouring peaks in the eastern Pamir (Seong et al, 2009b;Yang et al, 2013). Its glaciers are seasonal to long-term water resources and play an important regulating role for downstream freshwater supply.…”