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Heterogeneous mass wastage has been found across the northwestern Tibet Plateau, and both slight positive and negative average mass budgets were observed using different data sets during the past decades. The north bank of the Bangong Co Basin partly covers the Western Kunlun Mountains and Karakoram Mountains. The assessment of glacier mass budget in this region over a long period is of particular interest to understanding the regional diversity of the mass changes of glaciers. Changes in glacier mass in the area of concern were assessed by differentiation of digital elevation models (DEMs) from the earliest available topographic maps, the Shuttle Radar Terrain Mission (SRTM), and the Advanced Space-borne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) stereo images. Results show that glaciers in this basin have in general experienced a decelerated mass loss but with regional differences. Glaciers were found to have lost a volume of 4.45 ± 0.63 km3 from 1968 to 2007, corresponding to -0.18 ± 0...

Due to the effect of Indian monsoon, the Kangri Karpo Mountain, located in southeast Tibetan Plateau, is the most humid region of Tibetan Plateau, and become one of the most important and concentrated regions with maritime (temperate) glaciers development. Glacier mass loss in Kangri Karpo Mountain is important contributor to global mean sea level rise, and it change runoff distribution, increase risk of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). Because of their difficult accessibility and high labor costs, the knowledge of glaciological parameters of glaciers in the Kangri Karpo Mountain is still limited. This study presents glacier elevation changes in the Kangri Karpo Mountain, by utilizing geodetic methods based on digital elevation models (DEM) derived from Topographic Maps (1980), the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) DEM (2000), and TerraSAR-X/TanDEM-X (2014). Glacier area and length changes were derived from Topographical Maps and Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI images between 1980 and 2015. Our results show that the Kangri Karpo Mountain contains 1166 glaciers, with an area of 2048.50 ± 48.65 km2 in 2015. Ice cover in the Kangri Karpo Mountain diminished by 679.51 ± 59.49 km2 (24.9 % ± 2.2 %) or 0.71 % ± 0.06 % a-1 from 1980–2015, however, with nine glaciers in advance from 1980–2015. Glaciers with area of 788.28 km2 in the region, as derived from DEM differencing, have experienced a mean mass deficit of 0.46 ± 0.08 m w.e. a-1 from 1980–2014. These glaciers showed slight accelerated shrinkage and significant accelerated mass loss during 2000–2015 compared to that during 1980–2000, which is consistent with the tendency of climate warming.

The Tibetan Plateau interior area (TPIA), often termed the Qangtang Plateau, is distinguished by many dome-like mountains higher than 6000 ma.s.l. These mountains provide favourable conditions for the development of ice caps and glaciers of extreme continental/subpolar type. According to historical topographic maps (1959–80) and recent Landsat images (2004–11), continuous retreat was observed and the glacierized part of this area decreased by 9.5% (0.27% a–1) with respect to the total glacier area of 8036.4 km2 in the 1970s. Glaciers in the Zhari Namco basin have experienced the highest area shrinkage, with a reduction rate of 0.72% a–1, while the smallest reduction occurred in Bangong Co (0.12% a–1) and Dogai Coying basins (0.11% a–1). A regional gradient of area loss was found, with a larger decrease in the south and a smaller decrease in the north of the plateau. Comparisons indicate glaciers have experienced smaller shrinkage in the TPIA than in surrounding regions. Glacier shrinkage in the TPIA is mainly attributed to an increase in air temperature, while precipitation, glacier size and positive difference of glaciation also played an important role.

The meltwater released by the glaciers in the Aksu-Tarim Catchment, south of Tomur Peak (Central Tien Shan), feeds the Tarim River which is the main artery for the oases at the northern margin of the Taklamakan desert. The correct modeling of the contribution of the glaciers meltwater to the total runoff of the Tarim River is hampered by the lack of mass balance data. Multi-temporal digital terrain models (DTMs) allow the determination of volume changes for large samples of glacier. Here, we present the mass changes for 12 glaciers using 1976 KH-9 Hexagon, 2000 SRTM3 and 2009 SPOT-5 datasets. The results show that most of the glaciers have been losing mass since 1976. The largest glaciers, Koxkar and West Qongterang, lost -0.27+/-0.15 m w.e.a(-1) and -0.43+/-0.15 m w.e.a(-1) between 1976 and 2009, despite thick debris cover. However, some smaller glaciers show mass gain at their tongues indicating glacier surges. Using SRTM3 data the volume gain of Qinbingtan Glacier No. 74 could be dated to the time period 1999-2009. The overall mass budget of -0.33+/-0.15 m w.e.a(-1) (for 1976-2009) of the investigated glaciers is within the variability range of the global average. However, in the recent years (1999-2009) a slightly decelerated mass loss of -0.23+/-0.19 m w.e.a(-1) could be observed. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

This chapter summarizes recent glacier variations in China as investigated using remote-sensing methods. We find that glaciers in China have lost a tremendous amount of ice mass since the Little Ice Age maximum: area and ice volume have decreased by 26.7 and 24.5 % of the respective amounts of glaciers based on maps compiled during the late 1950s and 1980s. Chinese Glaciers have been in a general state of mass loss during recent decades as monitored by satellite remote-sensing methods over glaciers totaling one fifth of the glacier area in China. At present, the ability to monitor ice volume change and the surface velocity of glaciers by satellite is relatively new, but shows potential for glaciers having complex topographical conditions in the high mountains. This is an important research focus, in part because Chinese economic development is locally heavily impacted by changes in the glacier dynamical regime due to (1) glaciers’ role in supplying meltwater to most of the region and (2) potential for local glaciological hazards.