Glacier Mass Balance in the Kangri Karpo Mountains by ZY-3 Stereo Images and SRTM DEMs between 2000 and 2017

Abstract

Mountain glaciers are one of the major fresh water resources. Glacier mass balance on the Tibetan Plateau (TP) can directly reflect local climate change and plays a crucial role in the terrestrial water cycle and food security of local people. In this study, we improved the procedure to analyze Three-Line-Array (TLA) stereo images to estimate the glaciers mass balance in Kangri Karpo mountains using Zi Yuan-3 (ZY-3) TLA data and C-band Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) Digital Elevation Model (DEM) in two periods, i.e. 2000-2013 and 2013-2017. The results showed that the mean mass balance of glaciers between 2000 and 2017 was -0.91 ± 0.02 m w.e. a^-1. The glaciers presented accelerated mass loss in recent years (2013-2017, -2.84 ±0.05 m w.e. a^-1), compared with the first decade in 21st (2000-2013, -1.59 ± 0.03 m w.e. a^-1), while the melt rate in debris-covered glaciers was larger than in clean-ice glaciers.