Remote sensing of glacier distribution and change over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau

Abstract

Glacier change over the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) provides an important clue to climate change in the remote high-altitude areas, and impacts various aspects of regional environment. Observations of mountain glaciers over the QTP are yet far from sufficient. Remote sensing techniques enable mapping and monitoring glaciers over an extensive region, from different dimensions and with regular revisit time. At present, mapping debris-covered glaciers and estimating glacier mass balances are one of the most challenging issues. This study illustrates the use of remote sensing techniques for glacier mapping and change detection, with multi-temporal and multi-source data. We show contrasting behavior of different type glaciers (temperate, semi-continental and continental) in three typical densely glacierized sub-regions of the plateau, mainly based on elevation data from ICESat and Landsat imagery. Glacier-climate interaction is analyzed further. Here we stress the challenges of applying remote sensing techniques for mapping and monitoring glaciers over the QTP, and prospects in future studies.