As an integral part of the Asian water tower, the spatiotemporal characteristics of Himalayan glaciers are closely linked to climate and the environment. Using Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI image data, the distributions of and changes in glacial areas in the middle Himalayas from 1990 to 2020 were extracted and analysed through the ratio threshold method and manual visual interpretation. The findings revealed a retreat of glaciers over the past 30 years, with the glacial area decreasing from 8584.75 km2 in 1990 to 7210.79 km2 in 2020, indicating a reduction of 1373.97 km2 (16.00%) and an average annual retreat rate of 0.53%. Debris-covered glaciers and debris-free glaciers show similar proportions in the study area, but the former exhibit a significantly lower annual retreat rate (−0.30%) than the latter (−0.78%), suggesting that moraine may impede glacier retreat. Glacial morphology encompasses valley glaciers, hanging glaciers, cirque glaciers, cirque valley glaciers, and flat-topped glaciers. Among these glaciers, valley glaciers constitute the primary glacier type in the study area, accounting for approximately 50% of the total area, whereas flat-top glaciers are the least common. Moraines associated with valley glaciers are relatively developed; debris-covered glaciers represent 75.74% of this glacier type, whereas flat-topped glaciers are entirely debris-free.
AnBWangWYangW, et al. (2022) Process, mechanisms, and early warning of glacier collapse-induced river blocking disasters in the Yarlung Tsangpo Grand Canyon, southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Science of the Total Environment816: 151652.
2.
BennDIOwenLA (2002) Himalayan glacial sedimentary environments: a framework for reconstructing and dating the former extent of glaciers in high mountains. Quaternary International97-98: 3–25.
3.
BhambriRBolchT (2009) Glacier mapping: a review with special reference to the Indian Himalayas. Progress in Physical Geography33(5): 672–704.
4.
BolchTYaoTKangS, et al. (2010a) A glacier inventory for the western Nyainqentanglha Range and the Nam Co Basin, Tibet, and glacier changes 1976–2009. The Cryosphere4(3): 419–433.
5.
BolchTMenounosBWheateRD (2010b) Landsat-based inventory of glaciers in western Canada, 1985–2005. Remote Sensing of Environment114(1): 127–137.
6.
BraunAFotopoulosG (2007) Assessment of SRTM, ICESat, and survey control monument elevations in Canada. Photogrammetric Engineering & Remote Sensing73(12): 1333–1342.
7.
BrunnerMIBjörnsen GurungAZappaM, et al. (2019) Present and future water scarcity in Switzerland: potential for alleviation through reservoirs and lakes. Science of the Total Environment666: 1033–1047.
8.
CarettaMAMukherjiAArfanuzzamanM, et al. (2023) Water. in: Climate Change 2022 - Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability: Working Group II Contribution to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 551–712.
ChenJZhangXNavasA, et al. (2020) A study on a 210Pbex accumulation-decay model for dating moraine soils to trace glacier retreat time. Journal of Environmental Radioactivity212: 106124.
11.
CollierEMaussionFNicholsonLI, et al. (2015) Impact of debris cover on glacier ablation and atmosphere–glacier feedbacks in the Karakoram. The Cryosphere9(4): 1617–1632.
12.
GardelleJBerthierEArnaudY (2012) Impact of resolution and radar penetration on glacier elevation changes computed from DEM differencing. Journal of Glaciology58(208): 419–422.
13.
GranshawFDG FountainA (2006) Glacier change (1958-1998) in the north cascades national park complex, Washington, USA. Journal of Glaciology52(177): 251–256.
14.
HuJPGuanXRLiuXJ (2017) Spatial distribution of SRTM DEM and ASTER GDEM error in China. Geography and Geo-Information Science33(4): 28–33.
15.
HuaiBLiZWangS, et al. (2014) RS analysis of glaciers change in the Heihe River Basin, Northwest China, during the recent decades. Journal of Geographical Sciences24(6): 993–1008.
16.
JiQDongJLiuR, et al. (2020) Glacier Changes in Response to Climate Change in the Himalayas in 1990-2015. SCIENTIA GEOGRAPHICA SINICA40(3): 486–496.
17.
JiQYangTBLiMQ, et al. (2022) Variations in glacier coverage in the Himalayas based on optical satellite data over the past 25 years. Catena214: 106240.
18.
JuryMWMendlikTTaniS, et al. (2020) Climate projections for glacier change modelling over the Himalayas. International Journal of Climatology40(3): 1738–1754.
19.
KääbALeinssSGilbertA, et al. (2018) Massive collapse of two glaciers in western Tibet in 2016 after surge-like instability. Nature Geoscience11(2): 114–120.
20.
KaranasiouADiapouliECavalliF, et al. (2011) On the quantification of atmospheric carbonate carbon by thermal/optical analysis protocols. Atmospheric Measurement Techniques4(11): 2409–2419.
21.
LiJJSuZ (1996) Glaciers in the Hengduan Mountains. Beijing: Science Press, 70–110.
22.
LiJLiZWWangCC, et al. (2013) Using SAR offsettracking approach to estimate surface motion of the south inylchek glacier in tianshan. Chinese Journal of Geophysics56(4): 1226–1236.
23.
LiGLinHYeQ (2018) Heterogeneous decadal glacier downwasting at the Mt. Everest (Qomolangma) from 2000 to ∼ 2012 based on multi-baseline bistatic SAR interferometry. Remote Sensing of Environment206: 336–349.
24.
LiangSSYanSY (2014) Glacier surface flow velocity field estimation using SAR images of muztag ata. Science Technology and Engineering14(23): 140–145.
25.
MaXYLiCJ (2021) Research progress on black carbon in snow and ice in the three polar regions. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology43(1): 92–106.
26.
NagaiHFujitaKNuimuraT, et al. (2013) Southwest-facing slopes control the formation of debris-covered glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya. The Cryosphere7(4): 1303–1314.
27.
OerlemansJ (1989) On the response of valley glaciers to climatic change[C]//Glacier Fluctuations and Climatic Change. In: Proceedings of the Symposium on Glacier Fluctuations and Climatic Change, Held in Amsterdam, 1–5 June 1987. Netherlands: Springer, 353–371.
28.
OlsonMRupperS (2019) Impacts of topographic shading on direct solar radiation for valley glaciers in complex topography. The Cryosphere13(1): 29–40.
29.
PanBTZhangGLWangJ, et al. (2012) Glacier changes from 1966–2009 in the Gongga Mountains, on the south-eastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and their climatic forcing. The Cryosphere6(5): 1087–1101.
30.
PaulFHuggelCKääbA (2004) Combining satellite multispectral image data and a digital elevation model for mapping debris-covered glaciers. Remote Sensing of Environment89: 510–518.
31.
PaulFBolchTKääbA, et al. (2015) The glaciers climate change initiative: methods for creating glacier area, elevation change and velocity products. Remote Sensing of Environment162: 408–426.
32.
PörtnerHORobertsDCAdamsH, et al. (2022) Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Geneva: IPCC Sixth Assessment Report.
33.
QinDH (1999) Map of Glacier Resources in the Himalayas. Beijing: Science Press.
34.
RadićVHockROerlemansJ (2008) Analysis of scaling methods in deriving future volume evolutions of valley glaciers. Journal of Glaciology54(187): 601–612.
35.
RenJWQinDHKangSC, et al. (2003) Glacier changes and climate warming and drying characteristics in the middle Himalayas. Scientific Bulletin48(23): 2478–2482.
36.
RobelAARoeGHHaseloffM (2018) Response of marine-terminating glaciers to forcing: time scales, sensitivities, instabilities, and stochastic dynamics. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface123(9): 2205–2227.
37.
SalernoFGuyennonNThakuriS, et al. (2015) Weak precipitation, warm winters and springs impact glaciers of south slopes of Mt. Everest (central Himalaya) in the last 2 decades (1994–2013). The Cryosphere9(3): 1229–1247.
38.
ShangguanDLiuSDingY, et al. (2014) Glacier changes in the Koshi River basin, central Himalaya, from 1976 to 2009, derived from remote-sensing imagery. Annals of Glaciology55(66): 61–68.
39.
ShiYF, et al. (1995) The growth of glaciology in China. Beijing: Scientific and Technical Literature Press, 42–53.
40.
ShiYFHuangMHYaoTD, et al. (2000) Chinese Glaciers and the Environment- Present, Past and Future. Beijing: Science Press.
41.
ShiYFLiuSYShangguanD, et al. (2006) Two peculiar phenomena of climatic and glacial variations in the Tibetan Plateau. Advances in Climate Change Research2(4): 154–160.
42.
SongBHeYPangH, et al. (2007) Identifying automatically the debris-covered glaciers in China’s monsoonal temperate-glacier regions based on remote sensing and GIS. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology29(3): 456–462.
43.
Stocker-WaldhuberMFischerAHelfrichtK, et al. (2019) Long-term records of glacier surface velocities in the Ötztal Alps (Austria). Earth System Science Data11(2): 705–715.
44.
WangSKeC (2018) Distribution and change of glacier velocity in the Himalayas based on ALOS PALSAR. Remote Sensing Technology and Application33(05): 942–955.
45.
WangXLiuSYMoHW, et al. (2011) Expansion of glacial lakes and its implication for climate changes in the Chinese Himalaya. Acta Geographica Sinica66(7): 895–904.
46.
WangXWuKPJiangLH, et al. (2013) Wide expansion of glacial lakes in Tianshan Mountains during1990-2010. Acta Geographica Sinica68(7): 983–993.
47.
WangXLiuQJiangL, et al. (2015) Analysis of the characteristics of glacier velocity and its influencing factors in the Mount Everest region of the Himalayas based on SAR imagery. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology37(03): 570–579.
48.
WuMHanYSZhangDS, et al. (2017) Information extraction method of debris-covered glaciers in bomi county. Mountain Research35(2): 238–245.
49.
WuKPLiuSYGuoWQ (2020) Glacier variation and its response to climate change in the Mount Namjagbarwa from 1980 to 2015. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology42(4): 1115–1125.
50.
WuGHWangNAHuSX, et al. (2008) Physiography. Beijing: Higher Education Press, 240–242.
YaoTDLiZGYangW, et al. (2010) Glacial distribution and mass balance in the Yarlung Zangbo River and its influence on lakes. Chinese Science Bulletin55(20): 2072–2078.
53.
YeQBolchTNaruseR, et al. (2015) Glacier mass changes in Rongbuk catchment on Mt. Qomolangma from 1974 to 2006 based on topographic maps and ALOS PRISM data. Journal of Hydrology530: 273–280.
54.
ZhangYLiuS (2017) Research progress on debris thickness estimation and its effect on debris-covered glaciers in western China. Acta Geographica Sinica72: 1606–1620.
55.
ZhangDXiaoCQinD (2009) Himalayan glaciers fluctuation over the latest decades and its impact on water resources. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology31(5): 885–895.
56.
ZhangYKangSSprengerM, et al. (2018) Black carbon and mineral dust in snow cover on the Tibetan Plateau. The Cryosphere12(2): 413–431.
