You are browsing the archive for Himalaya glacier retreat Archives - AGU Blogosphere.
28 November 2022
North Annapurna Glacier, Nepal Retreat and Lake Development
North Annapurna Glacier in August 2022 Sentinel image. A=North Annapurna Base Camp, I=icefall base, B= Prominent Knob, C=tributary that has separated by 2022. The green arrow marks the end of the active ice which is now 1.5 km upglacier of the terminus. Note Diki Cho (lake) is relatively free of icebergs that were plentiful in 2018. North Annapurna Glacier drains the northeast side of Annapurna (8091 m). The North Annapurna …
22 November 2022
Suru Basin, Ladakh India Glaciers Bare of Snowcover in August 2022
Suru Basin glaciers in 1998 and 2022 Landsat images. Red arrow marks the 1998 terminus location, yellow arrow the 2022 terminus location. S=Shafat Glacier, D=Dilung Glacier. Glacier 1-4 are unnamed glaciers that lost almost all snowcover in 2022. Glaciers of the Suru Basin, draining the Ladakh Range, a drier region of the Himalaya, was significantly by the 2022 pre-monsoon and monsoon season warmth. Here we focus on a group of …
7 November 2022
Bara Shigri Glacier, India Separation of Tributaries
Bara Shigri Glacier in 1993 and 2022 Landsat images indicating the separation of a number of tributaries. Purple dots mark the snowline 1993=5050 m and 2022=5600 m. Bara Shigri Glacier, India is in Chandra Valley of the Western Himalaya. Chand et al (2017) report on the behavior of the glacier from the Little Ice Age to 2014 noting a retreat of 255 m from 1992-2002 and 168 m from 2002-2014. …
3 January 2022
Changsang Glacier, Sikkim 2 km retreat and Lake Expansion 1989-2021
Changsang Glacier in Landsat images from 1989 and 2021, illustrating a 2.05 km retreat from 1989 terminus position-red arrow to the 2021 terminus position-yellow arrow. Formation of a new lake is also evident. The snowline is marked by purple dots. Changsang Glacier (Karda Glacier) is a valley glacier just north of Kanchengjunga, Nepal/Sikkim. A comparison of Landsat imagery from 1989 to 2021 identifies the formation of a lake at the …
22 May 2021
Mena Kang West Glacier retreat and lake expansion, Tibet, China
Mena Kang West Glacier in 2002, 2020 and 2021 Landsat images. Red arrow is the 2000 terminus location, yellow arrow the 2021 terminus location and pink dots the snowline. “Mena Kang West” Glacier is an unnamed glacier that is to the west of Mena Kang (6140 m) at 28 N, 91.6 W in Tibet, China. The glacier drains into the Nyamjang Chu, which flows south in Arunachal Pradesh, …
18 March 2021
Bailang and Angge Glacier, China Retreat and Lake Expansion 1995-2020
Bailang (B) and Angge Glacier (A) in 1995 and 2020 Landsat images indicating retreat and lake expansion. Red arrow is the 1995 terminus location, yellow arrow the 2020 terminus location, purple arrow rock ridges that expand separating tributaries. Chubda Glacier (C) to the south and an unnamed glacier Point D between Angge and Bailang. Bailang Glacier and Angge Glacier, China are adjacent to the Chubda Glacier, Bhutan, They drain north from …
24 January 2021
January 2021 Thaw on Mount Everest Region Generates Ablation, Rolwaling Glacier, Nepal
Rolwaling Glacier in October 13, 2020, December 16, 2020 and January 17, 2021 Landsat imagery indicating the snow line rise that has persisted into mid- winter. Snow line indicated by yellow dots. Recent observations of rising snow lines on glaciers during the October- 2020-January 2021 period in Landsat imagery indicates that once again there is significant ablation occurring on Himalayan glaciers, as has been the case in several recent years …
28 December 2020
Nangpa La and Nup La, Mount Everest Region are snow free through December 2020
Nangpa La (NPL) and Nup La (NL) in Landsat images from 10-13-2020 and 12-16-2020, CO=Cho Oyu Peak and purple dots indicate the snowline. Both passes can be crossed without traversing snow on December 16. The winter monsoon for the Nepal Himalaya is a dry cold period with limited precipitation or new snow accumulation. Mount Everest region glaciers are summer accumulation type glaciers with ~75% of annual precipitation occurring during the …
29 October 2020
Baqupu Glacier, China Merging Supraglacial Lakes 1998-2020
Baqupu Glacier in Landsat images from 1998 and 2020 indicating the expansion of supraglacial lakes in the terminus zone. Purples dots indicate the snowline in October of each year. Baqupu Glacier is in the Poiqu River watershed in southern Tibet, China. The Poiqu River becomes the Bhote Koshi as it crosses into Nepal before joining the Sun Koshi River. The terminus of the glacier extending from 4500-4800 m is debris …
1 October 2020
Jiemayangzong Glacier, Tibet Retreat, Separation and Lake Expansion 1991-2020
Jiemayangzong Glacier in 1991 and 2020 Landsat images. The red arrow is the 1991 terminus location, yellow arrow is the 2020 terminus location and purple dots mark the snowline. Point A indicates a tributary that has disconnected, while bedrock expanded at Point B. Jiemayangzong Glacier drains east from 6200 m peaks along the Nepal-China border. The glacier ends in a lake- Jiemayangzong Tso. Ren et al (2016) identify this as …
27 January 2020
Reqiang and Jicongpu Glacier Retreat, Lake Expansion and Moraine Stability Increase
Reqiang Glacier (R) and Jicongpu Glacier (J) in 1993 and 2019 Landsat images. M=Moraine, red arrow is the 1993 terminus location, yellow arrow the 2019 terminus location and purple dots the snowline. Requiang Glacier, Tibet is just east of Shishapangma Mountain one of planets 14 peaks that exceed 8000 m and terminates in the rapidly expanding proglacial lake Gangxico at 5200 m. Jicongpu Glacier drains south from Shishapangma terminating in …
29 December 2019
Mount Everest Region Glaciers December 2019 Limited Accumulation Area
Mount Everest region snowline identified on Dec. 11, 2019 Landsat image (yellow dots). Green dots indicate the terminus and pink arrows flow direction of specific glaciers: T=Trakarding, DN=Drogpa Nagtsang, M=Melung, BK=Bhote Koshi, S=Shalong, Y=Yanong, G=Gyabarg, YN=Yanong North, GY=Gyachung, J=Jiuda, R=Rongbuk, ER=East Rongbuk, I=Imja, L=Lhotse, M=Marala, K=Khumbu, N=Ngozumpa. The winter monsoon for the Himalaya is a dry cold period with limited new snow accumulation. The Landsat image of Dec. 11, 2019 …
9 September 2019
Retreat of West Barun Glacier and Barun Tsho expansion, Nepal 1994-2018
West Barun Glacier terminus retreat and lake expansion in 1994 and 2018 Landsat images. Red arrow is the 1994 terminus location, yellow arrow the 2018 terminus location, green arrow Seto Pohkari and purple dots the snowline. The West Barun Glacier flows southwest from Baruntse Peak at 7100 meters ending at Lower Barun Tsho (Barun Tsho) at 4500 meters. Comparison of Landsat images from 1994, 2000, 2015 and 2019 indicate the …
9 January 2019
Drogpa Nagtsang Glacier, China Mass Balance Loss, Separation, Slow Down
Drogpa Nagtsang Glacier change in Landsat image from 1989 and 2018. Yellow arrow indicates 2018 terminus location, red arrow 1989 terminus location, red dot the lowest elevation of clean glacier ice. Points A-E are the same locations for comparison. Drogpa Nagtsang Glacier, China is a glacier that is 30 km west of Mount Everest that terminates in an expanding proglacial lake. The glacier begins on the Nepal border at 6400 …
8 November 2018
Reru Glacier, Kashmir Retreat and Lake Expansion
Reru Glacier in 1998 and 2018 Landsat images. The red arrow indicates the 1998 terminus location, the pink arrow a recent landslide, Point 1 and 2 are tributaries that are losing connection with the main glacier and purple dots are the snowline. Reru Glacier, Kashmir is at the headwaters of the Reru River, which drains into the Doda River and then the Zanskar River. Murtaza et al (2017) noted a …
26 October 2018
Lapche Glacier, China Supraglacial Ponds Transitioning to Lake
Lapche Glacier (Tibet 1), China in 1992 and 2018 Landsat images. The expansion of supraglacial ponds is evident between Point 2 and 3. A tributary that detaches between 1992 and 2018 is indicated by red arrow. The end of the clean ice and start of debris cover ice is just below Point 1 in 1992 and well above this Point in 2018. Lapche Glacier (Tibet 1), China flows east from …
2 October 2018
High Glacier Snow Line Post-Monsoon 2018 on Bhutan-China Border
Angge Glacier (A) and Bailang Glacier (B) in China and Chubda Glacier (C) in Bhutan in Post Monsoon 1995 and 2018 Landsat images indicating the snowline purple dots is exceptionally high in 2018. Red arrow is the 1995 terminus location and yellow arrows the 2018 terminus location. Point 1-3 are glacier passes from China into Bhutan. The end of the monsoon season leads to finally some clear satellite images of …
17 May 2018
Winter Season Ablation in 2018 Mount Everest Region, Himalaya
Landsat images from Nov. 17 2017 and Feb. 10 2018 indicate a rise in the snowline, purple dots, on glaciers east of Mount Everest, indicating ablation even in winter from the terminus to the snowline. Rongbuk Glacier=R, East Rongbuk Glacier=ER Far East Rongbuk Glacier=F, Kada Glacier=K, Barun Glacier=B, Imja Glacier=I and Kangshung Glacier=KX. The Mount Everest region glaciers are summer accumulation type glaciers with 70% of the annual precipitation occurring …
6 December 2017
Zhongni Glacier Retreat, China and Hydropower
Zhongni Glacier changes from in Landsat images from 1994 to 2015. The red arrow is the 1994 terminus, yellow arrow the 2015 terminus, purple dots the snowline and purple arrows lakes adjacent to the margin of the western glacier in 1994. Zhongni Glacier is 15 km northwest of Gangotri Glacier just across the border into China. The glacier drains in to the Langgen Zangbo, which becomes the Sutlej River in India. …
1 November 2017
Chaxiqudong Glacier, Tibet Retreat From Lake & Tributary Separation
Chaxiqudong Glacier (C) at right and Paqu Glacier (P) at left in Landsat images from 1992 and 2017. The red arrow indicates the terminus in 1992 and the yellow dots the 2017 margin. Purple arrow indicates a glacier that disappeared and orange arrow separation of Paqu Glacier. Both glaciers no longer reach the lake. Chaxiqudong Glacier and Paqu Glacier are located in a sub-range north of the Nepal-China border. Chaxiqudong …
