You are browsing the archive for Himalaya glacier retreat Archives - From a Glacier's Perspective.
November 28, 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 …
November 22, 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 …
November 7, 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. …
January 3, 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 …
May 22, 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, …
March 18, 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 …
January 24, 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 …
December 28, 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 …
October 29, 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 …
October 1, 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 …
Dean of Academic Affairs at Nichols College and Professor of Environmental Science at Nichols College in Massachusetts since 1989. Glaciologist directing the North Cascade Glacier Climate Project since 1984. This project monitors the mass balance and behavior of more glaciers than any other in North America.