From a Glacier's Perspective

June 7, 2016

Bailang Glacier and Angge Glacier Retreat, China 1995-2015

Comparison of 1995 and 2015 Landsat image illustrating 1995 (red arrows) and 2015 terminus locations (yellow arrows) of Bailang Glacier (B) and Angge Glacier (A). Purple arrows indicate areas upglacier of expanding bedrock due to glacier thinning. Head of Chubda Glacier (C), Bhutan indicated. Bailang Glacier and Angge Glacier, China are adjacent to the Chubda Glacier, Bhutan. Despite being in a different nation on a different side of the Himalaya, the …

June 2, 2016

Chubda Glacier Retreat, Bhutan 1995-2015

Chubda Glacier comparison in 1995 and 2015 images. Red arrow indicates 1995 terminus location and yellow arrow is 2015 terminus location. Pink arrows indicate areas upglacier of expanding bedrock. Green arrow indicates moraine areas amidst the lake. The orange arrow indicates a secondary glacier. Chubda Glacier, Bhutan drains south from Chura Kang on the Bhutan/China border. The glacier terminates in Chubda Tsho, a glacier moraine dammed lake, Komori (2011) notes …

April 14, 2016

Goddess of Light (Kolahoi) Glacier Showing Mortality, Kashmir Retreat 1993-2015

Kolahoi Glacier comparison in Landsat images from 1993 to 2014. Kolahoi Glacier is the northern glacier, East Kolahoi Glacier the other noted glacier. Red arrows indicate 1993 terminus locations, and yellow arrows the 2014 terminus locations. The Kolahoi Glacier in Kashmir is known as the—”goddess of light”—Gwash Brani (NatGeo, 2010). The glacier descends the north side of the mountain with two tongues of the glacier merging above the terminus in 1993. The …

January 26, 2016

Where is the snow at Nup La, 5850 m, West Rongbuk Glacier?

Landsat image from January 4, 2016 indicating the actual Nup La (N). Purples dots is the snowline. Green arrows are expanding bedrock exposures and pink arrow a specific rock know amidst the glacier. Nup La at 5850 m is on the Nepal-China border and is the divide between the West Rongbuk Glacier and the Ngozumpa Glacier. The pass should be part of the accumulation zone of both glaciers. In recent …

December 23, 2015

Kanchenjunga Glacier, Nepal Volume Losses

Figure 10-16. Kanchenjunga Glacier (K) from 1991 to 2015, green arrows indicate locations of enhanced supraglacial lakes since 1991. Purple arrow indicates areas of thinning at higher elevations in the region. Location 2 is the main junction area. Kanchenjunga Glacier is the main glacier draining west from Kanchenjunga Peak, also listed on maps as Kumbukarni. The glacier is similar to Zemu Glacier flowing east from the same mountain into Sikkim, …

June 2, 2015

Midui Glacier, Tibet, China: Retreat and Terminus Collapse 1995-2014

Midui Glacier is 7 km from the G318 National Highway in China and 2 km from Midui village, hence the lake near the terminus is often visited. The glacier is near the headwaters of Yarlung Tsangpo. Glaciers in this region have experienced significant retreat and area loss as noted by the second China Glacier inventory. This compared glacier area from the 1950’s, 2002 and 2010, Liu et al (2013) noted …

April 13, 2015

Menlung Glacier Rapid Retreat & Lake Expansion, Tibet, China 1992-2014

Menlung Glacier is one valley north of the China/Tibet border with Nepal and on the south side of Menlungste Peak. Menlung Glacier has a glacier lake at its terminus that is dammed by the glacier’s moraine. The glacier began to withdraw from the moraine and the lake began to develop after the 1951 expedition to the area. The glacier lake is at 5050 meters, the glacier descends from 7000 meters …