Seasonal ice dynamics in the lower ablation zone of Dagongba Glacier, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, from multitemporal UAV images

• Published in: Journal of glaciology Vol. 68; no. 270; pp. 636 - 650
• Main Authors: Fu, Yin, Liu, Qiao, Liu, Guoxiang, Zhang, Bo, Zhang, Rui, Cai, Jialun, Wang, Xiaowen, Xiang, Wei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press 01.08.2022
• Subjects: Ablation; Cliffs; Climate change; Climatic analysis; Cold; Cold season; Comparative analysis; Debris-covered glaciers; Dynamics; Glacial drift; glacier flow; glacier mass balance; Glacier velocities; Glaciers; Global warming; Ground stations; Ice; Lakes; mountain glaciers; Plateaus; Precipitation; Seasonal variations; Seasons; Surface velocity; Unmanned aerial vehicles; Velocity; Warm seasons; Tibetan Plateau; Asia; China; glacier flow; mountain glaciers; glacier mass balance; Debris-covered glaciers
• ISSN: 0022-1430; 1727-5652
• DOI: 10.1017/jog.2021.123

Most glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau have experienced continuous mass losses in response to global warming. However, the seasonal dynamics of glaciers on the southeastern Tibetan Plateau have rarely been reported in terms of glacier surface elevation and velocity. This paper presents a first attempt to explore the seasonal dynamics of the debris-covered Dagongba Glacier within the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. We use the multitemporal unoccupied aerial vehicle images collected over the lower ablation zone on 8 June and 17 October 2018, and 13 May 2019, and then perform an analysis concerning climatic fluctuations. The results reveal that the mean surface elevation decrease of the Dagongba Glacier during the warm season ($2.81\pm 0.44$ m) was remarkably higher than the cold season ($0.72\pm 0.45$ m). Particularly notable glacier surface elevation changes were found around supraglacial lakes and ice cliffs where ice ablation rates were $\sim$3 times higher than the average. In addition, a larger longitudinal decline of glacier surface velocity was observed in the warm season than that in the cold season. In terms of further comparative analysis, the Dagongba Glacier experienced a decrease in surface velocity between 1982–83 and 2018–19, with a decrease in the warm season possibly twice as large as that in the cold season.