The advancing of glaciers is a manifestation of dynamic glacial instability. Glaciers in the Tien Shan region, especially in the Central Tien Shan, show instability, and advancing glaciers have been recently detected. In this study, we used Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI remote sensing images to identify glaciers in the Tien Shan region from 1990 to 2019 and found that 48 glaciers advanced. Among them, thirty-four glaciers exhibited terminal advances, and 14 glaciers experienced advances on the tributary or trunk. Ten of the glaciers experiencing terminal advances have been identified as surging glaciers. These 48 glaciers are distributed in the western part of the Halik and Kungey Mountain Ranges in the Central Tien Shan, and Fergana Mountains in the Western Tien Shan, indicating that the Tien Shan is also one of the regions where advancing and surging glaciers are active. From 1990 to 2019, a total of 169 times advances occurred on 34 terminal advancing glaciers in the Tien Shan region; the highest number of advancing and surging of glaciers occurred in July (26 and 14 times, respectively). With reference to the existing literature and the present study, the surge cycle in the Tien Shan is longer than that in other regions at high latitudes in Asia, lasting about 35–60 years. Surging glaciers in the Tien Shan region may be affected by a combination of thermal and hydrological control. An increase in temperature and precipitation drives surging glaciers, but the change mechanism is still difficult to explain based on changes in a single climate variable, such as temperature or precipitation.

The glaciers in the Sanjiangyuan Nature Reserve of China (SNRC) are a significant water resource for the Yangtze, Yellow, and Mekong rivers. Based on Landsat Thematic Mapper (TM)/ Operational Land Imager (OLI) images acquired in 2000, 2010, and 2018, the outlines of glaciers in the SNRC were obtained by combining band ratio method with manual interpretation.

Abstract. High Mountain Asia (HMA) is one of the main distribution areas of surging glaciers in the world. The glacier change represented by the Karakoram anomaly has been a topic of wide concern. Surging glaciers not only reshape the peri-glacial landscape, but may also directly or indirectly lead to disasters. Therefore, it is of great importance to understand the distribution characteristics, periodic laws, and occurrence mechanisms of surging glaciers. Based on Landsat TM/ETM+/OLI remote sensing images from 1986–2021, a total of 244 surging glaciers in HMA were identified, covering an area of 10974.25 km2, accounting for 11.25 % of the total area of glaciers in HMA. The Karakoram Range and Pamirs are the main mountain/plateau where 185 surging glaciers are more highly concentrated. Three basins, including Amu Darya, Tarim and Indus, have 208 surging glaciers comprising 85.25 % of the total amount of surging glaciers in HMA, covering an area of 10096.89 km2. From 1986–2021, these surging glaciers advanced at least 2802 times, and exhibited different temporal and spatial trends. Obvious differences exist in the surge phase and the quiescent phase of glaciers in different regions of HMA. The surge phase of surging glaciers in the Karakoram Range and Pamirs is generally short, mostly between 2~6a, the quiescent phase is 5~19a, and the surging period is 9~24a. The mechanism of surging glaciers in HMA is more complex, which is different from Svalbard and Alaska glaciers.