The Desert Laboratory Repeat Photography Collection - An Invaluable Archive Documenting Landscape Change

Webb, Robert H.; Boyer, D.; Turner, Raymond M.; Bullock, Stephen H.

doi:10.3133/fs20073046

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…Historical archives, repeated terrestrial photographs, old topographical/surveyed maps and published reports by earlier researchers and Geological Survey of India (GSI) provide an opportunity to reconstruct the history of Himalayan glaciers since the early 19th century. Typically, repeat photography (old and recent photographs) is a useful tool to document and reconstruct the changes of glacier terminus positions (Kamp et al, 2013; Webb, 2007). This method has been widely employed since the late 19th century in the European Alps (Zängl and Hamberger, 2004); Iceland (Hannesdóttir et al, 2014); Glacier National Park, Montana’s Rocky Mountains in the United States (http://nrmsc.usgs.gov/repeatphoto/overview.htm); the tropical mountains of Africa and South America (Hastenrath, 2008); the Turgen Mountains, Mongolian Altai (Kamp et al, 2013); and in the Himalaya, for example in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal (Byers, 2008), at the Raikot and Chungphare glaciers of Nanga Parbat in the western Himalaya (Nüsser and Schmidt, 2017; Schmidt and Nüsser, 2009) and recently at the Kolahoi Glacier in the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Himalaya (Rashid et al, 2017; Shukla et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the pattern of the Bara Shigri Glacier fluctuation since the end of the Little Ice Age, Chandra valley, north-western Himalaya

Chand

Sharma

Bhambri

et al. 2017

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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The pattern of glacial records since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA) are essential for evaluating glacier fluctuations and their link to post-LIA climate change. Although recession of the Himalayan glaciers is well-documented in this period, debate continues as to the magnitude and accuracy of estimated recession rates. This study presents a reconstruction of the pattern of fluctuations at the Bara Shigri Glacier in the Himachal Himalaya during the termination of the LIA (∼1850). A multi-data integrative analysis (MDIA) technique consisting of repeat terrestrial photographs, historical archives and reports, geomorphological evidence and maps, and high to medium spatial resolution satellite images (Corona, Hexagon, Landsat and WorldView-2) was used with supplemented by extensive field validation. The results indicate that during the early part of the 19th century the terminus of Bara Shigri Glacier was at ∼3900 m asl. Following this, there was a continuous recession with a total retreat of 2898 ± 50 m, which corresponds to a frontal areal loss of 4 ± 1 km2 in the last 151 years (1863–2014). Compared to this, during the last half century (1965–2014), the glacierised area was reduced by 1.1 ± 0.02 km2 with a concomitant terminus retreat of 1100 ± 32 m. The early 19th century advance is ascribed to a combination of cooling during this period, glacier topographical characteristics and contributions from steep-fronted avalanching tributaries. The late 19th century recession can be attributed to an overall increase in the temperature with a corresponding decrease in precipitation in the north-western Himalaya. Results are at variance with earlier, larger estimates of the frontal area loss for the Bara Shigri Glacier using either Survey of India (SoI) topographic maps or coarse spatial resolution satellite images (e.g. Landsat MSS) as historical datasets, and demonstrate the utility of mixed method approaches including higher-resolution satellite imagery for accurate estimation of glacier behaviour in this region.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reconstructing the pattern of the Bara Shigri Glacier fluctuation since the end of the Little Ice Age, Chandra valley, north-western Himalaya

Chand

Sharma

Bhambri

et al. 2017

Progress in Physical Geography: Earth and Environment

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“…Three paired repeats were then labelled with letters corresponding to areas of noticeable change between the photographs. Number labels were applied to features that exhibit little or virtually no change, similar to the techniques used in the Desert Laboratory Repeat Photography Collection (Webb ). This labelling for qualitative analysis was applied to photographs from photo points PP01, PP05 and PP06.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The use of repeat photography was first applied to the study of glaciers in the Alps by Sebastian Finsterwalder in the late nineteenth century (Webb ). In general terms, the method requires that previous photo point locations of historical photographs be reoccupied to acquire a new series of photographs which are then used for comparative interpretation of landscape transformation (Nüsser ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Documenting glacial changes between 1910, 1970, 1992 and 2010 in theTurgenMountains,MongolianAltai, using repeat photographs, topographic maps, and satellite imagery

Kamp

McManigal

Dashtseren

et al. 2013

Geographical Journal

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The Turgen Mountains lie in northwestern Mongolia, roughly 80 km south of the Russian border. The area was visited in 1910 by a Royal Geographical Society expedition led by Douglas Carruthers. The party undertook an extensive survey of the range and also documented the extent of the glaciers with photographs. One hundred years later, in summer 2010, a US-Mongolian expedition retraced portions of the 1910 expedition. Camera locations were matched to the historical photographs and repeated photographs taken. In addition, the termini of the two main glacial lobes were surveyed by GPS. Analyses of field data, repeated photographs from 1910 and 2010, topographic maps from 1970, and satellite imagery from 1992 and 2010 were used to describe the changes in the glacial system. The results suggest that while the snow and ice volume on the summits appears to be intact, lower elevation glaciers show significant recession and ablation. From 1910 to 2010, West Turgen Glacier receded by c. 600 m and down-wasted by c. 70 m. This study successively demonstrates the utility of using historic expedition documents to extend the modern record of glacial change.

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“…Historic archives are searched for old, site-specific, high-quality photographs that contain landmarks or locale information to promote resighting of particular areas (Hendrick & Copenheaver, 2009;Roush et al, 2007;Webb, 2010). these "historic recapture" repeat photographs is archived in the Desert Laboratory Repeat Photography Collection, maintained by the United States Geologic Survey (Webb et al, 2007). Historic (Masubelele et al, 2014(Masubelele et al, , 2015Rogers et al, 1984;Webb, 2010).…”

Section: Repeat Photography: Historic Recapturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Picture worth a thousand words: Updating repeat photography for 21st century ecologists

Hammond

Stone

2020

Ecology and Evolution

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The Desert Laboratory Repeat Photography Collection - An Invaluable Archive Documenting Landscape Change

Cited by 9 publications

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Reconstructing the pattern of the Bara Shigri Glacier fluctuation since the end of the Little Ice Age, Chandra valley, north-western Himalaya

Reconstructing the pattern of the Bara Shigri Glacier fluctuation since the end of the Little Ice Age, Chandra valley, north-western Himalaya

Documenting glacial changes between 1910, 1970, 1992 and 2010 in theTurgenMountains,MongolianAltai, using repeat photographs, topographic maps, and satellite imagery

Picture worth a thousand words: Updating repeat photography for 21st century ecologists

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