The Randolph Glacier Inventory: a globally complete inventory of glaciers

Pfeffer, W. T.; Arendt, A. A.; Bliss, Andrew; Bolch, Tobias; Cogley, J. Graham; Gardner, Alex; Hagen, Jon Ove; Hock, Regine; Kaser, Georg; Kienholz, Christian; Miles, Evan; Moholdt, Geir; Mölg, Nico; Paul, Frank; Radić, Valentina; Rastner, Philipp; Raup, B. H.; Rich, J.; Sharp, Martin

doi:10.3189/2014jog13j176

Cited by 1,008 publications

(1,000 citation statements)

References 53 publications

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“…Moreover, the discrepancies between these three independently compiled inventories represent good agreement by any external standard. For example they are smaller than the area uncertainties of ±7.7 to ±8.4% estimated by an independent method for the three regions of the Randolph Glacier Inventory that overlap the TP (Pfeffer and others, 2014). In general, differences between CGI-1/CGI-2 and results from previous local sites were larger than differences from the TPG datasets.…”

Section: Comparison Among Different Glacier Inventoriesmentioning

confidence: 78%

Glacier changes on the Tibetan Plateau derived from Landsat imagery: mid-1970s – 2000–13

Zong

Tian

et al. 2017

J. Glaciol.

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ABSTRACT. Glacier area changes on the Tibetan Plateau were studied in different drainage basins based on Landsat satellite images from three epochs: 263 in the mid-1970s, 150 in 1999-2002 and 148 in 2013/ 14. Three mosaics (M1976, M2001 and M2013) with minimal cloud and snow cover were constructed, and the uncertainty due to each epoch having a finite span was accounted for. Glacier outlines (TPG1976, TPG2001 and TPG2013) were digitized manually with guidance from the SRTM DEM v4.1 and Google Earth imagery. To achieve complete multi-temporal coverage in a reasonable time, only debris-free ice was delineated. Area mapping uncertainty was evaluated at three study sites, Mount Qomolangma (Everest), Mount Naimona'Nyi, Mount Geladandong, where the largest differences between present and earlier measurements were within ∼±4%. Area differences with previous inventories ranged from −19.6% (TPG1976 minus the first Chinese Glacier Inventory) to −3.6% and −1.1% (TPG2013 and TPG2001, respectively minus the second Chinese Glacier Inventory), while the difference TPG2001 minus the GAMDAM Glacier Inventory was +10.4%. Glacier area on the plateau decreased from 44 366 ± 2827 km 2 (1.7% of the study area) in the 1970s to 42 210 ± 1621 km 2 in 2001 and 41 137 ± 1616 km 2 in 2013. Shrinkage was faster in external drainage basins of the southeast than in the interior basins of the northwest, from a maximum of −0.43% a −1 (−1.60% a −1 during 1994-2013) in the Mekong catchment down to a minimum of −0.12% a −1 in the Tarim interior drainage.

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Section: Comparison Among Different Glacier Inventoriesmentioning

confidence: 78%

Glacier changes on the Tibetan Plateau derived from Landsat imagery: mid-1970s – 2000–13

Zong

Tian

et al. 2017

J. Glaciol.

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“…Glaciers and ice caps (hereafter referred to as glaciers) cover 132 900 km 2 around the Antarctic ice sheet, representing 18% of the glacier area on Earth, excluding the ice sheets (Pfeffer and others, 2014). Despite the large extent of glaciers in the Antarctic and sub-Antarctic, very few glaciological data are available for this region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surface mass balance of small glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula, during 2009–2015

et al. 2018

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ABSTRACT. Two small glaciers on James Ross Island, the north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula, experienced surface mass gain between 2009 and 2015 as revealed by field measurements. A positive cumulative surface mass balance of 0.57 ± 0.67 and 0.11 ± 0.37 m w.e. was observed during the 2009-2015 period on Whisky Glacier and Davies Dome, respectively. The results indicate a change from surface mass loss that prevailed in the region during the first decade of the 21st century to predominantly positive surface mass balance after 2009/10. The spatial pattern of annual surface mass-balance distribution implies snow redistribution by wind on both glaciers. The mean equilibrium line altitudes for Whisky Glacier (311 ± 16 m a.s.l.) and Davies Dome (393 ± 18 m a.s.l.) are in accordance with the regional data indicating 200-300 m higher equilibrium line on James Ross and Vega Islands compared with the South Shetland Islands. The mean accumulation-area ratio of 0.68 ± 0.09 and 0.44 ± 0.09 determined for Whisky Glacier and Davies Dome, respectively, is similar to the value reported for Vega Island and within the range of typical values for high-latitude glaciers.

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“…Over the Himalayan region, we used the glacier outlines from the Randolph Glacier Inventory v. 3.2 (RGI; Pfeffer et al, 2014). For the Karakoram itself, we used the inventory of Rankl et al (2014), which was obtained by updating the RGI manually on the basis of Landsat scenes.…”

Section: Regional Atmospheric Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of debris cover on glacier ablation and atmosphere–glacier feedbacks in the Karakoram

et al. 2015

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Abstract. The Karakoram range of the Hindu-Kush Himalaya is characterized by both extensive glaciation and a widespread prevalence of surficial debris cover on the glaciers. Surface debris exerts a strong control on glacier surface-energy and mass fluxes and, by modifying surface boundary conditions, has the potential to alter atmosphereglacier feedbacks. To date, the influence of debris on Karakoram glaciers has only been directly assessed by a small number of glaciological measurements over short periods. Here, we include supraglacial debris in a high-resolution, interactively coupled atmosphere-glacier modeling system. To investigate glaciological and meteorological changes that arise due to the presence of debris, we perform two simulations using the coupled model from 1 May to 1 October 2004: one that treats all glacier surfaces as debris-free and one that introduces a simplified specification for the debris thickness. The basin-averaged impact of debris is a reduction in ablation of ∼ 14 %, although the difference exceeds 5 m w.e. on the lowest-altitude glacier tongues. The relatively modest reduction in basin-mean mass loss results in part from non-negligible sub-debris melt rates under thicker covers and from compensating increases in melt under thinner debris, and may help to explain the lack of distinct differences in recent elevation changes between clean and debriscovered ice. The presence of debris also strongly alters the surface boundary condition and thus heat exchanges with the atmosphere; near-surface meteorological fields at lower elevations and their vertical gradients; and the atmospheric boundary layer development. These findings are relevant for glacio-hydrological studies on debris-covered glaciers and contribute towards an improved understanding of glacier behavior in the Karakoram.

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The Randolph Glacier Inventory: a globally complete inventory of glaciers

Cited by 1,008 publications

References 53 publications

Glacier changes on the Tibetan Plateau derived from Landsat imagery: mid-1970s – 2000–13

Glacier changes on the Tibetan Plateau derived from Landsat imagery: mid-1970s – 2000–13

Surface mass balance of small glaciers on James Ross Island, north-eastern Antarctic Peninsula, during 2009–2015

Impact of debris cover on glacier ablation and atmosphere–glacier feedbacks in the Karakoram

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