Articles | Volume 14, issue 7
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2267-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2267-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
21 Jul 2020
Research article |
| 21 Jul 2020
| 21 Jul 2020
Satellite-observed monthly glacier and snow mass changes in southeast Tibet: implication for substantial meltwater contribution to the Brahmaputra
Institute of Geodesy, University of Stuttgart, 70174 Stuttgart,
Germany
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hokkaido University,
Sapporo, 060-0808 Japan
Chunqiao Song
Key Laboratory of Watershed Geographic Sciences, Nanjing Institute of Geography and Limnology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008,
China
Kosuke Heki
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Hokkaido University,
Sapporo, 060-0808 Japan
Shichang Kang
State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science, Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences, CAS, Beijing 100101, China
Qiuyu Wang
Key Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Le Chang
Key Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, University of Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
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Short summary
High-Asia glaciers have been observed to be retreating the fastest in the southeastern Tibeten Plateau, where vast amounts of glacier and snow feed the streamflow of the Brahmaputra. Here, we provide the first monthly glacier and snow mass balance during 2002–2017 based on satellite gravimetry. The results confirm previous long-term decreases but reveal strong seasonal variations. This work helps resolve previous divergent model estimates and underlines the importance of meltwater.
High-Asia glaciers have been observed to be retreating the fastest in the southeastern Tibeten...
