The Cryosphere
The Cryosphere
TC
Articles | Volume 15, issue 12
Articles | Volume 15, issue 12
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Articles | Volume 15, issue 12
Research article
 | 
10 Dec 2021
Research article |  | 10 Dec 2021

Contrasting surface velocities between lake- and land-terminating glaciers in the Himalayan region

Jan Bouke Pronk, Tobias Bolch, Owen King, Bert Wouters, and Douglas I. Benn

Data sets

Central and Eastern Himalaya glacier velocities 2017-2019 (Sentinel 2) J B. Pronk, T. Bolch, O. King, B. Wouters, and D. I. Benn https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4537289

Download
Short summary
About 10 % of Himalayan glaciers flow directly into lakes. This study finds, using satellite imagery, that such glaciers show higher flow velocities than glaciers without ice–lake contact. In particular near the glacier tongue the impact of a lake on the glacier flow can be dramatic. The development of current and new meltwater bodies will influence the flow of an increasing number of Himalayan glaciers in the future, a scenario not currently considered in regional ice loss projections.
Read more