Articles | Volume 16, issue 4
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1333-2022
© Author(s) 2022. 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-16-1333-2022
© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Brief communication
| 
12 Apr 2022
Brief communication |
| 12 Apr 2022
| 12 Apr 2022
Brief communication: An approximately 50 Mm3 ice-rock avalanche on 22 March 2021 in the Sedongpu valley, southeastern Tibetan Plateau
Chuanxi Zhao
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
College of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Lanzhou University,
Lanzhou 730000, China
Wei Yang
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences,
Beijing 100101, China
Matthew Westoby
Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK
Baosheng An
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
School of Science, Tibet University, Lhasa 850011, China
Guangjian Wu
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences,
Beijing 100101, China
South-East Tibetan Plateau station for integrated observation and research of alpine environment, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lulang 860100, China, Lulang, China
Weicai Wang
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
CAS Center for Excellence in Tibetan Plateau Earth Sciences,
Beijing 100101, China
Zhongyan Wang
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
Yongjie Wang
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
South-East Tibetan Plateau station for integrated observation and research of alpine environment, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Lulang 860100, China, Lulang, China
Stuart Dunning
School of Geography, Politics and Sociology, Newcastle University,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 7RU, UK
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Manuscript not accepted for further review
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Yongkang Xue, Tandong Yao, Aaron A. Boone, Ismaila Diallo, Ye Liu, Xubin Zeng, William K. M. Lau, Shiori Sugimoto, Qi Tang, Xiaoduo Pan, Peter J. van Oevelen, Daniel Klocke, Myung-Seo Koo, Tomonori Sato, Zhaohui Lin, Yuhei Takaya, Constantin Ardilouze, Stefano Materia, Subodh K. Saha, Retish Senan, Tetsu Nakamura, Hailan Wang, Jing Yang, Hongliang Zhang, Mei Zhao, Xin-Zhong Liang, J. David Neelin, Frederic Vitart, Xin Li, Ping Zhao, Chunxiang Shi, Weidong Guo, Jianping Tang, Miao Yu, Yun Qian, Samuel S. P. Shen, Yang Zhang, Kun Yang, Ruby Leung, Yuan Qiu, Daniele Peano, Xin Qi, Yanling Zhan, Michael A. Brunke, Sin Chan Chou, Michael Ek, Tianyi Fan, Hong Guan, Hai Lin, Shunlin Liang, Helin Wei, Shaocheng Xie, Haoran Xu, Weiping Li, Xueli Shi, Paulo Nobre, Yan Pan, Yi Qin, Jeff Dozier, Craig R. Ferguson, Gianpaolo Balsamo, Qing Bao, Jinming Feng, Jinkyu Hong, Songyou Hong, Huilin Huang, Duoying Ji, Zhenming Ji, Shichang Kang, Yanluan Lin, Weiguang Liu, Ryan Muncaster, Patricia de Rosnay, Hiroshi G. Takahashi, Guiling Wang, Shuyu Wang, Weicai Wang, Xu Zhou, and Yuejian Zhu
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The subseasonal prediction of extreme hydroclimate events such as droughts/floods has remained stubbornly low for years. This paper presents a new international initiative which, for the first time, introduces spring land surface temperature anomalies over high mountains to improve precipitation prediction through remote effects of land–atmosphere interactions. More than 40 institutions worldwide are participating in this effort. The experimental protocol and preliminary results are presented.
Thomas E. Shaw, Wei Yang, Álvaro Ayala, Claudio Bravo, Chuanxi Zhao, and Francesca Pellicciotti
The Cryosphere, 15, 595–614, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-595-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-595-2021, 2021
Short summary
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Near surface air temperature (Ta) is important for simulating the melting of glaciers, though its variability in space and time on mountain glaciers is still poorly understood. We combine new Ta observations on glacier in Tibet with several glacier datasets around the world to explore the applicability of an existing method to estimate glacier Ta based upon glacier flow distance. We make a first step at generalising a method and highlight the remaining unknowns for this field of research.
Yanbin Lei, Tandong Yao, Lide Tian, Yongwei Sheng, Lazhu, Jingjuan Liao, Huabiao Zhao, Wei Yang, Kun Yang, Etienne Berthier, Fanny Brun, Yang Gao, Meilin Zhu, and Guangjian Wu
The Cryosphere, 15, 199–214, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-199-2021, 2021
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Two glaciers in the Aru range, western Tibetan Plateau (TP), collapsed suddenly on 17 July and 21 September 2016, respectively, causing fatal damage to local people and their livestock. The impact of the glacier collapses on the two downstream lakes (i.e., Aru Co and Memar Co) is investigated in terms of lake morphology, water level and water temperature. Our results provide a baseline in understanding the future lake response to glacier melting on the TP under a warming climate.
William D. Smith, Stuart A. Dunning, Stephen Brough, Neil Ross, and Jon Telling
Earth Surf. Dynam., 8, 1053–1065, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-1053-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-8-1053-2020, 2020
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Glacial landslides are difficult to detect and likely underestimated due to rapid covering or dispersal. Without improved detection rates we cannot constrain their impact on glacial dynamics or their potential climatically driven increases in occurrence. Here we present a new open-access tool (GERALDINE) that helps a user detect 92 % of these events over the past 38 years on a global scale. We demonstrate its ability by identifying two new, large glacial landslides in the Hayes Range, Alaska.
Yaoming Ma, Zeyong Hu, Zhipeng Xie, Weiqiang Ma, Binbin Wang, Xuelong Chen, Maoshan Li, Lei Zhong, Fanglin Sun, Lianglei Gu, Cunbo Han, Lang Zhang, Xin Liu, Zhangwei Ding, Genhou Sun, Shujin Wang, Yongjie Wang, and Zhongyan Wang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 2937–2957, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2937-2020, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-2937-2020, 2020
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In comparison with other terrestrial regions of the world, meteorological observations are scarce over the Tibetan Plateau.
This has limited our understanding of the mechanisms underlying complex interactions between the different earth spheres with heterogeneous land surface conditions.
The release of this continuous and long-term dataset with high temporal resolution is expected to facilitate broad multidisciplinary communities in understanding key processes on the
Third Pole of the world.
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Short summary
On 22 March 2021, a ~ 50 Mm 3 ice-rock avalanche occurred from 6500 m a.s.l. in the Sedongpu basin, southeastern Tibet. It caused temporary blockage of the Yarlung Tsangpo river, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra. We utilize field investigations, high-resolution satellite imagery, seismic records, and meteorological data to analyse the evolution of the 2021 event and its impact, discuss potential drivers, and briefly reflect on implications for the sustainable development of the region.
On 22 March 2021, a ~ 50 Mm 3 ice-rock avalanche occurred from 6500 m a.s.l. in the Sedongpu...
