High Mountain Glaciers and Hydrology Group, Swiss Federal Institute,
WSL, Birmensdorf, 8903, Switzerland
Zhao Chuanxi
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing, 100045, China
Martin Truffer
Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Fairbanks, AK 99775, USA
Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Northumbria
University, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 8ST, UK
Wei Yang
Key Laboratory of Tibetan Environment Changes and Land Surface
Processes, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese Academy of
Sciences, Beijing, 100045, China
Ice cliffs are believed to be important contributors to the melt of debris-covered glaciers, but this has rarely been quantified as the cliffs can disappear or rapidly expand within a few weeks. We used photogrammetry techniques to quantify the weekly evolution and melt of four cliffs. We found that their behaviour and melt during the monsoon is strongly controlled by supraglacial debris, streams and ponds, thus providing valuable insights on the melt and evolution of debris-covered glaciers.
Ice cliffs are believed to be important contributors to the melt of debris-covered glaciers, but...