Articles | Volume 20, issue 6
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-20-3559-2026
© Author(s) 2026. 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-20-3559-2026
© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
22 Jun 2026
Research article |
| 22 Jun 2026
| 22 Jun 2026
30 m monthly glacier surface velocity mapping in the Kangri Karpo region (2015–2024) using multi-source remote sensing data fusion
Daoxun Gao
Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Eco-Security of Southwest China, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Meili Snow Mountains Cryosphere Changes Observation and Research Station of Yunnan Province, Diqing 674400, Yunnan, China
Kunpeng Wu
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Yunpeng Duan
Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Eco-Security of Southwest China, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Meili Snow Mountains Cryosphere Changes Observation and Research Station of Yunnan Province, Diqing 674400, Yunnan, China
Zhaoqi Ji
Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Eco-Security of Southwest China, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Meili Snow Mountains Cryosphere Changes Observation and Research Station of Yunnan Province, Diqing 674400, Yunnan, China
Danyu Ma
Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Ministry of Education Key Laboratory for Transboundary Eco-Security of Southwest China, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
Meili Snow Mountains Cryosphere Changes Observation and Research Station of Yunnan Province, Diqing 674400, Yunnan, China
Tobias Bolch
Institute of Geodesy, Graz University of Technology, Graz, Austria
Cheng Huang
Yunnan Geological Environment Monitoring Institute, Kunming 650216, Yunnan, China
Shiyin Liu
Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, China
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EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2836, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2026-2836, 2026
This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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Glaciers in the Karakoram are changing but older maps often miss small ice bodies and blur the edges where ice is covered by rock. We made a clearer map by combining detailed satellite images, height information, surface temperature, computer-assisted mapping, and careful human checking. The new map shows about 13,900 glaciers and reveals that much rock-covered ice is concentrated on a small number of very large glaciers. This work helps people better understand water, risk, and mountain change.
Lea Hartl, Jakob Abermann, Ayla Akgün, Giulia Bertolotti, Tobias Bolch, Svenja Conzelmann, Codrut-Andrei Diaconu, Iris Hansche, Anne Hartig, Anna Haut, Kay Helfricht, Bernhard Hynek, Marie Sophie Kaucher, Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer, Ann Christin Kogel, Julie Krippes, Marcela Violeta Lauria, Christoph Mayer, Jan-Christoph Otto, Rainer Prinz, Sina Prölß, Lorenzo Rieg, Lea Schönleber, Gabriele Schwaizer, Bernd Seiser, Martin Stocker-Waldhuber, Markus Strudl, Martin Verhounik, and Harald Zandler
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This preprint is open for discussion and under review for The Cryosphere (TC).
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We mapped glacier outlines in Austria using recent, high resolution imagery. The resulting glacier inventory provides an update on glacier area in Austria in 2021-2023. More than 30% of glacier area was lost and 95 glaciers have disappeared since the mid-2000s. Glacier recession is accelerating and regular updates to glacier inventories are needed to understand downstream changes to the hydrological system, quantify glacier mass loss, and support planning and adaptation measures.
Jakob Steiner, William Armstrong, Will Kochtitzky, Robert McNabb, Rodrigo Aguayo, Tobias Bolch, Fabien Maussion, Vibhor Agarwal, Iestyn Barr, Nathaniel R. Baurley, Mike Cloutier, Katelyn DeWater, Frank Donachie, Yoann Drocourt, Siddhi Garg, Gunjan Joshi, Byron Guzman, Stanislav Kutuzov, Thomas Loriaux, Caleb Mathias, Brian Menounos, Evan Miles, Aleksandra Osika, Kaleigh Potter, Adina Racoviteanu, Brianna Rick, Miles Sterner, Guy D. Tallentire, Levan Tielidze, Rebecca White, Kunpeng Wu, and Whyjay Zheng
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 18, 1665–1681, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1665-2026, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-18-1665-2026, 2026
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Many mountain glaciers around the world flow into lakes – exactly how many however, has never been mapped. Across a large team of experts we have now identified all glaciers that end in lakes. Only about 1% do so, but they are generally larger than those which end on land. This is important to understand, as lakes can influence the behaviour of glacier ice, including how fast it disappears. This new dataset allows us to better model glaciers at a global scale, accounting for the effect of lakes.
Samuel Schilling, Tobias Bolch, Andreas Dietz, Rebbeca Jean Herman, and Claudia Kuenzer
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6280, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-6280, 2026
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Snow stored in winter snowpacks supplies water to rivers that millions of people depend on. As warming reduces snow amounts, we studied whether melting snow still matters for river flow. Using long records from river basins on four continents, and cause and effect analysis, we found that in some basins melting snow can become more important for river flow even when less snow is available.
Line Rouyet, Tobias Bolch, Francesco Brardinoni, Rafael Caduff, Diego Cusicanqui, Margaret Darrow, Reynald Delaloye, Thomas Echelard, Christophe Lambiel, Cécile Pellet, Lucas Ruiz, Lea Schmid, Flavius Sirbu, and Tazio Strozzi
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 4125–4157, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4125-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-4125-2025, 2025
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Yu Zhu, Shiyin Liu, Junfeng Wei, Kunpeng Wu, Tobias Bolch, Junli Xu, Wanqin Guo, Zongli Jiang, Fuming Xie, Ying Yi, Donghui Shangguan, Xiaojun Yao, and Zhen Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1851–1871, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1851-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1851-2025, 2025
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This study compiled a near-complete inventory of glacier mass changes across the eastern Tibetan Plateau using topographical maps. These data enhance our understanding of glacier change variability before 2000. When combined with existing research, our dataset provides a nearly 5-decade record of mass balance, aiding hydrological simulations and assessments of mountain glacier contributions to sea-level rise.
Miaomiao Qi, Shiyin Liu, Zhifang Zhao, Yongpeng Gao, Fuming Xie, Georg Veh, Letian Xiao, Jinlong Jing, Yu Zhu, and Kunpeng Wu
Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci., 29, 969–982, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-969-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-29-969-2025, 2025
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Here we propose a new mathematically robust and cost-effective model to improve glacial lake water storage estimation. We have also provided a dataset of measured water storage in glacial lakes through field depth measurements. Our model incorporates an automated calculation process and outperforms previous ones, achieving an average relative error of only 14 %. This research offers a valuable tool for researchers seeking to improve the risk assessment of glacial lake outburst floods.
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle
The Cryosphere, 19, 219–247, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025, 2025
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We reconstruct the evolution of terminus position, ice thickness, and surface flow velocity of the reference Abramov glacier (Kyrgyzstan) from 1968 to present. We describe a front pulsation in the early 2000s and the multi-annual present-day buildup of a new pulsation. Such dynamic instabilities can challenge the representativity of Abramov as a reference glacier. For our work we used satellite‑based optical remote sensing from multiple platforms, including recently declassified archives.
Livia Piermattei, Michael Zemp, Christian Sommer, Fanny Brun, Matthias H. Braun, Liss M. Andreassen, Joaquín M. C. Belart, Etienne Berthier, Atanu Bhattacharya, Laura Boehm Vock, Tobias Bolch, Amaury Dehecq, Inés Dussaillant, Daniel Falaschi, Caitlyn Florentine, Dana Floricioiu, Christian Ginzler, Gregoire Guillet, Romain Hugonnet, Matthias Huss, Andreas Kääb, Owen King, Christoph Klug, Friedrich Knuth, Lukas Krieger, Jeff La Frenierre, Robert McNabb, Christopher McNeil, Rainer Prinz, Louis Sass, Thorsten Seehaus, David Shean, Désirée Treichler, Anja Wendt, and Ruitang Yang
The Cryosphere, 18, 3195–3230, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-3195-2024, 2024
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Satellites have made it possible to observe glacier elevation changes from all around the world. In the present study, we compared the results produced from two different types of satellite data between different research groups and against validation measurements from aeroplanes. We found a large spread between individual results but showed that the group ensemble can be used to reliably estimate glacier elevation changes and related errors from satellite data.
Daniel Falaschi, Atanu Bhattacharya, Gregoire Guillet, Lei Huang, Owen King, Kriti Mukherjee, Philipp Rastner, Tandong Yao, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 17, 5435–5458, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-5435-2023, 2023
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Because glaciers are crucial freshwater sources in the lowlands surrounding High Mountain Asia, constraining short-term glacier mass changes is essential. We investigate the potential of state-of-the-art satellite elevation data to measure glacier mass changes in two selected regions. The results demonstrate the ability of our dataset to characterize glacier changes of different magnitudes, allowing for an increase in the number of inaccessible glaciers that can be readily monitored.
Fanny Brun, Owen King, Marion Réveillet, Charles Amory, Anton Planchot, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Marie Dumont, Christoph Mayer, Silvan Leinss, Romain Hugonnet, and Patrick Wagnon
The Cryosphere, 17, 3251–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, 2023
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The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt. Everest. A recent study proposed that South Col Glacier is rapidly losing mass. In this study, we examined the glacier thickness change for the period 1984–2017 and found no thickness change. To reconcile these results, we investigate wind erosion and surface energy and mass balance and find that melt is unlikely a dominant process, contrary to previous findings.
Sajid Ghuffar, Owen King, Grégoire Guillet, Ewelina Rupnik, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 17, 1299–1306, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1299-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1299-2023, 2023
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The panoramic cameras (PCs) on board Hexagon KH-9 satellite missions from 1971–1984 captured very high-resolution stereo imagery with up to 60 cm spatial resolution. This study explores the potential of this imagery for glacier mapping and change estimation. The high resolution of KH-9PC leads to higher-quality DEMs which better resolve the accumulation region of glaciers in comparison to the KH-9 mapping camera, and KH-9PC imagery can be useful in several Earth observation applications.
Fuming Xie, Shiyin Liu, Yongpeng Gao, Yu Zhu, Tobias Bolch, Andreas Kääb, Shimei Duan, Wenfei Miao, Jianfang Kang, Yaonan Zhang, Xiran Pan, Caixia Qin, Kunpeng Wu, Miaomiao Qi, Xianhe Zhang, Ying Yi, Fengze Han, Xiaojun Yao, Qiao Liu, Xin Wang, Zongli Jiang, Donghui Shangguan, Yong Zhang, Richard Grünwald, Muhammad Adnan, Jyoti Karki, and Muhammad Saifullah
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 15, 847–867, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-847-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-15-847-2023, 2023
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In this study, first we generated inventories which allowed us to systematically detect glacier change patterns in the Karakoram range. We found that, by the 2020s, there were approximately 10 500 glaciers in the Karakoram mountains covering an area of 22 510.73 km2, of which ~ 10.2 % is covered by debris. During the past 30 years (from 1990 to 2020), the total glacier cover area in Karakoram remained relatively stable, with a slight increase in area of 23.5 km2.
Yu Zhu, Shiyin Liu, Junfeng Wei, Kunpeng Wu, Tobias Bolch, Junli Xu, Wanqin Guo, Zongli Jiang, Fuming Xie, Ying Yi, Donghui Shangguan, Xiaojun Yao, and Zhen Zhang
Earth Syst. Sci. Data Discuss., https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-473, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2022-473, 2023
Preprint withdrawn
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In this study, we presented a nearly complete inventory of glacier mass change dataset across the eastern Tibetan Plateau by using topographical maps, which will enhance the knowledge on the heterogeneity of glacier change before 2000. Our dataset, in combination with the published results, provide a nearly five decades mass balance to support hydrological simulation, and to evaluate the contribution of mountain glacier loss to sea level.
Simon K. Allen, Ashim Sattar, Owen King, Guoqing Zhang, Atanu Bhattacharya, Tandong Yao, and Tobias Bolch
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3765–3785, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3765-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3765-2022, 2022
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This study demonstrates how the threat of a very large outburst from a future lake can be feasibly assessed alongside that from current lakes to inform disaster risk management within a transboundary basin between Tibet and Nepal. Results show that engineering measures and early warning systems would need to be coupled with effective land use zoning and programmes to strengthen local response capacities in order to effectively reduce the risk associated with current and future outburst events.
Aldo Bertone, Chloé Barboux, Xavier Bodin, Tobias Bolch, Francesco Brardinoni, Rafael Caduff, Hanne H. Christiansen, Margaret M. Darrow, Reynald Delaloye, Bernd Etzelmüller, Ole Humlum, Christophe Lambiel, Karianne S. Lilleøren, Volkmar Mair, Gabriel Pellegrinon, Line Rouyet, Lucas Ruiz, and Tazio Strozzi
The Cryosphere, 16, 2769–2792, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2769-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2769-2022, 2022
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We present the guidelines developed by the IPA Action Group and within the ESA Permafrost CCI project to include InSAR-based kinematic information in rock glacier inventories. Nine operators applied these guidelines to 11 regions worldwide; more than 3600 rock glaciers are classified according to their kinematics. We test and demonstrate the feasibility of applying common rules to produce homogeneous kinematic inventories at global scale, useful for hydrological and climate change purposes.
Benjamin Aubrey Robson, Shelley MacDonell, Álvaro Ayala, Tobias Bolch, Pål Ringkjøb Nielsen, and Sebastián Vivero
The Cryosphere, 16, 647–665, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-647-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-647-2022, 2022
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This work uses satellite and aerial data to study glaciers and rock glacier changes in La Laguna catchment within the semi-arid Andes of Chile, where ice melt is an important factor in river flow. The results show the rate of ice loss of Tapado Glacier has been increasing since the 1950s, which possibly relates to a dryer, warmer climate over the previous decades. Several rock glaciers show high surface velocities and elevation changes between 2012 and 2020, indicating they may be ice-rich.
Gregoire Guillet, Owen King, Mingyang Lv, Sajid Ghuffar, Douglas Benn, Duncan Quincey, and Tobias Bolch
The Cryosphere, 16, 603–623, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-603-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-603-2022, 2022
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Surging glaciers show cyclical changes in flow behavior – between slow and fast flow – and can have drastic impacts on settlements in their vicinity.
One of the clusters of surging glaciers worldwide is High Mountain Asia (HMA).
We present an inventory of surging glaciers in HMA, identified from satellite imagery. We show that the number of surging glaciers was underestimated and that they represent 20 % of the area covered by glaciers in HMA, before discussing new physics for glacier surges.
Jan Bouke Pronk, Tobias Bolch, Owen King, Bert Wouters, and Douglas I. Benn
The Cryosphere, 15, 5577–5599, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-5577-2021, 2021
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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.
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Short summary
We mapped monthly glacier flow speeds in the Kangri Karpo region from 2015 to 2024 by combining measurements from several satellites and a drone survey. The merged maps are more complete and detailed than maps from any single source, with fewer gaps caused by clouds or difficult terrain. The results show where glaciers move fastest, how their speed changes through the year, and which glaciers have been speeding up or slowing down over the past decade.
We mapped monthly glacier flow speeds in the Kangri Karpo region from 2015 to 2024 by...
