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Spatially Variable Glacier Changes in the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal, 2000 to 2016

Lookup NU author(s): Arminel LovellORCiD, Professor Rachel Carr

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

Himalayan glaciers have shrunk rapidly in recent decades, but the spatial pattern of ice loss is highly variable and appears to be modulated by factors relating to individual glacier characteristics. This hinders our ability to predict their future evolution, which is vital for water resource management. The aim of this study is to assess recent glacier changes in the little-studied Annapurna Conservation Area (ACA; area: 7629 km2 ) in Nepal, and to explore local controls influencing their behaviour. We map changes in glacier area, surface elevation, and ice flow velocity on a large sample of glaciers (n = 162) in the ACA between 2000 and 2016. We found that total glacier area decreased by 8.5% between 2000 and 2014/15. Ice surface velocity changes between 2002 and 2016 were variable, with no clear trend of acceleration or deceleration. The mean surface elevation change for a smaller sample of glaciers (n = 72) was −0.33 ± 0.22 m a−1 between 2000 and 2013/16, which equates to a mean mass balance of −0.28 ± 0.24 m w.e. a−1 . There was a trend of increasingly less negative mass balance towards the north. Glaciers that lost the most mass in the north of the ACA tended to have lower maximum elevations, bottom-heavy hypsometries, and were more likely to be avalanche-fed. However, these patterns were not apparent in glaciers in central ACA. There was no significant difference in the mean surface elevation change rate on the ablation zones of debris-covered compared with debris-free glaciers. Our work shows that glaciers in the ACA are losing area and mass at variable rates, but that the influence of local controls is complex, which introduces large uncertainties when predicting their future evolution.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Lovell AM, Carr JR, Stokes CR

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Remote Sensing

Year: 2019

Volume: 11

Issue: 12

Print publication date: 19/06/2019

Online publication date: 19/06/2019

Acceptance date: 12/06/2019

Date deposited: 24/06/2019

ISSN (print): 2072-4292

ISSN (electronic): 2072-4292

Publisher: MDPI

URL: https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11121452

DOI: 10.3390/rs11121452


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Funding

Funder referenceFunder name
NERC
NE/L002590/1

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