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Arid Land Geography >

2022 , Vol. 45 >Issue 4: 1032 - 1041

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2021.514

Climatology and Hydrology

Characteristics of recent surging of Braldu Glacier, Central Karakoram

  • Zhenfeng WANG ,
  • Zongli JIANG ,
  • Shiyin LIU ,
  • Jingrui YANG ,
  • Zhiyuan MA ,
  • Wenqing WANG
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  • 1. School of Resource & Environment and Safety Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, Hunan, China
    2. School of Earth Sciences and Spatial Information Engineering, Hunan University of Science and Technology, Xiangtan 411201, Hunan, China
    3. Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming 650500, Yunnan, China

Received date: 2021-11-05

  Revised date: 2021-12-16

  Online published: 2022-08-11

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Abstract

The Karakoram hosts a large number of surge-type glaciers. However, the mechanisms of glacier surges are not clear yet. In this paper, Landsat, Sentinel-1A, TSX/TDX, and other multisource remote sensing data were used to obtain the changes in surface elevation and surface velocity of the Braldu Glacier during the surge period. The results show that the velocity of the Braldu Glacier has gradually increased since 2006. After 2013, it entered a period of rapid movement, with the highest velocity reaching 4.9 m·d-1. At the end of August 2015, the surface velocity decreased sharply. The glacier then kept a low velocity until January 2016, when the velocity increased again. The rapid movement lasted only for about a month and then entered a quiet period. From 2000 to 2014, there was a significant uplift in the middle and upper reaches of the glacier trunk, whereas the glacier receiving area decreased significantly, with a maximum thinning of 89 m. From 2014 to 2018, the upper and middle reaches of the glacier trunk and its tributaries were thinned to varying degrees, and the elevation of the receiving area of the glacier trunk increased significantly, with a maximum thickness increase of 120 m. According to the characteristics of surface elevation change and velocity change, it is considered that the tributary of the Braldu Glacier caused this surge, which in turn is greatly affected by hydrological mechanisms. Combined with available data and literature, it is inferred that the interval of the Braldu Glacier’s surge is about 40 years.

Key words： glacier surging; surface velocity; surface elevation; TanDEM-X; Braldu Glacier

Cite this article

Zhenfeng WANG , Zongli JIANG , Shiyin LIU , Jingrui YANG , Zhiyuan MA , Wenqing WANG . Characteristics of recent surging of Braldu Glacier, Central Karakoram[J]. Arid Land Geography, 2022 , 45(4) : 1032 -1041 . DOI: 10.12118/j.issn.1000-6060.2021.514

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