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Continuous glacier mass changes in High Mountain Asia based on ICESat-1,2 and GRACE/GRACE Follow-on data
  • Qiuyu Wang,
  • Shuang Yi,
  • Wenke Sun
Qiuyu Wang
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
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Shuang Yi
University of Stuttgart
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Wenke Sun
Key Laboratory of Computational Geodynamics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Abstract

Glacier melt in High Mountain Asia (HMA) is an indicator of climate change, and has a major impact on the regional hydrology and freshwater supply. We determined the recent states of the HMA glaciers based on the first analysis of Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 (ICESat-2) data. We used the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) and GRACE-FO data to fill the gap of ICESat-1,2 and carry out an independent validation. The agreement between ICESat-1,2 and GRACE/GRACE-FO data at the total and regional scales demonstrates the high reliability of results. Based on ICESat-1,2, the total mass change of the HMA glaciers is -28 {plus minus} 6 Gt yr-1 from 2003-2019, which are more negative than stereo imagery based literature. The spatial variability of the glacier indicates rapid thinning in Nyaingentanglha but a slight increase in West Kunlun. ICESat-2 enable new insight into the continuous measurement of the HMA glacier.