Seasonal Dynamics of a Temperate Tibetan Glacier Revealed by High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry and In Situ Measurements

The seasonal dynamic changes of Tibetan glaciers have seen little prior investigation, despite the increase in geodetic studies of multi-year changes. This study compares seasonal glacier dynamics (“cold” and “warm” seasons) in the ablation zone of Parlung No. 4 Glacier, a temperate glacier in the monsoon-influenced southeastern Tibetan Plateau, by using repeat unpiloted aerial vehicle (UAV) surveys combined with Structure-from-Motion (SfM) photogrammetry and ground stake measurements. Our results showed that the surveyed ablation zone had a mean change of −2.7 m of ice surface elevation during the period of September 2018 to October 2019 but is characterized by significant seasonal cyclic variations with ice surface elevation lifting (+2.0 m) in the cold season (September 2018 to June 2019) but lowering (−4.7 m) in the warm season (June 2019 to October 2019). Over an annual timescale, surface lowering was greatly suppressed by the resupply of ice from the glacier’s accumulation area—the annual emergence velocity compensates for about 55% of surface ablation in our study area. Cold season emergence velocities (3.0 ± 1.2 m) were ~5-times larger than those observed in the warm season (0.6 ± 1.0 m). Distinct spring precipitation patterns may contribute to these distinct seasonal signals. Such seasonal dynamic conditions are possibly critical for different glacier responses to climate change in this region of the Tibetan Plateau, and perhaps further afield.

• Publication year

  2020

• Venue

  Remote Sensing

• Publication date

  2020-07-24

• Fields of study

  Geology, Geography, Computer Science, Environmental Science

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.3390/rs12152389
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• ACCURACY ASSESSMENT OF DIGITAL SURFACE MODELS FROM UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES’ IMAGERY ON ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

  2021cited by this paper
• Glacier Mass Balance in the Nyainqentanglha Mountains between 2000 and 2017 Retrieved from ZiYuan-3 Stereo Images and the SRTM DEM

  2020cited by this paper
• Which heterogeneous glacier melting patterns can be robustly observed from space? A multi-scale assessment in southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2020cited by this paper
• A Systematic, Regional Assessment of High Mountain Asia Glacier Mass Balance

  2020cited by this paper
• Resolving Fine-Scale Surface Features on Polar Sea Ice: A First Assessment of UAS Photogrammetry Without Ground Control

  2019cited by this paper
• Hazard from Himalayan glacier lake outburst floods

  2019cited by this paper
• Long-range terrestrial laser scanning measurements of annual and intra-annual mass balances for Urumqi Glacier No. 1, eastern Tien Shan, China

  2019influential reference
• Comparison of four UAV georeferencing methods for environmental monitoring purposes focusing on the combined use with airborne and satellite remote sensing platforms

  2019cited by this paper
• Sediment supply from lateral moraines to a debris-covered glacier in the Himalaya

  2019cited by this paper
• Potentially dangerous glacial lakes across the Tibetan Plateau revealed using a large-scale automated assessment approach.

  2019cited by this paper
• A high-resolution image time series of the Gorner Glacier – Swiss Alps – derived from repeated unmanned aerial vehicle surveys

  2019cited by this paper
• Recent glacier mass balance and area changes in the Kangri Karpo Mountains from DEMs and glacier inventories

  2018cited by this paper
• Massive collapse of two glaciers in western Tibet in 2016 after surge-like instability

  2018cited by this paper
• Twenty-first century glacier slowdown driven by mass loss in High Mountain Asia

  2018cited by this paper
• Ice cliff contribution to the tongue-wide ablation of Changri Nup Glacier, Nepal, central Himalaya

  2018cited by this paper
• High-accuracy UAV photogrammetry of ice sheet dynamics with no ground control

  2018cited by this paper
• Rapid melting dynamics of an alpine glacier with repeated UAV photogrammetry

  2018cited by this paper
• Mapping Surface Temperatures on a Debris-Covered Glacier With an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

  2018cited by this paper
• Geohazard cascade and mechanism of large debris flows in Tianmo gully, SE Tibetan Plateau and implications to hazard monitoring

  2018cited by this paper
• Combination of UAV and terrestrial photogrammetry to assess rapid glacier evolution and map glacier hazards

  2018cited by this paper
• A spatially resolved estimate of High Mountain Asia glacier mass balances, 2000-2016

  2017cited by this paper
• Accuracy Assessment of Digital Surface Models from Unmanned Aerial Vehicles' Imagery on Glaciers

  2017cited by this paper
• Downwasting of the debris-covered area of Lirung Glacier in Langtang Valley, Nepal Himalaya, from 1974 to 2010

  2017cited by this paper
• Monitoring tropical debris-covered glacier dynamics from high-resolution unmanned aerial vehicle photogrammetry, Cordillera Blanca, Peru

  2017cited by this paper
• Recent accelerating mass loss of southeast Tibetan glaciers and the relationship with changes in macroscale atmospheric circulations

  2016cited by this paper
• Seasonal surface velocities of a Himalayan glacier derived by automated correlation of unmanned aerial vehicle imagery

  2016influential reference
• Optimising UAV topographic surveys processed with structure-from-motion: Ground control quality, quantity and bundle adjustment

  2016cited by this paper
• Spatiotemporal variations in surface velocity of the Gangotri glacier, Garhwal Himalaya, India: Study using synthetic aperture radar data

  2016influential reference
• Remote Sens

  2015cited by this paper
• Precipitation seasonality and variability over the Tibetan plateau as resolved by the High Asia reanalysis

  2014cited by this paper
• High-resolution monitoring of Himalayan glacier dynamics using unmanned aerial vehicles

  2014cited by this paper
• Image georectification and feature tracking toolbox: ImGRAFT

  2014cited by this paper
• Mass balance of a maritime glacier on the southeast Tibetan Plateau and its climatic sensitivity

  2013influential reference
• Contrasting patterns of early twenty-first-century glacier mass change in the Himalayas

  2012cited by this paper
• Relative contribution of surface mass-balance and ice-flux changes to the accelerated thinning of Mer de Glace, French Alps, over1979-2008

  2012cited by this paper
• ‘Structure-from-Motion’ photogrammetry: A low-cost, effective tool for geoscience applications

  2012cited by this paper
• Different glacier status with atmospheric circulations in Tibetan Plateau and surroundings

  2012cited by this paper
• Temporal Changes in Elevation of the Debris-Covered Ablation Area of Khumbu Glacier in the Nepal Himalaya since 1978

  2011influential reference
• Summertime surface energy budget and ablation modeling in the ablation zone of a maritime Tibetan glacier

  2011cited by this paper
• Variations of glacial lakes and glaciers in the Boshula mountain range, southeast Tibet, from the 1970s to 2009

  2011cited by this paper
• Glossary of glacier mass balance and related terms

  2010cited by this paper
• Glacial distribution and mass balance in the Yarlung Zangbo River and its influence on lakes

  2010cited by this paper
• Deposition of anthropogenic aerosols in a southeastern Tibetan glacier

  2009cited by this paper
• Black soot and the survival of Tibetan glaciers

  2009cited by this paper
• Concise glacier inventory of China

  2008cited by this paper
• Five decades of shrinkage of July 1st glacier, Qilian Shan, China

  2006cited by this paper
• Estimation on the response of glaciers in China to the global warming in the 21st century

  2000cited by this paper
• Effect of summer accumulation on glacier mass balance on the Tibetan Plateau revealed by mass-balance model

  2000cited by this paper

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Technology for Glaciology Research in the Third Pole

  2025cites this paper
• Chemical weathering releases substantial CO2 in temperate glacial catchments of the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2025cites this paper
• Quantifying the seasonal dynamics of a transitional ice cliff-pond system on a debris-covered glacier

  2025cites this paper
• Time-Series Surface Velocity and Backscattering Coefficients from Sentinel-1 SAR Images Document Glacier Seasonal Dynamics and Surges on the Puruogangri Ice Field in the Central Tibetan Plateau

  2025cites this paper
• Observing the mass balance and emergence velocity of a temperate glacier on Mt. Yulong, southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2025cites this paper
• Post-Little Ice Age Equilibrium-Line Altitude and Temperature Changes in the Greater Caucasus Based on Small Glaciers

  2025cites this paper
• Assessing the dynamic changes and the effect of buoyancy of lake-terminating Yanong Glacier in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau with UAV surveys

  2025cites this paper
• Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO

  2024cites this paper
• Quality Assessment of Multiple UAV-SfM DEMs Derived for Impact Assessment of a Co-Seismic Avalanche in the Himalayas

  2024cites this paper
• Quantifying glacier surging and associated lake dynamics in Amu Darya river basin using UAV and remote sensing data

  2024cites this paper
• Contrasting Changes of Debris-Free Glacier and Debris-Covered Glacier in Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2024cites this paper
• Seasonal variations in glacier velocity in the High Mountain Asia region during 2015–2020

  2023cites this paper
• Dynamic Changes of a Thick Debris-Covered Glacier in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2023cites this paper
• The role of thermal notch erosion in forcing localised calving failure and short-term increases in velocity at a lake-terminating glacier in southeast Iceland

  2023cites this paper
• Enhancing Building Archaeology: Drawing, UAV Photogrammetry and Scan-to-BIM-to-VR Process of Ancient Roman Ruins

  2023cites this paper
• Monitoring the annual geodetic mass balance of Bordu and Sary-Tor glaciers using UAV data

  2023cites this paper
• Thinning and surface mass balance patterns of two neighbouring debris-covered glaciers in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2023influential citation
• . Evolution of the seasonal dynamics of the lake-terminating glacier Fjallsjökull, southeast Iceland, inferred using high-resolution repeat UAV imagery

  2022cites this paper
• Accuracy of UAV Photogrammetry in Glacial and Periglacial Alpine Terrain: A Comparison With Airborne and Terrestrial Datasets

  2022cites this paper
• Monitoring the Surface Elevation Changes of a Monsoon Temperate Glacier with Repeated UAV Surveys, Mainri Mountains, China

  2022cites this paper
• Warming-induced monsoon precipitation phase change intensifies glacier mass loss in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2022cites this paper
• Monitoring glacier thinning rate in Rongbuk Catchment on the northern slope of Mt. Qomolangma from 1974 to 2021

  2022cites this paper
• Assessing UAV-based laser scanning for monitoring glacial processes and interactions at high spatial and temporal resolutions

  2022cites this paper
• Thinning and surface mass balance patterns of two neighboring debris-covered glaciers in southeastern Tibetan Plateau

  2022influential citation
• UAV-based geomorphological evolution of the Terminus Area of the Hailuogou Glacier, Southeastern Tibetan Plateau between 2017 and 2020

  2022cites this paper
• Evolution of geodetic mass balance over the largest lake-terminating glacier in the Tibetan Plateau with a revised radar penetration depth based on multi-source high-resolution satellite data

  2022cites this paper
• Seasonal Surface Change of Urumqi Glacier No. 1, Eastern Tien Shan, China, Revealed by Repeated High-Resolution UAV Photogrammetry

  2021cites this paper
• Quantifying heterogeneous monsoonal melt on a debris-covered glacier in Nepal Himalaya using repeat uncrewed aerial system (UAS) photogrammetry

  2021cites this paper
• Spatio-Temporal Changes of Mass Balance in the Ablation Area of the Muz Taw Glacier, Sawir Mountains, from Multi-Temporal Terrestrial Geodetic Surveys

  2021influential citation
• Combining UAV and Landsat data to assess glacier changes on the central Tibetan Plateau

  2021cites this paper
• Seasonal ice dynamics in the lower ablation zone of Dagongba Glacier, southeastern Tibetan Plateau, from multitemporal UAV images

  2021cites this paper
• Interannual Dynamics of Ice Cliff Populations on Debris‐Covered Glaciers From Remote Sensing Observations and Stochastic Modeling

  2021cites this paper
• Estimating surface mass balance patterns from unoccupied aerial vehicle measurements in the ablation area of the Morteratsch–Pers glacier complex (Switzerland)

  2021cites this paper
• The south inylchek glacier activity analysis over a ten-year interval in surface velocity with multi-source spaceborne imagery

  2021cites this paper