TY - JOUR
T1 - Estimating the volume of glaciers in the Himalayan-Karakoram region using different methods
AU - Frey, H.
AU - Machguth, H.
AU - Huss, M.
AU - Huggel, C.
AU - Bajracharya, S.
AU - Bolch, T.
AU - Kulkarni, A.
AU - Linsbauer, A.
AU - Salzmann, N.
AU - Stoffel, M.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgements. This study was funded by the EU FP7 project HighNoon and by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Indian Himalaya Climate Adaptation Programme (IHCAP). H. Machguth acknowledges funding from the Nordic Centre of Excellence SVALI, funded by the Nordic Top-level Research Initiative (TRI). T. Bolch acknowledges funding through the European Space Agency (Glaciers_cci project 4000101778/10/I-AM) and Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). Reviews from D. Bahr and three anonymous reviewers as well as the comments from W. Haeberli helped to improve earlier versions of this article. We thank F. Azam for sharing ice-thickness data of Chhota Shigri.
Publisher Copyright:
© Author(s) 2014.
PY - 2014
Y1 - 2014
N2 - Ice volume estimates are crucial for assessing water reserves stored in glaciers. Due to its large glacier coverage, such estimates are of particular interest for the Himalayan-Karakoram (HK) region. In this study, different existing methodologies are used to estimate the ice reserves: three area-volume relations, one slope-dependent volume estimation method, and two ice-thickness distribution models are applied to a recent, detailed, and complete glacier inventory of the HK region, spanning over the period 2000-2010 and revealing an ice coverage of 40 775 km2. An uncertainty and sensitivity assessment is performed to investigate the influence of the observed glacier area and important model parameters on the resulting total ice volume. Results of the two ice-thickness distribution models are validated with local ice-thickness measurements at six glaciers. The resulting ice volumes for the entire HK region range from 2955 to 4737 km3, depending on the approach. This range is lower than most previous estimates. Results from the ice thickness distribution models and the slope-dependent thickness estimations agree well with measured local ice thicknesses. However, total volume estimates from area-related relations are larger than those from other approaches. The study provides evidence on the significant effect of the selected method on results and underlines the importance of a careful and critical evaluation.
AB - Ice volume estimates are crucial for assessing water reserves stored in glaciers. Due to its large glacier coverage, such estimates are of particular interest for the Himalayan-Karakoram (HK) region. In this study, different existing methodologies are used to estimate the ice reserves: three area-volume relations, one slope-dependent volume estimation method, and two ice-thickness distribution models are applied to a recent, detailed, and complete glacier inventory of the HK region, spanning over the period 2000-2010 and revealing an ice coverage of 40 775 km2. An uncertainty and sensitivity assessment is performed to investigate the influence of the observed glacier area and important model parameters on the resulting total ice volume. Results of the two ice-thickness distribution models are validated with local ice-thickness measurements at six glaciers. The resulting ice volumes for the entire HK region range from 2955 to 4737 km3, depending on the approach. This range is lower than most previous estimates. Results from the ice thickness distribution models and the slope-dependent thickness estimations agree well with measured local ice thicknesses. However, total volume estimates from area-related relations are larger than those from other approaches. The study provides evidence on the significant effect of the selected method on results and underlines the importance of a careful and critical evaluation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85006373088&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.5194/tc-8-2313-2014
DO - 10.5194/tc-8-2313-2014
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85006373088
VL - 8
SP - 2313
EP - 2333
JO - The Cryosphere
JF - The Cryosphere
SN - 1994-0416
IS - 6
ER -
