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Article
Open AccessLocal cooling and drying induced by Himalayan glaciers under global warming
Understanding the response of Himalayan glaciers to global warming is vital because of their role as a water source for the Asian subcontinent. However, great uncertainties still exist on the climate drivers o...
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Article
Underestimated mass loss from lake-terminating glaciers in the greater Himalaya
Long-term satellite-based observations have helped quantify glacier mass change and the response of the hydrosphere to glacier changes. However, subaqueous mass loss associated with lake-terminating glaciers i...
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Article
The imbalance of the Asian water tower
The Hindu Kush–Karakoram–Himalayan system, named the Third Pole because it is the largest global store of frozen water after the polar regions, provides a reliable water supply to almost 2 billion people. Mark...
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Article
High Mountain Asia hydropower systems threatened by climate-driven landscape instability
Global warming-induced melting and thawing of the cryosphere are severely altering the volume and timing of water supplied from High Mountain Asia, adversely affecting downstream food and energy systems that a...
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Article
Open AccessProjected climate change and its impacts on glaciers and water resources in the headwaters of the Tarim River, NW China/Kyrgyzstan
Glacierised river catchments are highly sensitive to climate change, while large populations may depend on their water resources. The irrigation agriculture and the communities along the Tarim River, NW China,...
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Article
Open AccessHigh Mountain Asian glacier response to climate revealed by multi-temporal satellite observations since the 1960s
Knowledge about the long-term response of High Mountain Asian glaciers to climatic variations is paramount because of their important role in sustaining Asian river flow. Here, a satellite-based time series of...
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Chapter
An Integrative and Joint Approach to Climate Impacts, Hydrological Risks and Adaptation in the Indian Himalayan Region
Climate change has enormous impacts on the cryosphere In the Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) which have been increasingly documented over the past years. The effects of cryosphere change on people, ecosystems an...
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Article
Open AccessGlacial lakes exacerbate Himalayan glacier mass loss
Heterogeneous glacier mass loss has occurred across High Mountain Asia on a multi-decadal timescale. Contrasting climatic settings influence glacier behaviour at the regional scale, but high intra-regional var...
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Chapter
Glacier Changes Since the Little Ice Age
The majority of glaciers are currently retreating globally but had been in an advanced position for several hundred years during the so-called Little Ice Age (LIA). During this period, the lateral accumulation...
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Chapter
Status and Change of the Cryosphere in the Extended Hindu Kush Himalaya Region
The cryosphere is defined by the presence of frozen water in its many forms: glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, snow, permafrost, and river and lake ice. In the extended Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region, includin...
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Article
Glacier mass budget and climate reanalysis data indicate a climatic shift around 2000 in Lahaul-Spiti, western Himalaya
While glacier mass changes in the Himalaya since the year 2000 are relatively well investigated, there is still a lack of knowledge about the long-term changes and their climatic drivers. We use historical and...
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Article
Asian glaciers are a reliable water source
The people, economies and agriculture of central Asia and parts of south Asia rely on water from mountains. Modelling suggests that glacier melt, in particular, is a key water source during dry periods in some...
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Chapter
Glacier Variations in the Trans Alai Massif and the Lake Karakul Catchment (Northeastern Pamir) Measured from Space
Glacier area and length changes were measured in the central Trans Alai of the northeastern Pamir, including the entire catchment of Lake Karakul. Annual shrinkage determined from Landsat 7 ETM+ imagery accoun...
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Article
Substantial glacier mass loss in the Tien Shan over the past 50 years
Populations in Central Asia are heavily dependent on snow and glacier melt for their water supplies. Changes to the glaciers in the main mountain range in this region, the Tien Shan, have been reported over th...
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Chapter
Remote Sensing of Glaciers in the Canadian Cordillera, Western Canada
We review the use of spaceborne imagery and digital elevation models (DEMs) to evaluate glacier thinning and retreat in the Canadian Cordillera, an area that includes the provinces of British Columbia (BC), Al...
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Chapter
Digital Terrain Modeling and Glacier Topographic Characterization
The Earth’s topography results from dynamic interactions involving climate, tectonics, and surface processes. In this chapter our main interest is in describing and illustrating how satellite-derived DEMs (and...
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Chapter
Himalayan Glaciers (India, Bhutan, Nepal): Satellite Observations of Thinning and Retreat
This chapter summarizes the current state of remote sensing of glaciers in the India, Nepal, and Bhutan regions of the Himalaya, and focuses on new methods for assessing glacier change. Glaciers in these Himal...
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Chapter
Glacier Map** and Monitoring Using Multispectral Data
Multispectral satellite data represent the primary data source for spaceborne glacier map** and monitoring, and remote-sensing studies have generated significant results regarding global glacier observations...
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Article
Climate change impacts on glaciers and runoff in Tien Shan (Central Asia)
Tien Shan is known as the 'water tower of Central Asia'. This article reviews evidence for regional glacier retreat and explores the implications of climate-driven changes in glacier-fed stream-flow regimes fo...
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Chapter
Identification of Potentially Dangerous Glacial Lakes in the Northern Tian Shan
Like in many other parts of the world, the glaciers in northern Tian Shan are receding, and the permafrost is thawing. Concomitantly, glacial lakes are develo**. Historically, outbursts of these glacial lake...
