Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO
The southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP), which hosts the most extensive marine glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), exhibits enhanced sensitivity to climatic fluctuations. Under global warming, persistent glacier mass depletion within the SETP poses a risk to water resource security and sustainabil...
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MDPI AG
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Remote Sensing |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1048 |
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| author | Jinwei Tong Zhen Shi Jiashuang Jiao Bing Yang Zhen Tian |
| author_facet | Jinwei Tong Zhen Shi Jiashuang Jiao Bing Yang Zhen Tian |
| author_sort | Jinwei Tong |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP), which hosts the most extensive marine glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), exhibits enhanced sensitivity to climatic fluctuations. Under global warming, persistent glacier mass depletion within the SETP poses a risk to water resource security and sustainability in adjacent nations and regions. This study deployed a high-precision ICESat-2 satellite altimetry technique to evaluate SETP glacier thickness changes from 2018 to 2022. Our results show that the average change rate in glacier thickness in the SETP is −0.91 ± 0.18 m/yr, and the corresponding glacier mass change is −7.61 ± 1.52 Gt/yr. In the SETP, the glacier mass loss obtained via ICESat-2 data is larger than the mass change in total land water storage observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment follow-on satellite (GRACE-FO), −5.13 ± 2.55 Gt/yr, which underscores the changes occurring in other land water components, including snow (−0.44 ± 0.09 Gt/yr), lakes (−0.06 ± 0.02 Gt/yr), soil moisture (1.88 ± 1.83 Gt/yr), and groundwater (1.45 ± 0.70 Gt/yr), with a closure error of −0.35 Gt/yr. This demonstrates that this dramatic glacier mass loss is the main reason for the decrease in total land water storage in the SETP. Generally, there are decreasing trends in solid water storage (glacier and snow) against stable or increasing trends in liquid water storage (lakes, soil moisture, and groundwater) in the SETP. This persistent decrease in solid water is linked to the enhanced melting induced by rising temperatures. Given the decreasing trend in summer precipitation, the surge in liquid water in the SETP should be principally ascribed to the increased melting of solid water. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:52:11Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d4c83ebe17f04614ba90ddde456f5578 |
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| issn | 2072-4292 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T17:52:11Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
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| series | Remote Sensing |
| spelling | doaj.art-d4c83ebe17f04614ba90ddde456f55782024-03-27T14:02:43ZengMDPI AGRemote Sensing2072-42922024-03-01166104810.3390/rs16061048Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FOJinwei Tong0Zhen Shi1Jiashuang Jiao2Bing Yang3Zhen Tian4College of Geological Engineering and Geomatics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, ChinaCollege of Geological Engineering and Geomatics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, ChinaWuhan Gravitation and Solid Earth Tides National Observation and Research Station, Wuhan 430071, ChinaCollege of Geological Engineering and Geomatics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, ChinaCollege of Geological Engineering and Geomatics, Chang’an University, Xi’an 710054, ChinaThe southeastern Tibetan Plateau (SETP), which hosts the most extensive marine glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau (TP), exhibits enhanced sensitivity to climatic fluctuations. Under global warming, persistent glacier mass depletion within the SETP poses a risk to water resource security and sustainability in adjacent nations and regions. This study deployed a high-precision ICESat-2 satellite altimetry technique to evaluate SETP glacier thickness changes from 2018 to 2022. Our results show that the average change rate in glacier thickness in the SETP is −0.91 ± 0.18 m/yr, and the corresponding glacier mass change is −7.61 ± 1.52 Gt/yr. In the SETP, the glacier mass loss obtained via ICESat-2 data is larger than the mass change in total land water storage observed by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment follow-on satellite (GRACE-FO), −5.13 ± 2.55 Gt/yr, which underscores the changes occurring in other land water components, including snow (−0.44 ± 0.09 Gt/yr), lakes (−0.06 ± 0.02 Gt/yr), soil moisture (1.88 ± 1.83 Gt/yr), and groundwater (1.45 ± 0.70 Gt/yr), with a closure error of −0.35 Gt/yr. This demonstrates that this dramatic glacier mass loss is the main reason for the decrease in total land water storage in the SETP. Generally, there are decreasing trends in solid water storage (glacier and snow) against stable or increasing trends in liquid water storage (lakes, soil moisture, and groundwater) in the SETP. This persistent decrease in solid water is linked to the enhanced melting induced by rising temperatures. Given the decreasing trend in summer precipitation, the surge in liquid water in the SETP should be principally ascribed to the increased melting of solid water.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1048satellite altimetryICESat-2GRACE-FOglacier mass balancesoutheastern Tibetan Plateau |
| spellingShingle | Jinwei Tong Zhen Shi Jiashuang Jiao Bing Yang Zhen Tian Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO Remote Sensing satellite altimetry ICESat-2 GRACE-FO glacier mass balance southeastern Tibetan Plateau |
| title | Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO |
| title_full | Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO |
| title_fullStr | Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO |
| title_full_unstemmed | Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO |
| title_short | Glacier Mass Balance and Its Impact on Land Water Storage in the Southeastern Tibetan Plateau Revealed by ICESat-2 and GRACE-FO |
| title_sort | glacier mass balance and its impact on land water storage in the southeastern tibetan plateau revealed by icesat 2 and grace fo |
| topic | satellite altimetry ICESat-2 GRACE-FO glacier mass balance southeastern Tibetan Plateau |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/16/6/1048 |
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