Multitemporal Glacier Mass Balance and Area Changes in the Puruogangri Ice Field during 1975-2021 Based on Multisource Satellite Observations

Due to climate warming, the glaciers of the Tibetan Plateau have experienced rapid mass loss and the patterns of glacier changes have exhibited high spatiotemporal heterogeneity, especially in interior areas. As the largest ice field within the Tibetan Plateau, the Puruogangri Ice Field has attracted a lot of attention from the scientific community. However, relevant studies that are based on satellite data have mainly focused on a few periods from 2000-2016. Long-term and multiperiod observations remain to be conducted. To this end, we estimated the changes in the glacier area and mass balance of the Puruogangri Ice Field over five subperiods between 1975 and 2021, based on multisource remote sensing data. Specifically, we employed KH-9 and Landsat images to estimate the area change from 1975 to 2021 using the band ratio method. Subsequently, based on KH-9 DEM, SRTM DEM, Copernicus DEM and ZY-3 DEM data, we evaluated the glacier elevation changes and mass balance over five subperiods during 1975-2021. The results showed that the total glacier area decreased from 427.44 +/- 12.43 km(2) to 387.87 +/- 11.02 km(2) from 1975 to 2021, with a decrease rate of 0.86 km(2) a(-1). The rate of area change at a decade timescale was -0.74 km(2) a(-1) (2000-2012) and -1.00 km(2) a(-1) (2012-2021). Furthermore, the rates at a multiyear timescale were -1.23 km(2) a(-1), -1.83 km(2) a(-1) and -0.42 km(2) a(-1) for 2012-2015, 2015-2017 and 2017-2021, respectively. In terms of the glacier mass balance, the region-wide results at a two-decade timescale were -0.23 +/- 0.02 m w.e. a(-1) for 1975-2000 and -0.29 +/- 0.02 m w.e. a(-1) for 2000-2021, indicating a sustained and relatively stable mass loss over the past nearly five decades. After 2000, the loss rate at a decade timescale was -0.04 +/- 0.01 m w.e. a(-1) for 2000-2012 and -0.17 +/- 0.01 m w.e. a(-1) for 2012-2021, indicating an increasing loss rate over recent decades. It was further found that the mass loss rate was -0.12 +/- 0.02 m w.e. a(-1) for 2012-2015, -0.03 +/- 0.01 m w.e. a(-1) for 2015-2017 and -0.40 +/- 0.03 m w.e. a(-1) for 2017-2021. These results indicated that a significant portion of the glacier mass loss mainly occurred after 2017. According to our analysis of the meteorological measurements in nearby regions, the trends of precipitation and the average annual air temperature both increased. Combining these findings with the results of the glacier changes implied that the glacier changes seemed to be more sensitive to temperature increase in this region. Overall, our results improved our understanding of the status of glacier changes and their reaction to climate change in the central Tibetan Plateau.

Automated summary

This study analyzed the changes in glacier area and mass balance of the Puruogangri Ice Field from 1975 to 2021 based on multisource remote sensing data. The results showed a continuous decrease in glacier area and relatively stable mass loss over the past decades, with an accelerated loss rate after 2017. The findings suggest that increased precipitation and average annual air temperature are likely contributing factors to these glacier changes.