Changes in ice thickness and flow velocity of Yala Glacier, Langtang Himal, Nepal, from 1982 to 2009

• Sugiyama, Shin

• Fukui, Kotaro

• Fujita, Koji

• Tone, Kenta

• Yamaguchi, Satoru

抄録

To investigate recent glacier changes in the Himalayan region, we carried out GPS and ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements at Yala Glacier, a benchmark glacier in Nepal. Glacier surface elevation and ice thickness were surveyed along a 1.5 km profile from the glacier top to the terminus. Ice flow velocity was measured at five locations by surveying stakes for either 1 year or 4 day periods. Obtained surface elevation and ice velocity were compared with those measured in 1982 and 1996. The mean ice thickness along the radar profile was 36 m in 2009 and the ice has been thinning at rates of -0.69 +/- 0.25 and -0.75 +/- 0.24 m a(-1) during the periods 1982-96 and 1996-2009, respectively. The thinning rate increases down-glacier, reaching a magnitude up to -1.8 m a(-1) near the terminus from 1996 to 2009. The ice velocity has reduced by >70% from 1982 to 2009 in the lower half of the glacier. By assuming a constant driving stress over the glacier, the total ice volume in 2009 was estimated as 0.061 km(3). Our results indicate that Yala Glacier has lost similar to 40% of its ice volume over the last 27 years and that the rate of the mass loss has accelerated over the last decade.

収録刊行物

• Annals of glaciology

  Annals of glaciology 54 (64), 157-162, 2013

  Int glaciol soc

詳細情報

• CRID: 1050564288967927680
• NII論文ID: 120005353240
• HANDLE: 2115/53981
• ISSN: 02603055
• 本文言語コード: en
• 資料種別: journal article
• データソース種別:
  • IRDB
  • CiNii Articles