Gao et al. (2025) Dynamic difference between surging and normal glaciers in the context of climate change: Insights from multi-source remote sensing

Identification

• Journal: Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-26
• Authors: Yongpeng Gao, Shiyin Liu, Miaomiao Qi, Fuming Xie
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102990

Research Groups

• School of Earth Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
• Institute of International Rivers and Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
• Yunnan Key Laboratory of International Rivers and Transboundary Eco-Security, Yunnan University, Kunming, China
• Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of China-Laos-Bangladesh-Myanmar Natural Resources Remote Sensing Monitoring, Kunming, China

Short Summary

This study investigates the contrasting dynamic responses of surge-type and normal glaciers to climate change in the Yunfeng Peak region of High Mountain Asia using multi-source remote sensing, revealing that glacier size and thermally-induced basal processes primarily drive these differential behaviors.

Objective

• To analyze the differential responses of surge-type and normal glaciers to climate change in the Yunfeng Peak region of High Mountain Asia, clarifying how climate change impacts their formation and evolution by examining variations in glacier area, surface elevation, mass balance, velocity, and quantitatively analyzing basal factors.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Yunfeng Peak (YFP) region, High Mountain Asia (34°00′05″N, 79°26′44″E), encompassing 65 glaciers with a total area of 55.69 square kilometers. Regional climate analysis covers surrounding areas and High Mountain Asia.
• Temporal Scale:
  • Glacier dynamics (area, elevation, mass balance): 2000–2023.
  • Glacier velocity (ITS_LIVE): 1990–2022.
  • High-resolution glacier velocity (Landsat OLI): 2013–2024.
  • Climate data (reanalysis/satellite): 1980–2023.
  • Specific surge event: 2011 (initiation), 2014 (peak velocity), 2020 (termination).

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • Glen's flow law (for shear stress, ice deformation, sliding velocity)
  • MicMac ASTER (MMASTER) tool (for ASTER DEM generation)
  • COSI-Corr (for optical cross-correlation and surface displacement)
  • Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model (used in HAR dataset generation)
• Data sources:
  • Optical Imagery: Landsat ETM+/OLI Collection-2 (glacier outlines, surface velocities), ASTER-L1A (glacier surface DEMs), Gaofen-2 (glacier surface conditions).
  • Digital Elevation Models (DEMs): ASTER DEMs (generated from ASTER-L1A), NASADEM (glacier surface elevations for 2000).
  • Glacier Inventories: Second Chinese Glacier Inventory, Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI V6).
  • Glacier Surface Velocity Products: Inter-Mission Time Series of Land Ice Velocity and Elevation (ITS_LIVE).
  • Climate Data (Reanalysis/Satellite): High Asia Refined Analysis (HAR V2), CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station), National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) reanalysis data, ERA5-Land.
  • MODIS Products: MOD11A1 (land surface temperature), MCD43A3 (albedo), MOD10A1 (snow cover).
  • Ice Thickness Data: Glacier Thickness Database 3.1.0, simulated data from Farinotti et al. (2019).

Main Results

• From 2000 to 2023, the total glacier area in the YFP region decreased by more than 3.5 square kilometers, while the number of glaciers slightly increased.
• Four normal glaciers with areas exceeding 5 square kilometers experienced a collective area loss of 1.53 square kilometers. In contrast, one surge-type glacier (YFPSTG, 18.60 square kilometers) showed a net area increase of 1.20 ± 0.37 square kilometers due to a terminus advance exceeding 1.7 kilometers.
• The YFPSTG surge initiated in 2011, reached its peak velocity in 2014 (average 330.73 ± 1.17 meters per year, peak 959.37 ± 1.17 meters per year), and terminated in 2020, with the surge phase lasting approximately 10 years.
• Normal glaciers in the region exhibited slower flow velocities (generally below 10 meters per year after 2010) and pronounced terminus retreats during the same period.
• Both surge-type and normal glaciers showed comparable long-term trends in elevation and mass balance changes (2000–2023). However, the surge-type glacier redistributed over 0.2 cubic kilometers of ice from higher to lower elevations during its surge.
• A climatic shift between 1980 and 2010, characterized by increased precipitation (>80 millimeters per decade) and decreased temperatures (−0.2 to 0 °C per decade), influenced glacier flow velocities. After 2010, precipitation decreased, and warming occurred.
• Seasonal climate analysis revealed precipitation concentrated in winter and spring, while warming was greater in summer and autumn, consistent with YFPSTG's seasonal velocity patterns (lowest in winter, accelerating in spring, peaking in summer/autumn).
• Glacier size is identified as a primary factor for differential responses, with larger surge-type glaciers requiring longer dynamic adjustment periods compared to smaller normal glaciers.
• The YFPSTG surge was primarily driven by a thermal mechanism: climate-induced mass gain led to increased ice thickness and progressive warming of the glacier base to the pressure melting point. Surface meltwater infiltration through crevasses further elevated basal water pressure, reducing basal friction and triggering the surge. The subsequent formation of an efficient basal drainage network reduced sliding velocity, bringing the surge to an end.

Contributions

• Provides a comparative analysis of surge-type and normal glaciers under identical climatic conditions, addressing a gap in existing literature that often overlooks such comparative responses beyond geometric characteristics.
• Offers a quantitative analysis of basal factors (shear stress, deformation velocity, sliding velocity, and effective normal stress) influencing glacier dynamic states, which was previously limited for glacier surging processes in High Mountain Asia.
• Clarifies how climate change differentially impacts the formation and evolution of surge-type glaciers, contributing valuable insights into complex glacier dynamics in High Mountain Asia.
• Identifies glacier size as a primary factor dictating the rate of dynamic adjustments to external climatic drivers, influencing the degree of glacier response.
• Confirms the thermal mechanism as the primary driver for the YFPSTG surge, linking it to climate-induced mass gain and basal meltwater dynamics.

Funding

• Science and Technology Program of Tibet (grant No. XZ202402ZD0001)
• National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant No. 42361144874)
• Program of the State Key Laboratory of Cryospheric Science and Frozen Soil Engineering, CAS (grant No. CSFSE-KF-2407)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship Program (Grade C) of China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant No. GZC20250223)
• China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (grant No. 2025M770346)
• Top-notch Talent of the Qinghai Province "Kunlun Talent. High-end Innovation and Entrepreneurship Talent" program (grant No. 2023-QLGKLYCZX-001)

Citation

@article{Gao2025Dynamic,
  author = {Gao, Yongpeng and Liu, Shiyin and Qi, Miaomiao and Xie, Fuming},
  title = {Dynamic difference between surging and normal glaciers in the context of climate change: Insights from multi-source remote sensing},
  journal = {Journal of Hydrology Regional Studies},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102990},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejrh.2025.102990}
}