Widespread albedo decreasing and induced melting of Himalayan snow and ice in the early 21st century

PLoS ONE

Volumn 10, Issue 6, 2015, Pages

  Ming, Jing ^a,b,g   Wang, Yaqiang ^c   Du, Zhencai ^d   Zhang, Tong ^e   Guo, Wanqin ^b   Xiao, Cunde ^b,c   Xu, Xiaobin ^c   Ding, Minghu ^b,c,g   Zhang, Dongqi ^b,c   Yang, Wen ^f,g  

^a China Meteorological Administration   (China)

^b Chinese Academy of Sciences   (China)

^c STATE KEY LABORATORY OF SEVERE WEATHER   (China)

^d INSTITUTE OF ATMOSPHERIC PHYSICS   (China)

^e UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA   (United States)

^f CHINESE RESEARCH ACADEMY OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES   (China)

^g Snow Ice Aerosol Analyzing Laboratory   (China)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

ALBEDO; ARTICLE; CONTROLLED STUDY; DEGLACIATION; GEOGRAPHIC AND GEOLOGICAL PARAMETERS; GEOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION; GLACIAL PERIOD; GLACIER; MASS LOSS EQUIVALENT; RADIATION ABSORPTION; SEASONAL VARIATION; SURFACE PROPERTY; TOPOGRAPHY; CLIMATE CHANGE; HISTORY; ICE COVER;

SNOW;

CLIMATE CHANGE; HISTORY, 21ST CENTURY; ICE COVER; SNOW;

EID: 84935924304     PISSN: None     EISSN: 19326203     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0126235     Document Type: Article

References (40)

1. Immerzeel W, van Beek L, Bierkens M. Climate Change Will Affect the Asian Water Towers. Science. 2010; 328: 1382-1385. doi: 10.1126/science.1183188 PMID: 20538947
2. Jacob T, Wahr J, Pfeffer W, Swenson S. Recent contributions of glaciers and ice caps to sea level rise. Nature. 2012; 482: 514-518. doi: 10.1038/nature10847 PMID: 22318519
3. Gardner A, Moholdt G, Cogley J, Wouters B, Arendt A, Wahr J, et al. A Reconciled Estimate of Glacier Contributions to Sea Level Rise: 2003 to 2009. Science. 2013; 340: 852-857. doi: 10.1126/science.1234532 PMID: 23687045
4. Kaab A, Berthier E, Nuth C, Gardelle J, Arnaud Y. Contrasting patterns of early twenty-first-century glacier mass change in the Himalayas. Nature. 2012; 488: 495-498. doi: 10.1038/nature11324 PMID: 22914167
5. Gardelle J, Berthier E, Arnaud Y. Slight mass gain of Karakoram glaciers in the early twenty-first century. Nat Geosci. 2012; 5: 322-325.
6. Dumont M, Gardelle J, Sirguey P, Guillot A, Six D, Rabatel A, et al. Linking glacier annual mass balance and glacier albedo retrieved from MODIS data. The Cryosphere. 2012; 6: 1527-1539. doi: 10.1088/0031-9155/57/6/1527 PMID: 22391091
7. Box J, Fettweis X, Stroeve J, Tedesco M, Hall D, Steffen K. Greenland ice sheet albedo feedback: thermodynamics and atmospheric drivers. The Cryosphere. 2012; 6: 821-839.
8. Brun F, Dumont M, Wagnon P, Berthier E, Azam M, Shea JM, et al. Seasonal changes in surface albedo of Himalayan glaciers from MODIS data and links with the annual mass balance. The Cryosphere. 2015; 9: 341-355.
9. Gurung D, Giriraj A, Aung K, Shrestha B, Kulkarni A. Snow-cover mapping and monitoring in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas. Kathmandu: International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD); 2011.
10. Wolfe R, Nishihama M, Fleig A, Kuyper J, Roy D, Storey J, et al. Achieving sub-pixel geolocation accuracy in support of MODIS land science. Remote Sens Environ. 2002; 83: 31-49.
11. Tekeli A, Şensoy A, Şorman A, Akyürek Z, Şorman Ü. Accuracy assessment of MODIS daily snow albedo retrievals within situ measurements in Karasu basin. Hydrol Process. 2006; 20: 705-721.
12. Wang J, Ye B, Cui Y, He X, Yang G. Spatial and temporal variations of albedo on nine glaciers in western China from 2000 to 2011. Hydrol Process. 2014; 28: 3454-3465.
13. Riggs G, Hall D, Salomonson V. MODIS snow products user guide to collection 5. National Snow & Ice Data Center. 2006. Available: https://nsidc.org/data/docs/daac/modis-v5/dorothy-snow-doc.pdf.
14. Huang X, Liang T, Zhang X, Guo Z. Validation of MODIS snow cover products using Landsat and ground measurements during the 2001-2005 snow seasons over northern Xinjiang, China. International Journal of Remote Sensing. 2011; 32: 133-152.
15. Wang Y. MeteoInfo: GIS software for meteorological data visualization and analysis. Meteorological Applications. 2014; 21: 360-368.
16. Stroeve J, Box J, Haran T. Evaluation of the MODIS (MOD10A1) daily snow albedo product over the Greenland ice sheet. Remote Sens Environ. 2006; 105: 155-171.
17. Arendt A, Bolch T, Cogley J, Gardner A, Hagen J, Hock R, et al. Randolph Glacier Inventory - A Dataset of Global Glacier Outlines: Version 3.2. GLIMS Technical Report. 2012.
18. Bolch T, Kulkarni A, Kaab A, Huggel C, Paul F, Cogley J, et al. The state and fate of Himalayan glaciers. Science. 2012; 336: 310-314. doi: 10.1126/science.1215828 PMID: 22517852
19. Rodriguez E, Morris C, Belz J, Chapin E, Martin J, Daffer W, et al. An assessment of the SRTM topographic products. JPL, NASA. 2005. Available: http://www2.jpl.nasa.gov/srtm/SRTM-D31639.pdf.
20. Panday P, Frey K, Ghimire B. Detection of the timing and duration of snowmelt in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya using QuikSCAT, 2000-2008. Environ Res Lett. 2011; 6: 024007.
21. Palazzi E, von Hardenberg J, Provenzale A. Precipitation in the Hindu-Kush Karakoram Himalaya: Observations and future scenarios. J Geophys Res. 2013; 118: 85-100.
22. WGMS. Fluctuations of Glaciers 2005-2010, Vol. X. Zurich: World Glacier Monitoring Service; 2012.
23. Hoffman MJ, Fountain AG, Liston GE. Surface energy balance and melt thresholds over 11 years at Taylor Glacier, Antarctica. J Geophys Res. 2008; 113: F04014.
24. Wagnon P, Ramanathan A, Arnaud Y, Azam F, Vincent C. Long-term mass and energy balance monitoring of Himalayan glaciers (GLACIOCLIM project): some results for Chhota Shigri Glacier (India), Mera and Changri Nup glaciers (Nepal). EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts. 2012; 14: 5328.
25. Yang W, Guo X, Yao T, Yang K, Zhao L, Li S, et al. Summertime surface energy budget and ablation modeling in the ablation zone of a maritime Tibetan glacier. J Geophys Res. 2011; 116: D14116.
26. Azam MF, Wagnon P, Vincent C, Ramanathan AL, Favier V, Mandal A, et al. Processes governing the mass balance of Chhota Shigri Glacier (western Himalaya, India) assessed by point-scale surface energy balance measurements. The Cryosphere. 2014; 8: 2195-2217.
27. Yang X, Qun J, Liu H, Wang S. Meteorological Characteristics of the East Rongbuk Glacier, Mt. Qomolangma. Arid Meteorology (Chinese with English abstract). 2008; 26: 16-21.
28. Jain S, Goswami A, Saraf A. Determination of land surface temperature and its lapse rate in the Satluj River basin using NOAA data. Int J Remote Sens. 2008; 29: 3091-3103.
29. Datt P, Srivastava P, Negi P, Satyawali P. Surface energy balance of seasonal snow cover for snowmelt estimation in N-W Himalaya. J Earth Syst Sci. 2008; 117: 567-573.
30. Kato S, Loeb N, Rose F, Doelling D, Rutan D, Caldwell TE, et al. Surface Irradiances Consistent with CERES-Derived Top-of-Atmosphere Shortwave and Longwave Irradiances. J. Climate. 2013; 26: 2719-2740.
31. Hua W, Dong Y, Fan G. The analysis of spatial and temporal characteristics of annual sunshine duration over Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Journal of Mountain Science (Chinese with English abstract). 2010; 28: 21-30.
32. Vincent C, Ramanathan A, Wagnon P, Dobhal D, Linda A, Berthier E, et al. Balanced conditions or slight mass gain of glaciers in the Lahaul and Spiti region (northern India, Himalaya) during the nineties preceded recent mass loss. The Cryosphere. 2013; 7: 569-582.
33. Gautam R, Hsu N, Lau K, Tsay S, Kafatos M. Enhanced pre-monsoon warming over the Himalayan-Gangetic region from 1979 to 2007. Geophys Res Lett. 2009; 36: L07704.
34. Nie Y, Liu Q, Liu S. Glacial Lake Expansion in the Central Himalayas by Landsat Images. Plos One. 2013; 8: e83973. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0083973 PMID: 24376778
35. Shrestha U, Gautam S, Bawa K. Widespread Climate Change in the Himalayas and Associated Changes in Local Ecosystems. Plos One. 2012; 7: e36741. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0036741 PMID: 22615804
36. Yasunari T, Bonasoni P, Laj P, Fujita K, Vuillermoz E, Marinoni A, et al. Estimated impact of black carbon deposition during pre-monsoon season from Nepal Climate Observatory - Pyramid data and snow albedo changes over Himalayan glaciers. Atmos Chem Phys. 2010; 10: 6603-6615.
37. Nair V, Babu S, Moorthy K, Sharma A, Marinoni A, Ajai. Black carbon aerosols over the Himalayas: direct and surface albedo forcing. Tellus B. 2013; 65: 19738.
38. Gautam R, Hsu N, Lau W, Yasunari T. Satellite observations of desert dust-induced Himalayan snow darkening. Geophys Res Lett. 2013; 40: 1-6.
39. Painter T, Flanner M, Kaser G, Marzeion B, VanCuren R, Abdalati W. End of the Little Ice Age in the Alps forced by industrial black carbon. Proc Natl Acad Sci U.S.A. 2013; 110: 15216-15221. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1302570110 PMID: 24003138
40. Ming J, Du Z, Xiao C, Xu X, Zhang D. Darkening of the mid-Himalaya glaciers since 2000 and the potential causes. Environ Res Lett. 2012; 7: 014021.