Annual and Seasonal Variations in Glacier Velocity, and Surging Glaciers in the West Kunlun Mountain

Abstract

Monitoring glacier velocity is crucial for revealing glacier dynamics and clarifying the responses of glaciers to climate change. The West Kunlun mountain (WKM) is at the center of the Karakoram Anomaly; however, insufficient systematic studies have been conducted to determine glacier velocities in this region. This study reports annual and seasonal variations in glacier velocity and the characteristics of glacier surges in the WKM between 2013 and 2023 using multisource remote sensing data. Results show that the annual average velocity exhibits a slightly increasing trend (0.48 ± 0.16 m/yr), mainly owing to increasing glacier thickness. Larger glaciers flow faster than smaller ones, and glaciers with northern and southern slopes flow faster than those with slopes in other directions. Glacial velocities in 2016 and 2021 were 13.78 ± 3.54 and 13.65 ± 2.56 m/yr, respectively, which are higher than those in neighboring years. Velocities are approximately 4.3 m/yr higher during the warm season than in the cold season. Temperature and precipitation are the primary factors influencing annual and seasonal variations in glacier velocities. In total, 10 verified surging glaciers were observed during the period 2013–2023, with peak velocities ranging from 42.95 to 865.16 m/yr. The active, accelerating, and decelerating phases of b1 and b2 of West Kunlun as well as Alakesayi, Zhongfeng, and G2 lasted approximately 3–6 years. The active phase of G11 may have lasted more than 23 years, whereas the active phases of Gongxing, Litian, G24, and G26 lasted no longer than 2 years.

Keywords

• Climate change
• feature tracking
• glacier velocity
• surging glaciers