A research of glacier change in West Kunlun through remote sensing

Glacier, due to the sensitivity to the climate change, has become an important indicator for global change research, especially the glaciers in the Arctic, Antarctic, and the third pole (Qinghai-Tibet plateau). Remote sensing, which has a capability to acquire the regional information of glaciers quickly, has become an effective tool to monitor and study the change of glaciers. In this paper, combining the NECP/NCAR reanalysis climatic data, the long time-series and continental area change of the glaciers and their melted lakes in West Kunlun with different watersheds were comparative analyzed by using LandSat TM/ETM⁺ images from 1991 to 2009, which is located in the northern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau. The results show: 1) The total area of the glaciers in eastern West Kunlun reduced firstly then increased. Meanwhile the total area of the glaciers in western West Kunlun sustained decreased in recent 20 years. 2) There is a significant negative correlation between the area change of glaciers and the corresponding welted lakes in West Kunlun. 3) The area change difference of the glaciers in the eastern and western regions in West Kunlun is mainly induced by temperature.