Articles | Volume 21, issue 5
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1409-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-1409-2021
© Author(s) 2021. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| Highlight paper
| 
05 May 2021
Research article | Highlight paper |
| 05 May 2021
| 05 May 2021
Glacier detachments and rock-ice avalanches in the Petra Pervogo range, Tajikistan (1973–2019)
Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Enrico Bernardini
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Institute of Environmental Engineering, ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
Mylène Jacquemart
Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, United States
Mikhail Dokukin
High-Mountain Geophysical Institute, Nalchik, 360030, Russia
Related authors
Marin Kneib, Amaury Dehecq, Fanny Brun, Fatima Karbou, Laurane Charrier, Silvan Leinss, Patrick Wagnon, and Fabien Maussion
The Cryosphere, 18, 2809–2830, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Avalanches are important for the mass balance of mountain glaciers, but few data exist on where and when they occur and which glaciers they affect the most. We developed an approach to map avalanches over large glaciated areas and long periods of time using satellite radar data. The application of this method to various regions in the Alps and High Mountain Asia reveals the variability of avalanches on these glaciers and provides key data to better represent these processes in glacier models.
Fanny Brun, Owen King, Marion Réveillet, Charles Amory, Anton Planchot, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Marie Dumont, Christoph Mayer, Silvan Leinss, Romain Hugonnet, and Patrick Wagnon
The Cryosphere, 17, 3251–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt. Everest. A recent study proposed that South Col Glacier is rapidly losing mass. In this study, we examined the glacier thickness change for the period 1984–2017 and found no thickness change. To reconcile these results, we investigate wind erosion and surface energy and mass balance and find that melt is unlikely a dominant process, contrary to previous findings.
Marcel Stefko, Silvan Leinss, Othmar Frey, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 16, 2859–2879, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2859-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2859-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The coherent backscatter opposition effect can enhance the intensity of radar backscatter from dry snow by up to a factor of 2. Despite widespread use of radar backscatter data by snow scientists, this effect has received notably little attention. For the first time, we characterize this effect for the Earth's snow cover with bistatic radar experiments from ground and from space. We are also able to retrieve scattering and absorbing lengths of snow at Ku- and X-band frequencies.
S. Kaushik, S. Leinss, L. Ravanel, E. Trouvé, Y. Yan, and F. Magnin
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., V-3-2022, 325–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2022-325-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2022-325-2022, 2022
Andreas Kääb, Mylène Jacquemart, Adrien Gilbert, Silvan Leinss, Luc Girod, Christian Huggel, Daniel Falaschi, Felipe Ugalde, Dmitry Petrakov, Sergey Chernomorets, Mikhail Dokukin, Frank Paul, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, and Jeffrey S. Kargel
The Cryosphere, 15, 1751–1785, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Hardly recognized so far, giant catastrophic detachments of glaciers are a rare but great potential for loss of lives and massive damage in mountain regions. Several of the events compiled in our study involve volumes (up to 100 million m3 and more), avalanche speeds (up to 300 km/h), and reaches (tens of kilometres) that are hard to imagine. We show that current climate change is able to enhance associated hazards. For the first time, we elaborate a set of factors that could cause these events.
Elisabeth D. Hafner, Frank Techel, Silvan Leinss, and Yves Bühler
The Cryosphere, 15, 983–1004, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-983-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-983-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites prove to be very valuable for documentation of large-scale avalanche periods. To test reliability and completeness, which has not been satisfactorily verified before, we attempt a full validation of avalanches mapped from two optical sensors and one radar sensor. Our results demonstrate the reliability of high-spatial-resolution optical data for avalanche mapping, the suitability of radar for mapping of larger avalanches and the unsuitability of medium-spatial-resolution optical data.
Eef C. H. van Dongen, Guillaume Jouvet, Shin Sugiyama, Evgeny A. Podolskiy, Martin Funk, Douglas I. Benn, Fabian Lindner, Andreas Bauder, Julien Seguinot, Silvan Leinss, and Fabian Walter
The Cryosphere, 15, 485–500, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The dynamic mass loss of tidewater glaciers is strongly linked to glacier calving. We study calving mechanisms under a thinning regime, based on 5 years of field and remote-sensing data of Bowdoin Glacier. Our data suggest that Bowdoin Glacier ungrounded recently, and its calving behaviour changed from calving due to surface crevasses to buoyancy-induced calving resulting from basal crevasses. This change may be a precursor to glacier retreat.
Jane Walden, Mylène Jacquemart, Bretwood Higman, Romain Hugonnet, Andrea Manconi, and Daniel Farinotti
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 25, 2045–2073, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2045-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-25-2045-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We studied eight glacier-adjacent landslides in Alaska and found that slope movement increased at four sites as the glacier retreated past the landslide area. Movement at other sites may be due to heavy precipitation or increased glacier thinning, and two sites showed little to no motion. We suggest that landslides near waterbodies may be especially vulnerable to acceleration, which we guess is due to faster retreat rates of water-terminating glaciers and changing water flow in the slope.
Mylène Jacquemart, Ethan Welty, Marcus Gastaldello, and Guillem Carcanade
Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 17, 1627–1666, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1627-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-17-1627-2025, 2025
Short summary
Short summary
We present glenglat, a database that contains measurements of ice temperature from 213 glaciers measured in 788 boreholes between 1842 and 2023. Even though ice temperature is a defining characteristic of any glacier, such measurements have been conducted on less than 1 ‰ of all glaciers globally. Our database permits us, for the first time, to investigate glacier temperature distributions at global or regional scales.
Andrea Manconi, Gwendolyn Dasser, Mylène Jacquemart, Nicolas Oestreicher, Livia Piermattei, and Tazio Strozzi
Abstr. Int. Cartogr. Assoc., 9, 41, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-9-41-2025, https://doi.org/10.5194/ica-abs-9-41-2025, 2025
Gwendolyn Dasser, Valentin T. Bickel, Marius Rüetschi, Mylène Jacquemart, Mathias Bavay, Elisabeth D. Hafner, Alec van Herwijnen, and Andrea Manconi
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1510, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-1510, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Understanding snowpack wetness is crucial for predicting wet snow avalanches, but detailed data is often limited to certain locations. Using satellite radar, we monitor snow wetness spatially continuously. By combining different radar tracks from Sentinel-1, we improved spatial resolution and tracked snow wetness over several seasons. Our results indicate higher snow wetness to correlate with increased wet snow avalanche activity, suggesting our method can help identify potential risk areas.
Marin Kneib, Amaury Dehecq, Fanny Brun, Fatima Karbou, Laurane Charrier, Silvan Leinss, Patrick Wagnon, and Fabien Maussion
The Cryosphere, 18, 2809–2830, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-2809-2024, 2024
Short summary
Short summary
Avalanches are important for the mass balance of mountain glaciers, but few data exist on where and when they occur and which glaciers they affect the most. We developed an approach to map avalanches over large glaciated areas and long periods of time using satellite radar data. The application of this method to various regions in the Alps and High Mountain Asia reveals the variability of avalanches on these glaciers and provides key data to better represent these processes in glacier models.
Anja Løkkegaard, Kenneth D. Mankoff, Christian Zdanowicz, Gary D. Clow, Martin P. Lüthi, Samuel H. Doyle, Henrik H. Thomsen, David Fisher, Joel Harper, Andy Aschwanden, Bo M. Vinther, Dorthe Dahl-Jensen, Harry Zekollari, Toby Meierbachtol, Ian McDowell, Neil Humphrey, Anne Solgaard, Nanna B. Karlsson, Shfaqat A. Khan, Benjamin Hills, Robert Law, Bryn Hubbard, Poul Christoffersen, Mylène Jacquemart, Julien Seguinot, Robert S. Fausto, and William T. Colgan
The Cryosphere, 17, 3829–3845, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3829-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3829-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
This study presents a database compiling 95 ice temperature profiles from the Greenland ice sheet and peripheral ice caps. Ice viscosity and hence ice flow are highly sensitive to ice temperature. To highlight the value of the database in evaluating ice flow simulations, profiles from the Greenland ice sheet are compared to a modeled temperature field. Reoccurring discrepancies between modeled and observed temperatures provide insight on the difficulties faced when simulating ice temperatures.
Fanny Brun, Owen King, Marion Réveillet, Charles Amory, Anton Planchot, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Kévin Fourteau, Julien Brondex, Marie Dumont, Christoph Mayer, Silvan Leinss, Romain Hugonnet, and Patrick Wagnon
The Cryosphere, 17, 3251–3268, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-3251-2023, 2023
Short summary
Short summary
The South Col Glacier is a small body of ice and snow located on the southern ridge of Mt. Everest. A recent study proposed that South Col Glacier is rapidly losing mass. In this study, we examined the glacier thickness change for the period 1984–2017 and found no thickness change. To reconcile these results, we investigate wind erosion and surface energy and mass balance and find that melt is unlikely a dominant process, contrary to previous findings.
Maximillian Van Wyk de Vries, Shashank Bhushan, Mylène Jacquemart, César Deschamps-Berger, Etienne Berthier, Simon Gascoin, David E. Shean, Dan H. Shugar, and Andreas Kääb
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 3309–3327, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-3309-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
On 7 February 2021, a large rock–ice avalanche occurred in Chamoli, Indian Himalaya. The resulting debris flow swept down the nearby valley, leaving over 200 people dead or missing. We use a range of satellite datasets to investigate how the collapse area changed prior to collapse. We show that signs of instability were visible as early 5 years prior to collapse. However, it would likely not have been possible to predict the timing of the event from current satellite datasets.
Marcel Stefko, Silvan Leinss, Othmar Frey, and Irena Hajnsek
The Cryosphere, 16, 2859–2879, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2859-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2859-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
The coherent backscatter opposition effect can enhance the intensity of radar backscatter from dry snow by up to a factor of 2. Despite widespread use of radar backscatter data by snow scientists, this effect has received notably little attention. For the first time, we characterize this effect for the Earth's snow cover with bistatic radar experiments from ground and from space. We are also able to retrieve scattering and absorbing lengths of snow at Ku- and X-band frequencies.
Andrew Mitchell, Sophia Zubrycky, Scott McDougall, Jordan Aaron, Mylène Jacquemart, Johannes Hübl, Roland Kaitna, and Christoph Graf
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 22, 1627–1654, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1627-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-22-1627-2022, 2022
Short summary
Short summary
Debris flows are complex, surging movements of sediment and water. Discharge observations from well-studied debris-flow channels were used as inputs for a numerical modelling study of the downstream effects of chaotic inflows. The results show that downstream impacts are sensitive to inflow conditions. Inflow conditions for predictive modelling are highly uncertain, and our method provides a means to estimate the potential variability in future events.
S. Kaushik, S. Leinss, L. Ravanel, E. Trouvé, Y. Yan, and F. Magnin
ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci., V-3-2022, 325–332, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2022-325-2022, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-annals-V-3-2022-325-2022, 2022
Andreas Kääb, Mylène Jacquemart, Adrien Gilbert, Silvan Leinss, Luc Girod, Christian Huggel, Daniel Falaschi, Felipe Ugalde, Dmitry Petrakov, Sergey Chernomorets, Mikhail Dokukin, Frank Paul, Simon Gascoin, Etienne Berthier, and Jeffrey S. Kargel
The Cryosphere, 15, 1751–1785, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1751-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Hardly recognized so far, giant catastrophic detachments of glaciers are a rare but great potential for loss of lives and massive damage in mountain regions. Several of the events compiled in our study involve volumes (up to 100 million m3 and more), avalanche speeds (up to 300 km/h), and reaches (tens of kilometres) that are hard to imagine. We show that current climate change is able to enhance associated hazards. For the first time, we elaborate a set of factors that could cause these events.
Elisabeth D. Hafner, Frank Techel, Silvan Leinss, and Yves Bühler
The Cryosphere, 15, 983–1004, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-983-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-983-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
Satellites prove to be very valuable for documentation of large-scale avalanche periods. To test reliability and completeness, which has not been satisfactorily verified before, we attempt a full validation of avalanches mapped from two optical sensors and one radar sensor. Our results demonstrate the reliability of high-spatial-resolution optical data for avalanche mapping, the suitability of radar for mapping of larger avalanches and the unsuitability of medium-spatial-resolution optical data.
Mylène Jacquemart and Kristy Tiampo
Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 21, 629–642, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-629-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-21-629-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
We used interferometric radar coherence – a data quality indicator typically used to assess the reliability of radar interferometry data – to document the destabilization of the Mud Creek landslide in California, 5 months prior to its catastrophic failure. We calculated a time series of coherence on the slide relative to the surrounding hillslope and suggest that this easy-to-compute metric might be useful for assessing the stability of a hillslope.
Eef C. H. van Dongen, Guillaume Jouvet, Shin Sugiyama, Evgeny A. Podolskiy, Martin Funk, Douglas I. Benn, Fabian Lindner, Andreas Bauder, Julien Seguinot, Silvan Leinss, and Fabian Walter
The Cryosphere, 15, 485–500, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-485-2021, 2021
Short summary
Short summary
The dynamic mass loss of tidewater glaciers is strongly linked to glacier calving. We study calving mechanisms under a thinning regime, based on 5 years of field and remote-sensing data of Bowdoin Glacier. Our data suggest that Bowdoin Glacier ungrounded recently, and its calving behaviour changed from calving due to surface crevasses to buoyancy-induced calving resulting from basal crevasses. This change may be a precursor to glacier retreat.
Cited articles
Bessette-Kirton, E. K. and Coe, J. A.: A 36-year record of rock avalanches in
the Saint Elias Mountains of alaska, with implications for future hazards,
Front. Earth Sci., 8, 293, https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2020.00293, 2020. a
Clarke, G., Collins, S., and Thompson, D.: Flow, thermal structure, and
subglacial conditions of a surge-type glacier, Can. J. Earth Sci., 21, 232–240, https://doi.org/10.1139/e84-024, 2011. a
Copernicus Climate Change Service – C3S: C3S ERA5-Land reanalysis,
https://doi.org/10.24381/cds.68d2bb30, 2019. a
Cuffey, K. M. and Paterson, W. S. B.: The physics of glaciers, Academic Press, Amsterdam, Boston, Heidelberg, London, New York, Oxford, Paris, San Diego, San Francisco, Singapore, Sydney, Tokyo, 2010. a
Davies, T. R. H.: Spreading of rock avalanche debris by mechanical
fluidization, Rock Mech., 15, 9–24, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01239474, 1982. a
DLR – German Aerospace Center: TanDEM-X Science Service System, available at: https://tandemx-science.dlr.de/, last access: 4 May 2021. a
Dokukin, M.: Glacier collapse on the slope of the Peter 1 Range (Tajikistan) in 2017 (Sentinel 2A), available at: https://twitter.com/inrushmd/status/1059061814691012608 (last access: 4 May 2021), 2018. a
Dokukin, M. D., Bekkiev, M. Y., Kalov, R. H., Savernuk, E. A., and
Chernomorets, S. S.: Signs of catastrophic glacier detachments (Analysis of
multitemporal space information), in: Dangerous natural and technogenic processes in mountain regions: models, systems and technologies, edited by: Nikolaev, A. and Zaalishvili, V., 522–528, available at: https://istina.msu.ru/publications/article/266605247/ (last access: 4 May 2021), 2019. a, b, c
Drobyshev, V.: Glacial catastrophe of 20 September 2002 in North Osetia, Russ. J. Earth Sci., 8, 1–25, https://doi.org/10.2205/2006ES000207, 2006. a
Evans, S. G. and Delaney, K. B.: Chapter 16 – Catastrophic Mass Flows in the
Mountain Glacial Environment, in: Snow and Ice-Related Hazards, Risks and
Disasters, edited by: Shroder, J. F., Haeberli, W., and Whiteman, C., Academic Press, Boston, 563–606, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-394849-6.00016-0,
2015. a, b, c, d
Evans, S. G., Tutubalina, O. V., Drobyshev, V. N., Chernomorets, S. S.,
McDougall, S., Petrakov, D. A., and Hungr, O.: Catastrophic detachment and
high-velocity long-runout flow of Kolka Glacier, Caucasus Mountains, Russia
in 2002, Geomorphology, 105, 314–321, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2008.10.008,
2009. a, b
Faillettaz, J., Sornette, D., and Funk, M.: Numerical modeling of a
gravity-driven instability of a cold hanging glacier: reanalysis of the 1895 break-off of Altelsgletscher, Switzerland, J. Glaciol., 57, 817–831, https://doi.org/10.3189/002214311798043852, 2011. a
Falaschi, D., Kääb, A., Paul, F., Tadono, T., Rivera, J., and Lenzano, L.: Brief communication: Collapse of 4 Mm3 of ice from a cirque glacier in the Central Andes of Argentina, The Cryosphere, 13, 997–1004, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-13-997-2019, 2019. a, b
Farr, T. G., Rosen, P. A., Caro, E., Crippen, R., Duren, R., Hensley, S.,
Kobrick, M., Paller, M., Rodriguez, E., Roth, L., Seal, D., Shaffer, S.,
Shimada, J., Umland, J., Werner, M., Oskin, M., Burbank, D., and Alsdorf, D.:
The Shuttle Radar Topography Mission, Rev. Geophys., 45, RG2004, https://doi.org/10.1029/2005RG000183, 2007. a, b
Finaev, A., Shiyin, L., Weijia, B., and Li, J.: Climate Change and Water
Potential of the Pamir Mountains, Geogr. Environ. Sustainabil., 9, 88–105, https://doi.org/10.15356/2071-9388_03v09_2016_06, 2016. a
Goerlich, F., Bolch, T., and Paul, F.: More dynamic than expected: an updated
survey of surging glaciers in the Pamir, Earth Syst. Sci. Data, 12, 3161–3176, https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-12-3161-2020, 2020. a, b
Gorelick, N., Hancher, M., Dixon, M., Ilyushchenko, S., Thau, D., and Moore,
R.: Google Earth Engine: Planetary-scale geospatial analysis for everyone,
Remote Sens. Environ., 202, 18–27, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rse.2017.06.031, 2017. a
Haeberli, W., Huggel, C., Kääb, A., Zgraggen-Oswald, S., Polkvoj, A.,
Galushkin, I., Zotikov, I., and Osokin, N.: The Kolka-Karmadon rock/ice slide
of 20 September 2002: an extraordinary event of historical dimensions in
North Ossetia, Russian Caucasus, J. Glaciol., 50, 533–546,
https://doi.org/10.3189/172756504781829710, 2004. a
Harrison, W. D. and Post, A. S.: How much do we really know about glacier
surging?, Ann. Glaciol., 36, 1–6, https://doi.org/10.3189/172756403781816185, 2003. a
Huggel, C., Zgraggen-Oswald, S., Haeberli, W., Kääb, A., Polkvoj, A.,
Galushkin, I., and Evans, S. G.: The 2002 rock/ice avalanche at Kolka/Karmadon, Russian Caucasus: assessment of extraordinary avalanche
formation and mobility, and application of QuickBird satellite imagery, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 5, 173–187, https://doi.org/10.5194/nhess-5-173-2005, 2005. a, b
Jibson, R.: 7.23 Mass-Movement Causes: Earthquakes, in: Treatise on
Geomorphology, edited by: Shroder, J. F., Academic Press, San Diego, 223–229, https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-374739-6.00169-X, 2013. a, b, c
Kääb, A., Bolch, T., Casey, K., Heid, T., Kargel, J. S., Leonard, G. J., Paul, F., and Raup, B. H.: Glacier Mapping and Monitoring Using
Multispectral Data, Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg, 75–112, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-79818-7_4, 2014. a
Kääb, A., Leinss, S., Gilbert, A., Bühler, Y., Gascoin, S., Evans, S. G., Bartelt, P., Berthier, E., Brun, F., Chao, W.-A., Farinotti, D., Gimbert, F., Guo, W., Huggel, C., Kargel, J. S., Leonard, G., Tian, L.,
Treichler, D., and Yao, T.: Massive collapse of two glaciers in Western Tibet in 2016 after surge-like instability, Nat. Geosci., 11, 114–120,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-017-0039-7, 2018. a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j
Kääb, A., Jacquemart, M., Gilbert, A., Leinss, S., Girod, L., Huggel, C., Falaschi, D., Ugalde, F., Petrakov, D., Chernomorets, S., Dokukin, M., Paul, F., Gascoin, S., Berthier, E., and Kargel, J.: Sudden large-volume
detachments of low-angle mountain glaciers – more frequent than thought?, The Cryosphere, 15, 1–36, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-1-2021, 2021. a, b, c
Kamb, B., Raymond, C., Harrison, W., Engelhardt, H., Echelmeyer, K., Humphrey, N., Brugman, M., and Pfeffer, W.: Glacier Surge Mechanism: 1982–1983 Surge of Variegated Glacier, Alaska, Science, 227, 469–79,
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.227.4686.469, 1985. a
Krieger, G., Fiedler, H., Zink, M., Hajnsek, I., Younis, M., Huber, S.,
Bachmann, M., Hueso Gonzalez, J., Werner, M., and Moreira, A.: TanDEM-X: A satellite formation for high-resolution SAR interferometry, IEEE T. Geosci. Remote, 45, 3317–3341, https://doi.org/10.1109/TGRS.2007.900693, 2007. a
Leinss, S. and Bernhard, P.: TanDEM-X: deriving height and velocity dynamics of Great Aletsch Glacier, IEEE J. Select. Top. Remote Sens., accepted, 2021. a
Leinss, S., Willimann, C., and Hajnsek, I.: Glacier Detachment Hazard Analysis in the West Kunlun Shan Mountains, in: IGARSS 2019–2019 IEEE
International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium, 28 July–2 August 2019, Yokohama, Japan, 4565–4568, 2019. a
Miles, E. S., Watson, C. S., Brun, F., Berthier, E., Esteves, M., Quincey, D. J., Miles, K. E., Hubbard, B., and Wagnon, P.: Glacial and geomorphic effects of a supraglacial lake drainage and outburst event, Everest region, Nepal Himalaya, The Cryosphere, 12, 3891–3905, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-3891-2018, 2018. a
Moore, P. L.: Deformation of debris-ice mixtures, Rev. Geophys., 52, 435–467, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014RG000453, 2014. a, b
Neigh, C., Masek, J., and Nickeson, J.: High-resolution satellite data open for government research, EOS Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 94, 121–123, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013EO130002, 2013. a, b
NGA – National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency: Commercial Archive Data for NASA investigators, available at: https://cad4nasa.gsfc.nasa.gov/, last access: 22 July 2020. a
Noh, M. J. and Howat, I. M.: The Surface Extraction from TIN based
Search-space Minimization (SETSM) algorithm, ISPRS J. Photogram. Remote Sens,, 129, 55–76, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2017.04.019, 2017. a, b
Nuth, C. and Kääb, A.: Co-registration and bias corrections of satellite elevation data sets for quantifying glacier thickness change, The Cryosphere, 5, 271–290, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-5-271-2011, 2011. a, b
Obu, J., Westermann, S., Bartsch, A., Berdnikov, N., Christiansen, H. H.,
Dashtseren, A., Delaloye, R., Elberling, B., Etzelmüller, B., Kholodov, A., Khomutov, A., Kääb, A., Leibman, M. O., Lewkowicz, A. G., Panda, S. K.,
Romanovsky, V., Way, R. G., Westergaard-Nielsen, A., Wu, T., Yamkhin, J., and
Zou, D.: Northern Hemisphere permafrost map based on TTOP modelling for 2000–2016 at 1 km2 scale, Earth-Sci. Rev., 193, 299–316,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2019.04.023, 2019. a
Paul, F.: Repeat glacier collapses and surges in the Amney Machen mountain
range, Tibet, possibly triggered by a developing rock-slope instability,
Remote Sens., 11, 708, https://doi.org/10.3390/rs11060708, 2019. a, b
Petrakov, D. A., Chernomorets, S. S., Evans, S. G., and Tutubalina, O. V.: Catastrophic glacial multi-phase mass movements: a special type of glacial hazard, Adv. Geosci., 14, 211–218, https://doi.org/10.5194/adgeo-14-211-2008, 2008. a
Raup, B., Racoviteanu, A., Khalsa, S. J. S., Helm, C., Armstrong, R., and
Arnaud, Y.: The GLIMS geospatial glacier database: a new tool for studying
glacier change, Global. Planet. Change, 56, 101–110,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gloplacha.2006.07.018, 2007. a, b
Rignot, E., Echelmeyer, K., and Krabill, W.: Penetration depth of
interferometric synthetic-aperture radar signals in snow and ice, Geophys.
Res. Lett., 28, 3501–3504, https://doi.org/10.1029/2000GL012484, 2001. a
Scheidegger, A. E.: On the prediction of the reach and velocity of catastrophic landslides, Rock Mech., 5, 231–236, https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01301796, 1973. a
Schneider, D., Huggel, C., Haeberli, W., and Kaitna, R.: Unraveling driving
factors for large rock–ice avalanche mobility, Earth Surf. Proc. Land., 36, 1948–1966, https://doi.org/10.1002/esp.2218, 2011. a, b
Schurr, B., Ratschbacher, L., Sippl, C., Gloaguen, R., Yuan, X., and Mechie,
J.: Seismotectonics of the Pamir, Tectonics, 33, 1501–1518,
https://doi.org/10.1002/2014TC003576, 2014.
a
Sevestre, H. and Benn, D. I.: Climatic and geometric controls on the global
distribution of surge-type glaciers: implications for a unifying model of
surging, J. Glaciol., 61, 646–662, https://doi.org/10.3189/2015JoG14J136, 2015. a
Sinergise Laboratory: Sentinel Hub, available at: https://www.sentinel-hub.com/explore/eobrowser/, last access: 4 May 2021. a
Tadono, T., Nagai, H., Ishida, H., Oda, F., Naito, S., Minakawa, K., and
Iwamoto, H.: Generation of the 30m-mesh global digital surface model by ALOS
PRISM, ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sens.
Spat. Inform. Sci., XLI-B4, 157–162, https://doi.org/10.5194/isprs-archives-XLI-B4-157-2016, 2016. a, b
Tajik telegraph agency: https://tajikta.tj/ru/news/v-tadzhikistane-stikhiya-nanesla-ushcherb-mestnym-zhitelyam-
razrushiv-most-i-10-domov (last access: 4 May 2021), 29 August 2016. a
USGS: What are the best Landsat spectral bands for use in my research?, available at: https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/what-are-best-landsat-spectral-bands-use-my-research?qt-news_science_products
(last access: 3 February 2021), 2020. a
USGS – US Geological Survey: USGS Earth explorer [without NASA], available at: https://earthexplorer.usgs.gov/, last access: 4 May 2021. a
Williams, M. W. and Konovalov, V. G.: Central Asia temperature and
precipitation data, 1879–2003, Version 1. Lyakhsh station, NSIDC – National Snow and Ice Data Center, Boulder, Colorado, USA, https://doi.org/10.7265/N5NK3BZ8, 2008. a
Short summary
A cluster of 13 large mass flow events including five detachments of entire valley glaciers was observed in the Petra Pervogo range, Tajikistan, in 1973–2019. The local clustering provides additional understanding of the influence of temperature, seismic activity, and geology. Most events occurred in summer of years with mean annual air temperatures higher than the past 46-year trend. The glaciers rest on weak bedrock and are rather short, making them sensitive to friction loss due to meltwater.
A cluster of 13 large mass flow events including five detachments of entire valley glaciers was...
Altmetrics
Final-revised paper
Preprint