Multi-scale remote sensing-based glacier monitoring in the Aksu-Tarim Catchment in Xinjiang/China

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Glaciers in Aksu-Tarim Catchment are resources of fresh water and are of cardinal importance both for the ecosystem and the agriculture in the arid Tarim Basin in northwest China. The region is affected by a changing climate with fundamental consequences for the glaciers and hence the availability of water. Within this project a glacier inventory of the entire Aksu-Tarim Catchment for three different time periods (1990, 2000 and 2008) based on remote sensing data will shed light on the changes in ice cover. The reaction of the glaciers on the southern slope of Tomur Peak to climate change will be studied in detail using multi-temporal high resolution stereo satellite imagery, both optical and radar. This includes the period of direct satellite measurements since the 1960s and indirect witnesses of the glacier extent in historic times by the detection of moraines from space, describing the long-term behaviour of glaciers in the Tien Shan Mountains since the end of Little Ice Age. The integrated approach will also focus on glacier mass balance based on volume changes, glacier surface velocity, and surface morphology. A special focus is put onto the abundant debris-covered glaciers. Finally, existing models will be adapted to the investigation area to project the future behaviour of the glaciers under different climate change scenarios and the change in the ice-water content will be estimated. Visualisations will bring the results to both the public and decision makers.