Rankl, Melanie; Braun, Matthias Holger (2016): Glacier elevation changes in the Karakoram Range derived from TanDEM-X and SRTM/X-SAR digital elevation models, 2000-2012, link to GeoTIFF [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.873279,

---

Supplement to: Rankl, M; Braun, MH (2016): Glacier elevation and mass changes over the central Karakoram region estimated from TanDEM-X and SRTM/X-SAR digital elevation models. Annals of Glaciology, 57(71), 273-281, https://doi.org/10.3189/2016AoG71A024

Snow cover and glaciers in the Karakoram region are important freshwater resources for many down-river communities as they provide water for irrigation and hydropower. A better understanding of current glacier changes is hence an important informational baseline. We present glacier elevation changes in the central Karakoram region using TanDEM-X and SRTM/X-SAR DEM differences between 2000 and 2012. We calculated elevation differences for glaciers with advancing and stable termini or surge-type glaciers separately using an inventory from a previous study. Glaciers with stable and advancing termini since the 1970s showed nearly balanced elevation changes of -0.09 ± 0.12 m/a on average or mass budgets of -0.01 ± 0.02 Gt/a (using a density of 850 kg/m**3). Our findings are in accordance with previous studies indicating stable or only slightly negative glacier mass balances during recent years in the Karakoram. The high-resolution elevation changes revealed distinct patterns of mass relocation at glacier surfaces during active surge cycles. The formation of kinematic waves at quiescent surge-type glaciers could be observed and points towards future active surge behaviour. Our study reveals the potential of the TanDEM-X mission to estimate geodetic glacier mass balances, but also points to still existing uncertainties induced by the geodetic method.

Glacier elevation changes are given in meter per year.