Wang, Xiaowen; Liu, Lin; Zhao, Lin; Wu, Tonghua; Li, Zhongqin; Liu, Guoxiang (2017): An inventory of active rock glaciers in the northern Tien Shan of China compiled using satellite SAR interferometry [dataset]. PANGAEA, https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.874616, Supplement to: Wang, X et al. (2017): Mapping and inventorying active rock glaciers in the northern Tien Shan of China using satellite SAR interferometry. The Cryosphere, 11(2), 997-1014, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-11-997-2017
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Abstract:
Rock glaciers are widespread in the Tien Shan. However, rock glaciers in the Chinese part of the Tien Shan have not been systematically investigated for more than two decades. In this study, we propose a new method that combines SAR interferometry and optical images from Google Earth to map active rock glaciers (ARGs) in the Northern Tien Shan (NTS) of China. We compiled an inventory that includes 261 ARGs and quantitative information about their locations, geomorphic parameters, and down-slope velocities. Our inventory shows that most of the ARGs are moraine-derived (69 %) and facing northeast (56 %). The altitude distribution of ARGs in the western NTS is significantly different from those located in the eastern part. The down-slope velocities of the ARGs vary significantly in space, with a maximum of about 114 cm/yr and a mean of about 37 cm/yr. Using the ARG locations as a proxy for the extent of alpine permafrost, our inventory suggests that the lowest altitudinal limit for the presence of permafrost in the NTS is about 2500-2800 m, a range determined by the lowest ARG in the entire inventory and by a statistics-based estimation. The successful application of the proposed method would facilitate effective and robust efforts to map rock glaciers over mountain ranges globally. And this study provides an important dataset to improve mapping and modeling permafrost occurrence in vast western China.
Other version:
Mapping and inventorying active rock glaciers in the northern Tien Shan of China, link to shapefile [dataset]. Wang-etal_2017_Supplement.zip
Further details:
Outlines of the mapped rock glaciers, link to Google Earth KMZ file [dataset]. NTS_ARGs.kmz
Coverage:
Median Latitude: 43.709585 * Median Longitude: 84.993124 * South-bound Latitude: 42.766300 * West-bound Longitude: 83.209600 * North-bound Latitude: 44.323400 * East-bound Longitude: 87.440400
Minimum ALTITUDE: 2490 m * Maximum ALTITUDE: 3965 m
Event(s):
Comment:
#-9999 denotes the Null value, representing that the rock glacier has the mean coherence lower than 0.3 or the mean velocity smaller than 5 cm/a.
Parameter(s):
# | Name | Short Name | Unit | Principal Investigator | Method/Device | Comment |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Identification | ID | Liu, Lin | ARG_id | ||
2 | LATITUDE | Latitude | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | Geocode – of the central point (degrees) | |
3 | LONGITUDE | Longitude | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | Geocode – of the central point (degrees) | |
4 | ALTITUDE | Altitude | m | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | Geocode – Altitude (above sea level) of the front line point |
5 | ALTITUDE | Altitude | m | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | Geocode – Altitude (above sea level) of the initial line point |
6 | Rock glacier area | Rock gl area | m2 | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | |
7 | Rock glacier length | Rock gl l | m | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | |
8 | Aspect ratio | Aspect ratio | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | ||
9 | Slope | Slope | deg | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | |
10 | Aspect | Aspect | deg | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | Aspect angle of the rock glacier measured clockwise from the North |
11 | Rock glacier surface velocity | Rock gl surf vel | cm/a | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | The mean value of the surface velocity within the rock glacier |
12 | Rock glacier surface velocity, uncertainty | Rock gl surf vel unc | ± | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | |
13 | Potential incoming solar radiation | PISR | W/m2 | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | |
14 | Temperature, air, annual mean | MAAT | °C | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | at the front line point of the rock glacier |
15 | Permafrost zonation index | PZI | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | at the front line point of the rock glacier | |
16 | Permafrost zonation index | PZI | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | at the initial line point of the rock glacier | |
17 | Identification | ID | Liu, Lin | Satellite SAR interferometry | The interferometric pair used for identifying the rock glacier |
License:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported (CC-BY-NC-3.0)
Size:
3391 data points
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