Preprints
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2169
https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2024-2169
24 Jul 2024
 | 24 Jul 2024

Five decades of Abramov glacier dynamics reconstructed with multi-sensor optical remote sensing

Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle

Abstract. Reference glacier sites with systematic in situ monitoring provide crucial information to understand trends in regional change. Throughout Central Asia, several sites have been established over the past 15 years, often restarting long-term time series interrupted after the Soviet Union collapse. The region also features widespread ice flow instabilities, including surge-type glaciers. Unstable ice dynamics have been usually observed within large-scale remote sensing studies, with limited ground validation or historical observations. This hampers interpretation of the driving factors of glacier change, their interaction with mass balance, and regional representativity of single glaciers. Here, we reconstruct ice dynamics at the reference Abramov glacier using satellite-based optical remote sensing. The glacier, monitored in situ over 1967–1999 and again since 2011, experienced a well-documented episode of fast flow in 1972–1973. We compile a 55-year dataset of digital elevation models (DEMs) and orthoimages by processing raw and analysis-ready imagery from multiple archives. Our estimates for glacier length and volume changes agree well with previous in situ, remote sensing, and model studies. We describe a second unobserved pulsation (2000–2005) at subseasonal scale, not resolved by Landsat or ASTER products. We also measure the buildup to a third active phase, with doubling of mean annual velocity since 2011 despite a continued mass loss of −0.55 ± 0.06 m w.e. yr−1. The collected evidence indicates that Abramov is a surge-type glacier with a recurrence time of 20–30 years, challenging its representativity for regional mass balance. However, our results also suggest a potential ongoing transition towards more stable dynamics.

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Journal article(s) based on this preprint

20 Jan 2025
Five decades of Abramov glacier dynamics reconstructed with multi-sensor optical remote sensing
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle
The Cryosphere, 19, 219–247, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025, 2025
Short summary
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2169', Anonymous Referee #1, 20 Aug 2024
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2169', Anonymous Referee #2, 06 Sep 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC3', Enrico Mattea, 04 Nov 2024
  • RC4: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2169', Benoît Lauzon, 30 Sep 2024
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Enrico Mattea, 04 Nov 2024

Interactive discussion

Status: closed

Comment types: AC – author | RC – referee | CC – community | EC – editor | CEC – chief editor | : Report abuse
  • RC1: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2169', Anonymous Referee #1, 20 Aug 2024
  • RC3: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2169', Anonymous Referee #2, 06 Sep 2024
    • AC2: 'Reply on RC3', Enrico Mattea, 04 Nov 2024
  • RC4: 'Comment on egusphere-2024-2169', Benoît Lauzon, 30 Sep 2024
    • AC3: 'Reply on RC4', Enrico Mattea, 04 Nov 2024

Peer review completion

AR: Author's response | RR: Referee report | ED: Editor decision | EF: Editorial file upload
ED: Publish subject to revisions (further review by editor and referees) (04 Nov 2024) by Wesley Van Wychen
AR by Enrico Mattea on behalf of the Authors (04 Nov 2024)  Author's response   Author's tracked changes   Manuscript 
ED: Publish as is (19 Nov 2024) by Wesley Van Wychen
AR by Enrico Mattea on behalf of the Authors (20 Nov 2024)

Journal article(s) based on this preprint

20 Jan 2025
Five decades of Abramov glacier dynamics reconstructed with multi-sensor optical remote sensing
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle
The Cryosphere, 19, 219–247, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-219-2025, 2025
Short summary
Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle

Model code and software

Software pipelines developed for the publication Enrico Mattea https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.12731407

Enrico Mattea, Etienne Berthier, Amaury Dehecq, Tobias Bolch, Atanu Bhattacharya, Sajid Ghuffar, Martina Barandun, and Martin Hoelzle

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Short summary
We reconstruct the evolution of terminus position, ice thickness and surface flow velocity of the reference Abramov glacier (Kyrgyzstan) from 1968 to present. We describe a front pulsation in the early 2000s and the multi-annual present-day buildup of a new pulsation. Such dynamic instabilities can challenge the representativity of Abramov as reference glacier. For our work we used satellite‑based optical remote sensing from multiple platforms, including recently declassified archives.