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DOI	10.5194/tc-9-2089-2015
	Assessment of permafrost distribution maps in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region using rock glaciers mapped in Google Earth
	Schmid M.-O.; Baral P.; Gruber S.; Shahi S.; Shrestha T.; Stumm D.; Wester P.
发表日期	2015
ISSN	19940416
卷号	9 期号:6
英文摘要	The extent and distribution of permafrost in the mountainous parts of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region are largely unknown. A long tradition of permafrost research, predominantly on rather gentle relief, exists only on the Tibetan Plateau. Two permafrost maps are available digitally that cover the HKH and provide estimates of permafrost extent, i.e., the areal proportion of permafrost: the manually delineated Circum-Arctic Map of Permafrost and Ground Ice Conditions (Brown et al., 1998) and the Global Permafrost Zonation Index, based on a computer model (Gruber, 2012). This article provides a first-order assessment of these permafrost maps in the HKH region based on the mapping of rock glaciers. Rock glaciers were used as a proxy, because they are visual indicators of permafrost, can occur near the lowermost regional occurrence of permafrost in mountains, and can be delineated based on high-resolution remote sensing imagery freely available on Google Earth. For the mapping, 4000 square samples (∼ 30 km2) were randomly distributed over the HKH region. Every sample was investigated and rock glaciers were mapped by two independent researchers following precise mapping instructions. Samples with insufficient image quality were recorded but not mapped. We use the mapping of rock glaciers in Google Earth as first-order evidence for permafrost in mountain areas with severely limited ground truth. The minimum elevation of rock glaciers varies between 3500 and 5500 m a.s.l. within the region. The Circum-Arctic Map of Permafrost and Ground Ice Conditions does not reproduce mapped conditions in the HKH region adequately, whereas the Global Permafrost Zonation Index does so with more success. Based on this study, the Permafrost Zonation Index is inferred to be a reasonable first-order prediction of permafrost in the HKH. In the central part of the region a considerable deviation exists that needs further investigations. © Author(s) 2015.
学科领域	cryosphere; ground conditions; image analysis; map; permafrost; remote sensing; rock glacier; World Wide Web; China; Himalayas; Hindu Kush; Qinghai-Xizang Plateau
语种	英语
scopus关键词	cryosphere; ground conditions; image analysis; map; permafrost; remote sensing; rock glacier; World Wide Web; China; Himalayas; Hindu Kush; Qinghai-Xizang Plateau
来源期刊	Cryosphere
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/119786
作者单位	ICIMOD, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development, G.P.O. Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal; Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada; Water Resources Management Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Schmid M.-O.,Baral P.,Gruber S.,et al. Assessment of permafrost distribution maps in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region using rock glaciers mapped in Google Earth[J],2015,9(6).
APA	Schmid M.-O..,Baral P..,Gruber S..,Shahi S..,Shrestha T..,...&Wester P..(2015).Assessment of permafrost distribution maps in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region using rock glaciers mapped in Google Earth.Cryosphere,9(6).
MLA	Schmid M.-O.,et al."Assessment of permafrost distribution maps in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region using rock glaciers mapped in Google Earth".Cryosphere 9.6(2015).