Inventorying and characterizing rock glaciers in the southern Daxue Shan by combining time-series InSAR and optical image interpretation

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  • 1.Faculty of Geosciences and Environmental Engineering,Southwest Jiaotong University,Chengdu 611756,China
    2.State-Province Joint Engineering Laboratory of Spatial Information Technology of High-Speed Rail Safety,Chengdu 611756,China

Online published: 2024-06-24

Abstract

Rock glaciers are a common periglacial landform in alpine regions, and their distribution and movement patterns provide crucial insights into the state of mountain permafrost. Daxue Shan is situated at the transition zone between the Tibetan Plateau and Sichuan Basin, where the cold and rainy climate is ideal for the formation of maritime glaciers and periglacial landforms. However, the distribution of rock glaciers in this region has not been fully explored. In this study, we utilized 90 Sentinel-1A ascending SAR images acquired between June 2019 and June 2022 to apply the time-series interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technique for deriving the mean annual surface displacement velocity over the southern Daxue Shan. We also comprehensively considered the kinematic characteristics from InSAR measurement and geomorphological characteristics from optical image interpretation to compile a rock glacier inventory. We classified rock glaciers into four types according to the geomorphological units at the upslope region directly connected to them, namely, talus-connected, debris-mantle-slope-connected, glacier-connected, and glacier-forefield-connected types. A total of 860 rock glaciers were compiled, with 67% being talus-connected and only 4% being glacier-connected. The rock glaciers are mainly concentrated in the northern part of the study area, indicating a more favorable periglacial environment for rock glacier development. Talus-connected rock glaciers are widespread in the study area with uniform distribution. Glacier-connected and glacier-forefield-connected rock glaciers are primarily distributed in the northeast region with strong glaciation, while debris-mantled-slope-connected rock glaciers are mainly found in the southwest area. Geomorphic and kinematic parameters were calculated to analyze the development and motion pattern of these rock glaciers. The area, length, and slope angle of rock glaciers are concentrated between 0.04~0.12 km2, 250~700 m, and 12°~24°, respectively. Compared to the other two types, glacier-connected and glacier-forefield-connected rock glaciers are relatively larger, longer, and located in gentler slopes. The distribution altitudes of the local rock glaciers are between 3 638~5 107 m, with no rock glacier development identified below an altitude of 3 915 m in this research area. The majority (74%) of rock glaciers face west, northwest, north, and northeast, with similar aspect distribution patterns shown by the four types of rock glaciers. Notably, no glacier-connected rock glacier faces southeast, south, and southwest. Overall, rock glacier activities in the study area are low, with a maximum and mean downslope velocity of 250.25 mm·a-1 and 21.97 mm·a-1, respectively, and most of them creep below 100 mm·a-1. Rock glacier activities in the northern part of the study area are relatively more evident, indicating that abundant ice within rock glaciers interacts strongly with hydrothermal conditions in this region. Correlation coefficients between the geomorphic and kinematic parameters of rock glaciers were calculated. The correlation between the geomorphic parameters of rock glaciers reflects their development characteristics. However, no evident linear relationship was found between the geomorphic and kinematic parameters, indicating a complex mechanism of rock glacier dynamics. Based on the empirical model in the previous study, the water storage of rock glaciers in this area was primarily assessed at 0.963~1.445 km3. This study presents the first rock glacier inventory in the southern Daxue Shan, revealing the distribution and motion pattern of rock glaciers in this region. The results provide essential and reliable data for further studies on rock glaciers' hydrological contributions and mountain permafrost evolution in the southeast Tibetan Plateau. The method used in this paper for rock glacier inventory can also provide a feasible technical route for compiling large-scale rock glacier inventories in western China.

Cite this article

Jiaxin CAI, Yujun HE, Xiaowen WANG, Guoxiang LIU . Inventorying and characterizing rock glaciers in the southern Daxue Shan by combining time-series InSAR and optical image interpretation[J]. Journal of Glaciology and Geocryology, 2023 , 45(2) : 774 -785 . DOI: 10.7522/j.issn.1000-0240.2023.0059

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