摘要：We present glacier thickness changes over the entire Pamir–Karakoram–Himalaya arc based on ICESat satellite altimetry data for 2003–2008. We highlight the importance of C-band penetration for studies based on the SRTM
elevation model. This penetration seems to be of potentially larger magnitude and variability than previously assumed. The most negative rate of region-wide glacier elevation change ( < −1 m yr−1
) is observed for the eastern
Nyainqêntanglha Shan. Conversely, glaciers of the western
Kunlun Shan are slightly gaining volume, and Pamir and
Karakoram seem to be on the western edge of this massgain anomaly rather than its centre. For the Ganges, Indus
and Brahmaputra basins, the glacier mass change reaches
−24 ± 2 Gt yr−1
, about 10 % of the current glacier contribution to sea-level rise. For selected catchments, we estimate
glacier imbalance contributions to river run-off from a few
percent to greater than 10 %.
