Glaciers and equilibrium line altitudes of the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, SE Tibet

David Matthias Loibl and Frank Lehmkuhl

Journal of Maps, 2015, vol. 11, issue 4, 575-588

Abstract: A set of maps that illustrate the key results of a study on glaciers and late Holocene glacier change in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range, southeastern Tibet, is presented. The cartographic challenge was to present this information in a way that focuses on the most important findings but retains as much detail as possible. The layout is based on two main maps showing two different sets of information for the same area; one map of glacier types and distribution and one map of calculated equilibrium line altitudes (ELA). Additionally, two inset maps provide a regional topographic overview and information on ELA change since the Little Ice Age maximum glacier advance. Through this approach, the viewer is able to combine the different sets of information individually for different parts of the study area. Insights into the complex couplings of climate, relief, and glaciers can thus be obtained. The maps reveal heterogeneous spatial patterns of glacier and ELA distributions. These reflect the interplay of the high-mountain topography and the primary moisture sources, the Indian Summer Monsoon and the East Asian Summer Monsoon. Specifically, luv-lee effects and the channeling of monsoonal air masses through the valley system can be observed at catchment to regional scales. The patterns of ELA change since the Little Ice Age indicate that glacier sensitivity to climate change is decreasing toward regions with increasingly continental climate in the eastern Nyainqêntanglha Range.

Date: 2015
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DOI: 10.1080/17445647.2014.933451

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