Description: Knowledge about the coverage and characteristics of glaciers in High Mountain Asia is still incomplete and heterogeneous. However, several applications such as modelling of past or future glacier development, runoff or glacier volume, rely on the existence and accessibility of complete datasets. In particular, precise outlines of glacier extent are required to spatially constrain glacier-specific calculations such as length, area and volume changes or flow velocities. As a contribution to the Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI) and the Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS) glacier database, we have produced a homogeneous inventory of the Pamir and the Karakoram mountain ranges using 28 Landsat TM and ETM+ scenes acquired around the year 2000. We applied a standardized method of automated digital glacier mapping and manual correction using coherence images from ALOS-1 PALSAR-1 as an additional source of information; we then separated the glacier complexes into individual glaciers using drainage divides derived by watershed analysis from the ASTER GDEM2, and separately delineated all debris-covered areas. Assessment of uncertainties was performed for debris-covered and clean-ice glacier parts using the buffer method and independent multiple digitizing of three glaciers representing key challenges such as shadows and debris cover. Indeed, along with seasonal snow at high elevations, shadow and debris cover represent the largest uncertainties in our final dataset. In total, we mapped more than 27'800 glaciers 〉0.02 km² covering an area of 35'520 ±1948 km² and an elevation range from 2260 m to 8600 m. Regional median glacier elevations vary from 4150 m (Pamir Alai) to almost 5400 m (Karakoram), which is largely due to differences in temperature and precipitation. Supraglacial debris covers an area of 3587 ±662 km², i.e. 10% of the total glacierised area. Larger glaciers have a higher share in debris-covered area (up to 〉20%), making it an important factor to be considered in subsequent applications.

Description: Here we provide in-situ measurements on debris cover thickness on Zmuttgletscher, Switzerland. It is one of the largest heavily debris-covered glaciers in the Alps. We further provide 2 DEMs based on UAV imagery and the respective orthophotos, as well as surface flow velocities derived from the orthophotos by automated feature tracking. Further information can be found in the research paper by Mölg et al. (2019) published in The Cryosphere.

Description: Retreating glaciers give way to new landscapes with lakes as an important element. In this study, we combined available data on lake outlines with historical orthoimagery and glacier outlines for six time periods since the end of the Little Ice Age (LIA; ~1850). We generated a glacial lake inventory for modern times (2016) and traced the evolution of glacial lakes that formed in the deglaciated area since the LIA. In this deglaciated area, a total of 1192 lakes formed over the period of almost 170 years, 987 of them still in existence in 2016. Their total water surface in 2016 was 6.22 ±0.25 km². The largest lakes are 〉0.4 km² (40 ha) in size, while the majority (〉90%) are smaller than 0.01 km². Annual increase rates in area and number peaked in 1946-1973, decreased towards the end of the 20th century, and reached a new high in the latest period 2006-2016. For a period of 43 years (1973-2016), we compared modelled overdeepenings from previous studies to actual lake genesis. For a better prioritisation of formation probability, we included glacier-morphological criteria such as glacier width and visible crevassing. About 40% of the modelled overdeepened area actually filled with water. The inclusion of morphological aspects clearly aided in linking a lake formation probability to a modelled overdeepening. Additional morphological variables, namely dam type and material, surface runoff, and freeboard, were compiled for a subset of larger and ice-contact lakes in 2016, constituting a basis for future hazard assessment. All datasets generated in this study are provided. Lake outlines directly taken from Swisstopo (Swisstopo, 2020a) fall under the national copyright and are therefore only presented in point format, whereas lake outlines strongly modified from the original outlines by Swisstopo as well as lake outlines generated in this study are fully provided as polygons. Lake data is provided for each date as well as an overview shapefile including a summary of all lake parameters, and a subsample of the lakes, for which hazard parameters were derived from auxiliary base datasets (digital elevation model, orthoimagery). A list as well as a description of the datasets and the respective parameters is given below.