Table 1. region-wide mass balance from ASTER time series compared to ICESat estimates.
The glacierized areas are calculated from the GAMDAM glacier inventory28. For the column “ASTER MB [2000 – 2016] with ICESat sampling” ASTER-derived trends have been sampled at ICESat footprint locations (Supplementary Information), these numbers should be considered as indicative and are not provided with an uncertainty. ICESat data are taken from ref. 4 except for Kunlun, Inner TP, Tien Shan and Pamir Alay, which were extended for this study using the same method.
| Region | Glacier area | ASTER MB [2000 – 2016] | ASTER MB [2000 – 2016] with ICESat spatial sampling | ICESat MB [2003 – 2008] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| km2 | m w.e. yr-1 | m w.e. yr-1 | m w.e. yr-1 | |
| Bhutan | 2,291 | -0.42 ± 0.20 | -0.30 | -0.76 ± 0.20 |
| East Nepal | 4,776 | -0.33 ± 0.20 | -0.33 | -0.31 ± 0.14 |
| Hindu Kush | 5,147 | -0.12 ± 0.07 | -0.14 | -0.42 ± 0.18 |
| Inner TP | 13,102 | -0.14 ± 0.07 | -0.12 | -0.06 ± 0.06 |
| Karakoram | 17,734 | -0.03 ± 0.07 | -0.06 | -0.09 ± 0.12 |
| Kunlun | 9,912 | 0.14 ± 0.08 | 0.17 | 0.18 ± 0.14 |
| Nyainqentanglha | 6,378 | -0.62 ± 0.23 | -0.51 | -1.14 ± 0.58 |
| Pamir Alay | 1,915 | -0.04 ± 0.07 | +0.00 | -0.59 ± 0.27 |
| Pamir | 7,167 | -0.08 ± 0.07 | -0.05 | -0.41 ± 0.24 |
| Spiti-Lahaul | 7,960 | -0.37 ± 0.09 | -0.33 | -0.42 ± 0.26 |
| Tien Shan | 10,802 | -0.28 ± 0.20 | -0.20 | -0.37 ± 0.31 |
| West Nepal | 4,806 | -0.34 ± 0.09 | -0.27 | -0.37 ± 0.15 |
| Total | 91,990 | -0.18 ± 0.04 | -0.15 | -0.34 ± 0.06 |