Chinese Scientists Catalog 132,867 Rock Glaciers Across the Tibetan Plateau

Chinese scientists have published the first comprehensive inventory of rock glaciers across the entire Tibetan Plateau, identifying 132,867 units spanning 16,500 square kilometers -- more than the sum of all rock glaciers previously known worldwide. The study, led by researchers at the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was published in the journal Science Bulletin, with the dataset made public through the National Tibetan Plateau Data Center.

Rock glaciers are not true glaciers but periglacial landforms made of ice-bearing debris that slowly creep downhill in cold alpine environments; they indicate mountain permafrost and can store solid water. The Tibetan Plateau, sometimes called the Asian Water Tower, holds one of Earth's largest concentrations of mid-to-low latitude permafrost, but a complete dataset of its rock glaciers had been elusive due to the region's high altitude, rugged terrain and the labor involved in manual mapping.

The team combined high-resolution optical satellite imagery, radar data and digital elevation models with a deep learning method to automatically detect rock glaciers, and used multi-temporal radar to extract movement rates for 99.3% of the cataloged features. They estimate the ice stored in the plateau's rock glaciers at roughly 92 to 186 cubic kilometers -- comparable to the capacity of dozens of large reservoirs. "This represents a solid-water reserve in the Asian Water Tower that has been largely underestimated," said Feng Min, the professor who led the study.

Because rock glaciers creep continuously, their movement can trigger ground deformation, river blockages and debris flows where they cross roads or valleys, so the inventory also serves as a tool for mountain hazard assessment. Feng said the dataset can support permafrost mapping, water resource assessment and climate change impact assessment across the plateau.