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Lookup NU author(s): Alex Hyde, Professor Rachel CarrORCiD, Professor Stuart DunningORCiD
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The Lunana region in Bhutan, which hosts four large glacial lakes with significant hazard potential, has undergone rapid changes over the past decade. Using PlanetScope satellite scenes, we mapped ice velocities at monthly intervals from 2017 to 2023. We reveal that the disintegration of Thorthormi Glacier’s terminus in 2022 coincided with year-on-year acceleration with mean surface velocities as high as 448 ±10.0 m a-1 by 2021, and seasonal variability in surface velocity magnitude >144.6 ±10.0 m a-1. This acceleration is attributed to a reduction in basal drag as the terminus reached flotation, evidenced by the calving of tabular icebergs. While Bechung, Raphstreng, and Lugge exhibited a similar interannual velocity trend, the upper regions of Bechung and Raphstreng showed a higher seasonal range (31% and 19.9% from their mean) compared to Lugge (4.2%). In the upper regions we also find a decelerating velocity trend (3.5 – 20.6% over the 6 years), which is attributed to surface thinning and reducing driving stresses. We show that accelerating trends in velocity can be a precursor to higher rates of retreat and rapid lake expansion, demonstrating the importance of continuous monitoring of lake-terminating glacier ice velocities in the Himalaya.
Author(s): Hyde A, Carr JR, Dunning S, Van Wyk de Vries M
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: Journal of Glaciology
Year: 2025
Pages: epub ahead of print
Online publication date: 14/11/2025
Acceptance date: 30/10/2025
ISSN (print): 0022-1430
ISSN (electronic): 1727-5652
Publisher: International Glaciological Society
URL: https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2025.10103
DOI: 10.1017/jog.2025.10103
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