Glacier Changes from 1990 to 2022 in the Aksu River Basin, Western Tien Shan

Between 1990 and 2022, glaciers in the Aksu River Basin (ARB) of the Western Tien Shan retreated by 309.40 km²—equivalent to a 9.37% loss at an annual rate of 0.29%. This accelerated retreat, particularly from 2010 onward, was driven by rising ablation-phase temperatures and reduced cold-season precipitation, leading to mass losses of up to (1087.50 ± 0.68) × 10⁶ m³ water equivalent annually. Glacier melt now contributes significantly more—41.56% during the ablation phase—to the Aksu River’s runoff compared to earlier periods (34.57% in 2003–2009). The study, using Landsat/Sentinel-2 imagery and satellite altimetry data, highlights the basin’s growing vulnerability to climate change, with critical implications for water resource stability.

Ren, P., Pan, X., Liu, T., Huang, Y., Chen, X., Wang, X., Chen, P., & Akmalov, S. (2024). Glacier Changes from 1990 to 2022 in the Aksu River Basin, Western Tien Shan. Remote Sensing, 16(10), 1751. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs16101751