@article{fdi:010064035,
  title = {{S}easonal changes in surface albedo of {H}imalayan glaciers from {MODIS} data and links with the annual mass balance},
  author = {{B}run, {F}. and {D}umont, {M}. and {W}agnon, {P}atrick and {B}erthier, {E}. and {A}zam, {M}. {F}. and {S}hea, {J}. {M}. and {S}irguey, {P}. and {R}abatel, {A}. and {R}amanathan, {A}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{F}ew glaciological field data are available on glaciers in the {H}indu {K}ush-{K}arakoram-{H}imalayan ({HKH}) region, and remote sensing data are thus critical for glacier studies in this region. {T}he main objectives of this study are to document, using satellite images, the seasonal changes of surface albedo for two {H}imalayan glaciers, {C}hhota {S}higri {G}lacier ({H}imachal {P}radesh, {I}ndia) and {M}era {G}lacier ({E}verest region, {N}epal), and to reconstruct the annual mass balance of these glaciers based on the albedo data. {A}lbedo is retrieved from {M}oderate {R}esolution {I}maging {S}pectroradiometer ({MODIS}) images, and evaluated using ground based measurements. {A}t both sites, we find high coefficients of determination between annual minimum albedo averaged over the glacier ({AMAAG}) and glacier-wide annual mass balance ({B}-a) measured with the glaciological method ({R}-2 = 0.75). {A}t {C}hhota {S}higri {G}lacier, the relation between {AMAAG} found at the end of the ablation season and {B}-a suggests that {AMAAG} can be used as a proxy for the maximum snow line altitude or equilibrium line altitude ({ELA}) on winter-accumulation-type glaciers in the {H}imalayas. {H}owever, for the summer-accumulation-type {M}era {G}lacier, our approach relied on the hypothesis that {ELA} information is preserved during the monsoon. {A}t {M}era {G}lacier, cloud obscuration and snow accumulation limits the detection of albedo during the monsoon, but snow redistribution and sublimation in the post-monsoon period allows for the calculation of {AMAAG}. {R}econstructed {B}-a at {C}hhota {S}higri {G}lacier agrees with mass balances previously reconstructed using a positive degree-day method. {R}econstructed {B}-a at {M}era {G}lacier is affected by heavy cloud cover during the monsoon, which systematically limited our ability to observe {AMAAG} at the end of the melting period. {I}n addition, the relation between {AMAAG} and {B}-a is constrained over a shorter time period for {M}era {G}lacier (6 years) than for {C}hhota {S}higri {G}lacier (11 years). {T}hus the mass balance reconstruction is less robust for {M}era {G}lacier than for {C}hhota {S}higri {G}lacier. {H}owever our method shows promising results and may be used to reconstruct the annual mass balance of glaciers with contrasted seasonal cycles in the western part of the {HKH} mountain range since the early 2000s when {MODIS} images became available.},
  keywords = {{INDE} ; {NEPAL} ; {HIMALAYA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{C}ryosphere},
  volume = {9},
  numero = {1},
  pages = {341--355},
  ISSN = {1994-0416},
  year = {2015},
  DOI = {10.5194/tc-9-341-2015},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010064035},
}