Dataset of the May 2015 Karayaylak Glacier surge in eastern Pamir

Karayaylak Glacier (38°35′6″N～38°44′48″N， 75°7′47″E～75°22′29″E), located in the northern slope of Jiubie Peak of Kongur Mountains, eastern Paimr, China, surged in May 2015, which caused property losses to human beings. To enhance monitoring and analysis of the surged glacier has important practical significance for exploring the mechanism of surged glacier and establishing a disaster early warning. In this study, surface velocities of Karayaylak Glacier from April 13, 2015 to July 11, 2015 were obtained from Landsat images by feature tracking method. These data were stored in GeoTiff format in 32-bit floating point and have a spatial resolution of 240 m. A statistical analysis indicates that the results have an overall accuracy of less than ± 0.42 m d-1. The elevation change between 2013 and 2015 was also obtained from ASTER-derived DEM and stored in GeoTiff format in 32-bit floating point with a spatial resolution of 240 m. A statistical analysis of the residual error in the non-glacial area indicates that the results have an overall accuracy of about ± 0.7 m. The dataset can serve as the basis for investigating the surged glacier in this region, serve as input data for glacier dynamic models, and provide statistical support for glacier surge research. In addition, the result of monitoring surged glacier will not only provide the basis support of further research in glacier disaster early warning and risk assessment, but also ensure economic and social development of China–Pakistan Economic Corridor.