Rockglacier inventory of the Western Nyainqêntanglha Range, Tibetan Plateau

The western Nyainqêntanglha Range on the Tibetan Plateau reaches an elevation of 7162 m and is characterized by an extensive periglacial environment. Here, we present the first rock glacier inventory of this region containing 1433 rock glaciers over an area of 4622 km². To create the most reliable inventory we combine manually created rock glacier outlines with an automated classification approach. The manual outlines were generated based on surface elevation data, optical satellite imagery and a surface velocity model. The surface velocity model was generated via InSAR time series analysis with Sentinel-1 data from 2016 to 2019. The rockglacier inventory was compiled in accordance with the guidelines (baseline concepts 4.1 and practical guidelines 3.0.1) from the action group on 'Rock glacier inventories and kinematics' of the International Permafrost Association (IPA).