How fast debris-covered glaciers move and shrink (High Mountain Asia)
What it measures. Detailed 3D maps of the surface of six debris-covered glaciers in Nepal, plus how fast their ice flows and how much mass they gain or lose over time, with uncertainty estimates included.
How it's made. Made from very-high-resolution stereo photos taken by commercial Maxar satellites (WorldView and GeoEye), turned into fine 2-meter elevation models and tracked over time to estimate glacier change.
How & where you'd use it. Helps glaciologists understand how rubble-covered Himalayan glaciers are shrinking and moving, which matters for water supplies and hazards downstream.
What's measured
Coverage & cadence
- Time span2012-12-23 → 2017-12-22
- Measured byGEOEYE-1 (GIS) · WORLDVIEW-1 (WV60) · WORLDVIEW-2 (WV110) · WORLDVIEW-3 (WV110)
- Processing levelLevel 4
- Spatial extent85.51, 28.2, 85.77, 28.39
- FormatsGeoTIFF
- StatusCOMPLETE
What you can do with it
- Track deforestation, fire scars and land-cover change
- Monitor crop and vegetation health (NDVI/EVI)
- Map how built-up vs. green an area is over time
Official description
This High Mountain Asia data set contains 2 m resolution digital elevation models (DEMs), surface velocities, surface mass balance (SMB) rates, and SMB uncertainties for six debris-covered glaciers in Nepal. SMB rate is estimated by applying a Lagrangian specification to DEMs derived from very-high-resolution optical stereo imagery acquired by Maxar Technologies satellites WorldView-1, WorldView-2, WorldView-3, and GeoEye-1. This data set was granted permission for public release on 1 March 2024 under the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) Electro-Optical Commercial Layer (EOCL) program.
Get the data
import earthaccess
earthaccess.login(strategy="netrc") # free Earthdata Login
results = earthaccess.search_data(
short_name="HMA2_DCG_SMB",
version="1",
bounding_box=(-122.5, 37.2, -121.8, 37.9), # your area (W,S,E,N)
temporal=("2024-01-01", "2024-12-31"), # your dates
)
files = earthaccess.open(results) # stream straight from NSIDC_CPRDBrowsing CMR needs no login. Downloading or streaming bytes needs a free Earthdata Login + the earthaccess package. Official links
- Search and order NASA Earth Science data using spatial and temporal filters. Reformatting, reprojecting, and subsetting options are available for some data sets. GET DATA
- Quickly download a few files using a web browser, or access data through a command-line utility such as WGET. GET DATA
- Search data by spatial and/or temporal ranges or file name. Choose from various download options, including a Python script. GET DATA
- A Python library to search and access NASA Earth science data with just a few lines of code GET DATA
- Find more data access options and help resources. VIEW RELATED INFORMATION
- High Mountain Asia 2 m DEM, Surface Velocity, and Lagrangian Surface Mass Balance for Select Debris Covered Glaciers, Version 1 User Guide VIEW RELATED INFORMATION