This dataset contains the glacier outlines in Qilian Mountain Area from 1980 to 2015. The dataset was produced based on classical band ratio criterion and manual editing. Landsat images collected between 1978 and 2018 were used as basic data for glacier extraction. Google images and Map World images were employed as reference data for manual adjusting. The dataset was stored in SHP format and attached with the attributions of coordinates, glacier ID and glacier area. Consisting of 8 seasons, the dataset has a temporal resolution of 5 years and a spatial resolution of 30 meters. The accuracy is about 1 pixel (±30 meter). The dataset directly reflects the variation of glacier distribution within the Qilian Mountain in the past 35 years, and can be used for quantitative estimation of glacier mass balance and the quantitative assessment of glacier change’s impact on basin runoff.

File naming and required software

File Naming Convention: Dataset class_coordinate_YYYY.shp (YYYY: year)
Data Version：V1.0
Projection：+proj=longlat +datum=WGS84 +no_defs
Data Format: shp
Glacier body：Polygon vector
Usage：The datasets are stored in the form of Class_coordinate_YYYY.shp (YYYY: year), and can be read by Arcgis or Envi.

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Cite as:

Li, J., Wang, Y., Li, J. (2019). Glacier outlines over the Qilian Mountain area (1980-2015). A Big Earth Data Platform for Three Poles, DOI: 10.11888/Geogra.tpdc.270234. CSTR: 18406.11.Geogra.tpdc.270234. (Download the reference： RIS | Bibtex )

Using this data, the data citation is required to be referenced and the related literatures are suggested to be cited.

References literature

1.Sun, M.P., Liu, S.Y., Yao, X.J., et al. (2015). Glacier changes in the Qilian Mountains in the past half-century: Based on the revised First and Second Chinese Glacier Inventory. Acta Geographica Sinica. 70(9), 1402-1414. (View Details )

2.Liu, S.Y., Yao, X.J., Guo, W.Q., Xu, J.L., Shangguan, D.H., Wei, J.F., Bao, W.J., Wu, L.Z. (2015). The contemporary glaciers in China based on the Second Chinese Glacier Inventory, Acta Geographica Sinica, 70(1): 3-16. (View Details )

3.Guo, W.Q., Liu, S.Y., Xu, J.L., et al. (2015). The second Chinese glacier inventory: data, methods and results. Journal of Glaciology, 61(226), 357-372. doi: 10.3189/2015JoG14J209 (View Details )

Support Program

Pan-Third Pole Environment Study for a Green Silk Road-A CAS Strategic Priority A Program (No:XDA20000000)

Copyright & License

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License： This work is licensed under an Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)