A spatially constrained remote sensing-based inventory of glacial lakes worldwide.

Abstract

Climate change accelerates the extensive retreat of glaciers, leading to the widespread development of glacial lakes. A holistic picture of the spatial distribution of glacial lakes worldwide is a critical base for tracking the outburst hazards. By employing a semi-automated mapping approach and rigorous quality control, this study inventories 117,352 glacial lakes (≥0.01 km²) worldwide (the ice cap/sheet of Antarctic and Greenland excluded), with a net area of 24,755.84 ± 2,971.33 km². The evaluation result shows this global inventory of glacial lakes (GIGLak) has an overall accuracy of 89.37% and 91.42% in number and area, respectively. These glacial lakes are widely distributed in different altitudes, ranging from the Earth's third pole to the coasts. Most glacial lakes are distributed in the Greenland periphery, High-Mountain Asia, Alaska, Canada, and the Cordilleras. The number of glacial lakes between 0.01-0.1 km² accounts for 77.24% of the total count but only 11.82% in area. The classification of glacial lakes as four types indicates that the ice-uncontacted proglacial lakes dominate the number (67.07%) and area (53.04%) worldwide.