A dataset of glacier crevasse distribution in the ablation areas of Hailuogou Glacier, Mt. Gongga (2016–2021)

Abstract

The distribution of crevasses in mountain glaciers is of great significance for the study on glacier dynamics, ablation, and glacial instability-induced disasters. From 2016 to 2021, based on repeated aerial surveys during ablation seasons in the Hailuogou Glacier ablation areas on the eastern slope of Gongga Mountain, we obtained the annual high-resolution orthophoto images of the 4 km ice tongue of the glacier during the ablation period. Based on these co-registered images, the crevasses in Hailuogou ice tongue were visually interpreted and delineated from 2016 to 2021. We preliminarily analyzed the distribution characteristics and inter-annual variation of the crevasses. This dataset contains spatial information attributes like the crevasse length and orientation. It is the first set of survey results related to the structural glaciology of mountain glaciers in western China and it can provide data reference for the study on glacial hydrology, mass balance and dynamic models.