Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau play an important role standing details of glacier change, such as glacier velocity, fluctuation of glacier termini, and calving fluxes, in the Earth's climate system. Because of high altitude and difficulties in access, regular, systematic surveys of would greatly enhance efforts to model accurately the response of glaciers to climatic change. Regular measure-glacier variation are almost impossible in some regions of the Tibetan Plateau. As a result, remote sensing is at ments of glacier variation are carried out by ground surveys or aerial photographic surveys, but ground surveys present the primary, in many cases the only way to measure the state of glaciers. In combination with Geoare nearly impossible to accomplish in some areas of the Tibetan Plateau, and aerial photographic surveys are ir-graphic Information System (GIS), it provides an efficient tool to analyze the current state and changes in regular; therefore, data availability is discontinuous. Satellite imagery provides an invaluable source of data for glaciers. We used a technique of integrated remote sensmapping and for glaciological interpretation (Rango, ing and GIS to map and measure changes in glaciers us-1985). Landsat data have been used to study glaciers by ing a 21-year series of Landsat images (from 1973(from to Williams (1987) ) and Williams et al. (1991;1997), Hall et 1994) and topographic maps of a study site on the Tial. (1989;1992), andDwyer (1995). The two-volume betan Plateau. The details of glacier fluctuation, such as USGS Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World searea of glaciers and changes in the magnitude of recesries (USGS Professional Paper 1386) will be completed sion or advance of a glacier terminus on different dates, and published before the end of this century (Williams are described based on the results of image analysis, inand Ferrigno, 1994). The use of satellite remote sensing cluding coregistration, classification, vector analysis, and to monitor glacier area and to measure changes in area area calculation. Within the study area, during the 21 or position of a terminus or glacier margin (e.g., ice cap) years, it was determined that the northern glaciers adcan be an index in the prediction of local or regional clivanced and the southern glaciers retreated, the average matic change, especially in areas where regular measurerate of change was 50 m a Οͺ1 to 105 m a Οͺ1 . The results ment cannot be carried out. Landsat imagery provides a show that Landsat data provide an important source of means for monitoring glacier variation during the past information for studies of glacier variation. Β©Elsevier two decades (Williams and Hall, 1993). Science Inc., 1998 Glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau are of considerable interest to many scientists, because the Tibetan Plateau is considered to be an especially sensitive area to mea-