Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Mass Balance Estimation Using Geodetic Method for Glaciers in Baspa Basin, Western Himalaya


Affiliations
1 Cryosphere Science Division, ESSO-National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa 403 804, India
2 Divecha Centre for Climate Change, CAOS, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
3 Department of Civil Engineering, Dr Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University-RC, Bengaluru 560 056, India
 

Himalayan glaciers, which contribute to water security for almost 1.3 billion people in Asia, are now under threat due to climate change. Assessment of glacier mass balance changes is crucial to determine the implications of climate change, but in situ measurements are limited due to rugged terrain and harsh climate of the Himalaya. Remote sensing-based geodetic method is therefore important for studying the evolution of Himalayan glaciers at a large scale. In this study, the mass balance of glaciers located in Baspa basin (Western Himalaya) is estimated for a period of 11 years between 2000 and 2011, using geodetic method. Out of 89 glaciers in the basin, 42 glaciers (greater than 1 km2) covering an area of ~72% (215 km2) of the total glaciated area were selected for the study. A mean thinning of ~50 ± 11 m and mean accumulation of ~35 ± 11 m was observed during the study period, with the cumulative mass balance varying between -36.9 ± 1.98 and 6.47 ± 1.98 m.w.e. A mean annual mass loss of -1.09 ± 0.32 m.w.e.a-1 was observed for the entire basin, suggesting that the glaciers in Baspa basin are losing mass at higher rate compared to the glaciers in central and eastern Himalayas. This study demonstrates the utility of geodetic method to estimate mass balance of glaciers at basin scale, which will be useful to assess future changes in glacial extent and stream run-off.

Keywords

Baspa Basin, Geodetic Method, Mass Balance, Western Himalaya.
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Bolch, T. et al., The state and fate of Himalayan Glaciers. Science, 2012, 336, 310–314.

  • Bolch, T., Pieczonka, T. and Benn, D. I., Multi-decadal mass loss of glaciers in the Everest area (Nepal Himalaya) derived from stereo imagery. Cryosphere, 2011, 5, 349–358.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Glaciers as source of water: The Himalaya, sustainable humanity, sustainable nature: our responsibility. Pont. Acad. Sci., 2014, 41, 1–6.

  • Immerzeel, W. W., Van Beek, L. P. H. and Bierkens, M. F. P., Climate change will affect the Asian water towers. Science, 2010, 328, 1382–1385.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Bahuguna, I. M., Rathore, B. P., Singh, S. K., Randhawa, S. S., Sood, R. K. and Dhar, S., Glacial retreat in Himalaya using Indian Remote Sensing satellite data. Curr. Sci., 2007, 92, 69–74.

  • Gardelle, J., Berthier, E., Arnaud, Y. and Kääb, A., Region-wide glacier mass balances over the Pamir–Karakoram–Himalaya during 1999–2011. Cryosphere, 2013, 7, 1263–1286.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Rathore, B. P., Singh, S. K. and Bahuguna, I. M., Understanding changes in Himalayan Cryosphere using remote sensing technique. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2011, 32, 601–615.

  • Dobhal, D. P. and Mehta, M., Surface morphology, elevation changes and terminus retreat of Dokriani Glacier, Garhwal Himalaya: implication for climate change. Him. Geol., 2010, 31, 71–78.

  • Fujita, K., Kadota, T., Rana, B., Shresta, R. B. and Ageta, Y., Shrinkage of Glacier AX010 in shorong region, Nepal Himalayas in the 1990s. Bull. Glaciol. Res., 2001, 18, 51–54.

  • Wagnon, P. et al., Four years of mass balance on Chhota Shigri Glacier, Himachal Pradesh, India, a new benchmark glacier in the western Himalaya. J. Glaciol., 2007, 53, 603–611.

  • Dobhal, D. P. and Mehta, M., Snout fluctuation of Dokriani Glacier (1962-2007) vis-à-vis the impact of climate change. Him. Geol., 2008, 29, 23–25.

  • Azam, M. F. et al., From balance to imbalance: a shift in the dynamic behaviour of Chhota Shigri glacier (Western Himalaya, India). J. Glaciol., 2012, 58, 315–324.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Mass balance of Himalayan glaciers using AAR and ELA methods. J. Glaciol., 1992, 38, 101–104.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Rathore, B. P. and Alex, S., Monitoring of glacial mass balance in the Baspa basin using accumulation area ratio method. Curr. Sci., 2004, 86, 101–106.

  • Gaddam, V. K., Kulkarni, A. V. and Anil, K. G., Estimation of glacial retreat and mass loss in Baspa basin, Western Himalaya. Spat. Inform Res., 2016, doi:10.1007/s41324-016-0026-x.

  • Berthier, E., Arnaud, Y., Kumar, R., Ahmad, S., Wagnon, P. and Chevallier, P., Remote sensing estimates of glacier mass balances in the Himachal Pradesh (Western Himalaya, India). Remote Sensing Envion., 2007, 108, 327–338.

  • Kääb, A., Berthier, E., Nuth, C., Gardelle, J. and Arnaud, Y., Contrasting patterns of early twenty-first-century glacier mass change in the Himalayas. Nature, 2012, 488, 495–498.

  • Bamber, J. L. and Rivera, A., A review of remote sensing methods for glacier mass balance determination. Glob. Plane Chan., 2007, 59, 138–148

  • Anil, K. G., Gaddam, V. K., Negi, H. S., Srinivasan, J. and Satheesh, S. K., The effect of black carbon on reflectance of snow in the accumulation area of glaciers in the Baspa basin, Himachal Pradesh, India. Cryo. Discuss., 2013, 7, 1359–1382.

  • Shekhar, M. S., Chand, H., Kumar, S., Srinivasan, K. and Ganju, A., Climate change studies in the western Himalaya. Ann. Glacio., 2010, 51, 105–112.

  • Kaur, R., Sasikumar, D., Kulkarni, A. V. and Chaudhary, B. S., Variation in snow cover and snow line altitude in Baspa basin. Curr. Sci., 2009, 96, 1255–1258.

  • Raina, V. K. and Srivastava, D., Glacier Atlas of India. Geol. Soc. India, 2008.

  • Nuth, C. and Kaab, A., Co-registration and bias corrections of satellite elevation data sets for quantifying glacier thickness change. Cryosphere, 2011, 5, 271–290.

  • Gardelle, J., Berthier, E. and Arnaud, Y., Slight mass gain of Karakorum glaciers in the early 21st century. Nature Geosci., 2012, 5, 322–325.

  • Berthier, E., Schiefer, E., Clarke, G. K. C., Menounos, B. and Remy, F., Contribution of Alaskan glaciers to sea-level rise derived from satellite imagery. Nat. Geosci., 2010, 3, 92–95.

  • Gaddam, V. K., Kulkarni, A. V. and Gupta, A. K., Reconstruction of Specific mass balance for glaciers in Western Himalaya using seasonal sensitivity characteristic(s). J. Ear. Syst. Sci., 2017, 126(55); doi:10.1007/s12040-017-0839-6.

  • Gardelle, J., Berither, E., Arnaud, Y. and Kaab, A., Region-wide glacier mass balances over the Pamir–Karakoram–Himalaya during 1999–2011. Cryosphere, 2013, 7, 1263–1286.

  • Azam, M. F. et al., From balance to imbalance: a shift in the dynamic behaviour of Chhota Shigri glacier, western Himalaya, India. J. Glaciol., 2012, 58(208), 315–324.

  • Tawde, A. S., Kulkarni, A. V. and Bala, G., Estimation of glacier mass balance on a basin scale: an approach based on satellitederived snowlines and a temperature index model. Curr. Sci., 2016, 111(12), 1977–1989.

  • Huss, M., Density assumptions for converting geodetic glacier volume change to mass change. Cryosphere, 2013, 7, 877–887.

  • Pieczonka, T., Bolch, T., Wei, J. and Liu, S., Heterogeneous mass loss of glaciers in the Aksu-Tarim Catchment (Central Tien Shan) revealed by 1976 KH-9 Hexagon and 2009 SPOT-5 stereo imagery. Remote Sensing Environ., 2013, 130, 233–244.

  • Kaab, A., Treichler, D., Nuth, C. and Berthier, E., Brief communication: contending estimates of 2003–2008 glacier mass balance over the Pamir–Karakoram–Himalaya. Cryosphere, 2015, 9, 557–564.

  • Gardelle, J., Berthier, E. and Arnaud, Y., Impact of resolution and radar penetration on glacier elevation changes computed from DEM differencing. J. Glaciol., 2012, 58, 419–422.

  • Myoung-Jong Noh and Howat, I. M., Automated coregistration of repeat digital elevation models for surface elevation change measurement using geometric constraints. IEEE Trans. Geosci. Remote Sensing, 2014, 52(4), 2247–2260.

  • Basnett, S., Kulkarni A. V. and Bolch, T., The influence of debris cover and glacial lakes on the recession of glaciers in Sikkim Himalaya, India. J. Glacio., 2013, 59(218), 1035–1046.


Abstract Views: 408

PDF Views: 137




  • Mass Balance Estimation Using Geodetic Method for Glaciers in Baspa Basin, Western Himalaya

Abstract Views: 408  |  PDF Views: 137

Authors

G. Vinay Kumar
Cryosphere Science Division, ESSO-National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa 403 804, India
Anil V. Kulkarni
Divecha Centre for Climate Change, CAOS, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
Anil Kumar Gupta
Department of Civil Engineering, Dr Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University-RC, Bengaluru 560 056, India
Parmanand Sharma
Cryosphere Science Division, ESSO-National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa 403 804, India

Abstract


Himalayan glaciers, which contribute to water security for almost 1.3 billion people in Asia, are now under threat due to climate change. Assessment of glacier mass balance changes is crucial to determine the implications of climate change, but in situ measurements are limited due to rugged terrain and harsh climate of the Himalaya. Remote sensing-based geodetic method is therefore important for studying the evolution of Himalayan glaciers at a large scale. In this study, the mass balance of glaciers located in Baspa basin (Western Himalaya) is estimated for a period of 11 years between 2000 and 2011, using geodetic method. Out of 89 glaciers in the basin, 42 glaciers (greater than 1 km2) covering an area of ~72% (215 km2) of the total glaciated area were selected for the study. A mean thinning of ~50 ± 11 m and mean accumulation of ~35 ± 11 m was observed during the study period, with the cumulative mass balance varying between -36.9 ± 1.98 and 6.47 ± 1.98 m.w.e. A mean annual mass loss of -1.09 ± 0.32 m.w.e.a-1 was observed for the entire basin, suggesting that the glaciers in Baspa basin are losing mass at higher rate compared to the glaciers in central and eastern Himalayas. This study demonstrates the utility of geodetic method to estimate mass balance of glaciers at basin scale, which will be useful to assess future changes in glacial extent and stream run-off.

Keywords


Baspa Basin, Geodetic Method, Mass Balance, Western Himalaya.

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv113%2Fi03%2F486-492