Remote Sensing Analysis of Changes in Chorabari Glacier, Central Himalaya, India

In this study, mass balance for Chorabari glacier of the Central Himalaya, India has been estimated. This glacier has been considered for the case study as it feeds the Mandakini River and was one of the reasons for flash floods in Rudraprayag district, Uttarakhand in 2013. The observations are based on glacier area/length change and rate of melting in the multidecade (1976–2016) using Landsat data. The study estimates an overall decrease in area at 0.8% per year. Elevation change has been studied using geodetic method utilizing shuttle radar topography mission and TanDEM-X datasets, which have shown a decrease in elevation in 16 years (2000–16). From these remotely observed parameters, a negative mass balance for the decade 2000–11 indicates glacier retreat. This study highlights the applicability of optical and radar remote sensing for the Himalayan glaciers, for better disaster management and understanding glacier dynamics in response to climate change.