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Temporal Change and Flow Velocity Estimation of Patseo Glacier, Western Himalaya, India


Affiliations
1 Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh 160 036, India
2 Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
3 Indian Space Research Organization, Head Quarters, New BEL Road, Bengaluru 560 231, India
 

In the present study we estimate the velocity and thickness of the Patseo glacier, Himachal Pradesh, India. The average velocity of the glacier was estimated as ~5.47 m/year using co-registration of optically sensed images and correlation (COSI-Corr) method. The glacier thickness was found to vary between 12 and 278 m, with an average value 59 m. The total glacier ice volume was estimated as ~15.8 × 107 m3, with equivalent water reservoir of ~14.5 × 107 m3. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were conducted during 2004 and 2013 for validation of the estimated glacier thickness. The glacier thickness estimated using COSI-Corr method was found to be in agreement with GPR-retrieved glacier thickness (RMSE = 4.75 m; MAE = 3.74 m). The GPR profiles collected along the same geographic locations on the glacier during 2004 and 2013 showed a reduction in ice thickness of ~1.89 m, and thus resulting in an annual ice thickness decrease of ~0.21 m. The glacier area was estimated for 2004 and 2013 using LISS IV satellite data and found to be ~2.52 and ~2.30 sq. km respectively. This shows an annual reduction of ~0.024 sq. km in glacier area. The total annual loss in glacier ice volume was estimated as ~4.55 × 105 m3. This loss in the glacier ice volume of the Patseo glacier is supported by the snow and meteorological observations collected at a nearby field observatory of Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE). The climate data collected at SASE meteorological observatory at Patseo (3800 m), between 1993–94 and 2014–15 showed an increasing trend in the mean annual temperature and a decreasing trend in winter precipitation.

Keywords

Glaciers, Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys, Velocity and Thickness Estimation, Winter Precipitation.
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  • Temporal Change and Flow Velocity Estimation of Patseo Glacier, Western Himalaya, India

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Authors

K. K. Singh
Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh 160 036, India
D. K. Singh
Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh 160 036, India
H. S. Negi
Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh 160 036, India
A. V. Kulkarni
Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
H. S. Gusain
Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh 160 036, India
A. Ganju
Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment, Chandigarh 160 036, India
K. Babu Govindha Raj
Indian Space Research Organization, Head Quarters, New BEL Road, Bengaluru 560 231, India

Abstract


In the present study we estimate the velocity and thickness of the Patseo glacier, Himachal Pradesh, India. The average velocity of the glacier was estimated as ~5.47 m/year using co-registration of optically sensed images and correlation (COSI-Corr) method. The glacier thickness was found to vary between 12 and 278 m, with an average value 59 m. The total glacier ice volume was estimated as ~15.8 × 107 m3, with equivalent water reservoir of ~14.5 × 107 m3. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys were conducted during 2004 and 2013 for validation of the estimated glacier thickness. The glacier thickness estimated using COSI-Corr method was found to be in agreement with GPR-retrieved glacier thickness (RMSE = 4.75 m; MAE = 3.74 m). The GPR profiles collected along the same geographic locations on the glacier during 2004 and 2013 showed a reduction in ice thickness of ~1.89 m, and thus resulting in an annual ice thickness decrease of ~0.21 m. The glacier area was estimated for 2004 and 2013 using LISS IV satellite data and found to be ~2.52 and ~2.30 sq. km respectively. This shows an annual reduction of ~0.024 sq. km in glacier area. The total annual loss in glacier ice volume was estimated as ~4.55 × 105 m3. This loss in the glacier ice volume of the Patseo glacier is supported by the snow and meteorological observations collected at a nearby field observatory of Snow and Avalanche Study Establishment (SASE). The climate data collected at SASE meteorological observatory at Patseo (3800 m), between 1993–94 and 2014–15 showed an increasing trend in the mean annual temperature and a decreasing trend in winter precipitation.

Keywords


Glaciers, Ground Penetrating Radar Surveys, Velocity and Thickness Estimation, Winter Precipitation.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv114%2Fi04%2F776-784