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