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Volume Estimation of Existing and Potential Glacier Lakes, Sikkim Himalaya, India


Affiliations
1 Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
2 Sikkim State Council of Science and Technology, Department of Science and Technology and Climate Change, Development Area, Gangtok 737 101, India
 

Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a hazard commonly reported in the glaciated terrain of the Himalaya. Glacier lakes can form if the glaciers retreat and the bottom topography overdeepens. We have adopted a technique to estimate the depth and volume of lakes using parameters such as glacier surface velocity, slope and laminar flow of ice. The technique has been automated using Python programming language. The method was applied in the Sikkim Himalaya to map potential lake sites and also to predict further expansion of existing glacier lakes. Studies were carried out for ten glaciers in the Tista river basin. The analysis suggests nine potential lake sites, including further expansion of four existing glacier lakes. To validate the results, the model lake boundary in 2001 was compared with the satellite-observed value of 2015 and field measurements made at the South Lhonak lake. The volume of the South Lhonak lake (in 2015) was estimated as 60 ± 10.8 million m3; with prolonged retreat of the glacier, the lake is likely to expand to a maximum volume of 90 ± 16.2 million m3. The above technique can provide new information to planners, leading to a more realistic approach in understanding the disaster potential of glacier lakes.

Keywords

Glacier Lakes, Depth and Volume Estimation, Remote Sensing, Disaster Potential, Over Deepening.
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  • Volume Estimation of Existing and Potential Glacier Lakes, Sikkim Himalaya, India

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Authors

S. N. Remya
Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
Anil V. Kulkarni
Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
S. Pradeep
Divecha Centre for Climate Change, Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru 560 012, India
D. G. Shrestha
Sikkim State Council of Science and Technology, Department of Science and Technology and Climate Change, Development Area, Gangtok 737 101, India

Abstract


Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are a hazard commonly reported in the glaciated terrain of the Himalaya. Glacier lakes can form if the glaciers retreat and the bottom topography overdeepens. We have adopted a technique to estimate the depth and volume of lakes using parameters such as glacier surface velocity, slope and laminar flow of ice. The technique has been automated using Python programming language. The method was applied in the Sikkim Himalaya to map potential lake sites and also to predict further expansion of existing glacier lakes. Studies were carried out for ten glaciers in the Tista river basin. The analysis suggests nine potential lake sites, including further expansion of four existing glacier lakes. To validate the results, the model lake boundary in 2001 was compared with the satellite-observed value of 2015 and field measurements made at the South Lhonak lake. The volume of the South Lhonak lake (in 2015) was estimated as 60 ± 10.8 million m3; with prolonged retreat of the glacier, the lake is likely to expand to a maximum volume of 90 ± 16.2 million m3. The above technique can provide new information to planners, leading to a more realistic approach in understanding the disaster potential of glacier lakes.

Keywords


Glacier Lakes, Depth and Volume Estimation, Remote Sensing, Disaster Potential, Over Deepening.

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv116%2Fi4%2F620-627