Current Science

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access

Recent glacier area changes in Himalaya–Karakoram and the impact of latitudinal variation


Affiliations
1 Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
2 Department of Remote Sensing, University of Jammu, Jammu 180 006, India
3 Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Shimla 171 009, India
4 Remote Sensing Applications Centre-Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow 226 021, India
 

We present the observed area changes in 5234 glaciers (out of which 3435 are debris-free) of Himalaya–Kara­koram (H–K) region, mapped at a scale of 1 : 25,000 using primarily IRS LISS III data between the years 2001 and 2016/2017/2018. Area change is a direct observable parameter in the monitoring of glaciers. The mapping results have been analysed in different sectors of H–K region. In the Karakoram region, 2143 glacier bodies with an area coverage of 18343.39 km2 show a gain of 0.026%, whereas in Himalayan region, 3091 glaciers covering an area of 11451.53 km2 show a loss of 1.44% over a span of 17 years. Loss in glacier area in Himalayan region varies from 0.76% in sub-basins located in the left side of NW flowing Indus River (N–W Himalaya/J&K and Ladakh), 2.2% in Chenab and Sutlej basins (Western Himalaya/Himachal Pradesh), 0.84% in Ganga basin (West-Central Himalaya/Uttarakhand), 2.16% in Ganga basin (Central Himalaya/Nepal and a few glaciers of Tibetan region) and 2.15% in Tista sub-basin (Eastern Himalaya/Sikkim). The mapping uncertainty is less than 0.01%. The results also show that debris free glaciers are more vulnerable to global warming thereby affirming the earlier theories of differential impact of warming on debris free and debris covered glaciers. Overall, the statistics clearly indicate the effect of latitudinal variations on the gain/loss in the area of glaciers from higher to lower latitudes in addition to microclimatic and geomorphological factors

Keywords

Ablation, accumulation, glacier retreat, snout, latitudinal variation
User
Notifications
Font Size

  • Hugonnet, R. et al., Accelerated global glacier mass loss in the early twenty-first century. Nature, 2021, 592, 726–731.

  • Azam, M. F. et al., Glaciohydrology of the Himalaya–Karakoram. Science, 2021; doi:10.1126/science.abf3668.

  • 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.

  • Huss, M. and Hock, R., Global-scale hydrological response to future glacier mass loss. Nat. Climate Change, 2018, 8, 135–140.

  • Immerzeel, W. W., van Beek, L. P. H., Konz, M., Shrestha, A. B., and Bierkens, M. F. P., Hydrological response to climate change in a glacierized catchment in the Himalayas. Climatic Change, 2012, 721–736.

  • Gardner, A. S. et al., A reconciled estimate of glacier contributions to sea level rise: 2003 to 2009. Science, 2013, 340, 852–857.

  • RGI, Consortium Randolph Glacier Inventory (v.6.0): a dataset of global glacier outlines. Global land ice measurements from space, RGI Technical Report No. 017, Boulder, Colorado, USA; https:// doi.org/10.7265/N5-RGI-60.

  • Huss, M. and Farinotti, D., Distributed ice thickness and volume of all glaciers around the globe. J. Geophys. Res., 2012, 117, F04010; doi:10.1029/2012JF002523.

  • Zemp, M. et al., Global glacier mass changes and their contributions to sea-level rise from 1961 to 2016. Nature, 2019, 568, 382–386.

  • Hock, R. et al., High mountain areas. In IPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (eds Pörtner, H.-O. et al.), 2019.

  • Marzeion, B., Cogley, J. G., Richter, K. and Parkes, D., Glaciers. Attribution of global glacier mass loss to anthropogenic and natural causes. Science, 2014, 345, 919–921.

  • Ramanathan, V., Trace-gas greenhouse effect and global warming: underlying principles and outstanding issues. Volvo Environmental Prize Lecture – 1997. Ambio, 1998, 27, 187–197.

  • Bajracharya, S. R., Mool, P. K. and Shrestha, B. R., The impact of global warming on the glaciers of the Himalaya. In Proceedings of the International Symposium on Geodisasters, Infrastructure Management and Protection of World Heritage Sites, 2006, pp. 231–242.

  • Racoviteanu, A. E. et al., Himalayan Glaciers (India, Bhutan, Nepal): satellite observations of thinning and retreat. In Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (eds Kargel, J. S. et al.), Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Germany, 2014, pp. 549–582.

  • Shekhar, M. S., Rao, N. N., Paul, S., Bhan, S. C., Singh, G. P. and Singh, A., Winter precipitation climatology over Western Himalaya: altitude and range wise study. J. Indian Geophys. Union, 2017, 21, 148–152.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Overview of Himalayan cryosphere and emerging issues (Invited talk). In National Workshop on Himalayan Cryosphere, IIRS, Dehradun, 14 February 2020.

  • Naithani, A. K., Nainwal, H. C., Sati, K. K. and Prasad, C., Geomorphological evidences of retreat of the Gangotri glacier and its characteristics. Curr. Sci., 2001, 80, 87–94.

  • Deota, B. S., Trivedi, Y. N., Kulkarni, A. V., Bahuguna, I. M. and Rathore, B. P., RS and GIS in mapping of geomorphic records and understanding the local controls of glacial retreat from the Baspa Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. Curr. Sci., 2011, 100, 1555–1563.

  • Trivedi, Y. N., Deota, B. S., Rathore, B. P., Bahuguna, I. M. and Kulkarni, A. V., IRS images for glacial geomorphological studies of Baspa Valley. Indian J. Geomorphol., 2007, 11, 12.

  • Hewitt, K., The Karakoram anomaly? Glacier expansion and the ‘elevation effect’, Karakoram Himalaya. Mt. Res. Dev., 2005, 25, 332–340.

  • Gardelle, J., Berthier, E. and Arnaud, Y., Slight mass gain of Karakoram glaciers in the early twenty-first century. Nature Geosci., 2012, 5, 322–325.

  • Brahmbhatt, R. M. et al., Satellite monitoring of glaciers in the Karakoram from 1977 to 2013: an overall almost stable population of dynamic glaciers, Cryosphere Discuss., 2015, 9, 1555–1592; doi:10.5194/tcd-9-1555-2015.

  • Bolch, T., Pieczonka, T., Mukherjee, K. and Shea, J., Brief communication: glaciers in the Hunza catchment (Karakoram) have been nearly in balance since the 1970s. Cryosphere, 2017, 11, 531–539.

  • Ganjoo, R. K., Koul, M. N., Bahuguna, I. M. and Ajai, The complex phenomenon of glaciers of Nubra Valley, Karakorum (Ladakh), India. Nat. Sci., 2014, 6, 733–740.

  • Koul, M. N., Bahuguna, I. M., Ajai, Rajawat, A. S., Ali, S. and Koul, S., Glacier area change over past 50 years to stable phase in Drass Valley, Ladakh Himalaya (India). Am. J. Climate Change, 2016, 5, 88–102.

  • Farinotti, D., Immerzeel, W. W., de Kok, R. J., Quincey, D. J. and Dehecq, A., Manifestations and mechanisms of the Karakoram glacier anomaly. Nature Geosci., 2020, 13(1), 8–16.

  • Bahuguna, I. M., Kulkarni, A. V. and Nayak, S., Technical note: DEM from IRS-1C PAN stereo coverages over Himalayan glaciated region – accuracy and its utility. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2004, 25(19), 4029–4041.

  • Maurer, J. M., Schaefer, J. M., Rupper, S. and Corley, A., Acceleration of ice loss across the Himalayas over the past 40 years. Sci. Adv., 2019, 5, eaav7266.

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

  • Zhou, Y., Li, Z., Li, J., Zhao, R. and Ding, X., Geodetic glacier mass balance (1975–1999) in the central Pamir using SRTM DEM and KH-9 imagery. J. Glaciol., 2019, 65(250), 309–320.

  • Brun, F., Berthier, E., Wagnon, P., Kääb, A. and Treichler, D., A spatially resolved estimate of High Mountain Asia glacier mass balances, 2000–2016. Nature Geosci., 2017, 10, 668–673.

  • Radić, V. and Hock, R., Regional and global volumes of glaciers derived from statistical upscaling of glacier inventory data. J. Geophys. Res., 2010, 115, F01010.

  • Grinsted, A., An estimate of global glacier volume. Cryosphere, 2013, 7, 141–151.

  • Kulkarni, A. V. and Bahuguna, I. M., Glacial retreat in the Baspa basin, Himalaya, monitored with satellite stereo data. J. Glaciol., 2002, 171–172.

  • Kulkarni, A. V. and Alex, S., Estimation of recent glacial variations in Baspa basin using remote sensing technique. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 2003, 81–90.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Rathore, B. P., Mahajan, S. and Mathur, P., Alarming retreat of Parbati glacier, Beas basin, Himachal Pradesh. Curr. Sci., 2005, 88, 1844–1850.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Dhar, S., Rathore, B. P., K., B. G. R. and Kalia, R., Recession of Samudra Tapu glacier, Chandra River Basin, Himachal Pradesh. J. Indian Soc. Remote Sensing, 2006, 34(1), 39–46.

  • Bahuguna, I. M., Kulkarni, A. V., Nayak, S., Rathore, B. P., Negi, H. S. and Mathur, P., Himalayan glacier retreat using IRS 1C PAN stereo data. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2007, 28(2), 437–442.

  • 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.

  • Kulkarni, A. V., Rathore, B. P., Singh, S. K. and Bahuguna, I. M., Understanding changes in the Himalayan cryosphere using remote sensing techniques. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2011, 32(3), 601–615.

  • SAC, Final Technical Report on snow and glacier studies (a joint project of the Ministry of Environment and Forests and Department of Space, Government of India. Space Applications Centre, ISRO, Ahmedabad, Technical Report No. SAC/RESA/MESG/ SGP/TR/59/2010, 2010, p. 268.

  • Bahuguna, I. M. et al., Are the Himalayan glaciers retreating? Curr. Sci., 2014, 106(7), 1008–1013.

  • Bhambri, R., Bolch, T. and Chaujar, R. K., Automated mapping of debris-covered glaciers in the Garhwal Himalayas using ASTER DEMs and multi-spectral data. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2011, 32(23), 8095–8119; doi:10.1080/01431161.2010.532821.

  • Paul, F., Changes in glacier area in Tyrol, Austria, between 1969 and 1992 derived from Landsat 5 TM and Austrian Glacier Inventory data. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 2002, 23, 787–799.

  • Paul, F., Combined technologies allow rapid analysis of glacier changes. Eos, Trans. Am. Geophys. Union, 2002, 83(23), 253.

  • Rastner, P., Bolch, T., Notarnicola, C. and Paul, F., A comparison of pixel- and object-based glacier classification with optical satellite images. IEEE J. Sel. Top. Appl. Earth Obs. Remote Sensing, 2014, 7(3), 853–862.

  • Robson, B. A., Nuth, C., Dahl, S. O., Hölbling, D., Strozzi, T. and Nielsen, P. R., Automated classification of debris-covered glaciers combining optical, SAR and topographic data in an object-based environment. Remote Sensing Environ., 2015, 170, 372–387.

  • Shukla, A. and Ali, I., A hierarchical knowledge-based classification for glacier terrain mapping: a case study from Kolahoi Glacier, Kashmir Himalaya. Ann. Glaciol., 2016, 57(71), 1–10.

  • Kulkarni, A. V. and. Bahuguna, I. M., Role of satellite images in snow and glacial investigations. Geol. Soc. India Spec. Publ., 2001, 53, 233–240.

  • Pattnaik, S., Singh, S. K. and Bahuguna, I. M., Change detection of debris free glaciers from IRS LISS III images. Int. J. Rec. Sci. Res., 2018, 9(1J), 23617–23621.

  • Cuffey, K. M. and Paterson, W. S. B., The Physics of Glaciers, Academic Press, Amsterdam, 2010, 4th edn, p. 704, ISBN-13: 978-0-1233-69461-4.

  • Scherler, D., Bookhagen, B. and Strecker, M. R., Spatially variable response of Himalayan glaciers to climate change affected by debris cover. Nature Geosci., 2011, 4, 156–159.

  • Mattson, L. E., Gardener J. S. and Young, G. J., Ablation on Debris Covered Glaciers: An Example from Rakhiot Glacier, Punjab Himalaya, IAHS Publication, 1993, pp. 289–296.

  • Kayastha, R. B., Takeyuchi, Y., Nakawo, M. and Ageta, Y., Practical prediction of ice melting under various thickness of debris cover of Khumbu glacier, Nepal using a positive degree day factor. In Debris Covered Glacier (eds Nakawo, M., Raymond, C. F. and Fountain, A.), IAHS Publication, 2000, vol. 264, pp. 71–81.

  • Brahmbhatt, R. et al., A comparative study of deglaciation in two neighbouring basins (Warwan and Bhut) of Western Himalaya. Curr. Sci., 2012, 103(3), 298–304.

  • Dobhal, D. P., Mehta, M. and Srivastava, D., Influence of debris cover on terminus retreat and mass changes of Chorabari Glacier, Garhwal region, central Himalaya, India. J. Glaciol., 2013, 59(217), 961–971.

  • Banerjee, A., Brief communication: thinning of debris-covere and debris-free glaciers in a warming climate. Cryosphere, 2017, 11, 133–138.

  • Herreid, S. et al., Satellite observations show no net change in the percentage of supraglacial debris-covered area in northern Pakistan from 1977 to 2014. J. Glaciol., 2015, 61(227), 524–536.

  • Brahmbhatt, R. M. et al., Significance of glacio-morphological factors in the glacier retreat: a case study of part of Chenab basin, Himalaya. J. Mt. Sci., 2017, 14, 128–141.

  • Negi, H. S., Kanda, N., Shekhar, M. S. and Ganju, A., Recent wintertime climatic variability over the North West Himalayan cryosphere. Curr. Sci., 2018, 114(4), 760–770.

  • Pelto, M., Winter Season Ablation in 2018 Mount Everest Region, American Geophysical Union blog ‘Blogosphere’; https://blogs.agu.org/fromaglaciersperspective/2018/05/17/winter-season-ablationin-2018-mount-everest-region-himalaya/ (accessed on 6 June 2021).

  • Reid, T. D. and Brock, B. W., An energy-balance model for debris-covered glaciers including heat conduction through the debris layer. J. Glaciol., 2010, 903–916.

  • Benn, D. I. and Evans David, D. J. A., Glaciers and Glaciation, Arnold, London, UK, 2010, p. 734.

  • Valdiya, K. S., The Making of India: Geodynamic Evolution, MacMillan Publishers, India Ltd, New Delhi, 2010, p. 796.

  • Ye, Q. H. et al., Monitoring glacier variations on Geladandong Mountain, Central Tibetan Plateau, from 1969 to 2002 using remote-sensing and GIS technologies. J. Glaciol., 2006, 52(179), 537–545.

  • Kaushik, S., Dharpure, J. K., Joshi, P. K., Ramanathan, A. L. and Singh, T., Climate change drives glacier retreat in Bhaga basin located in Himachal Pradesh, India. Geocarto Int., 2019, 35, 1179–1198; doi:10.1080/10106049.2018.1557260Kaushik2018.

  • Schmidt, S. and Nüsser, M., Changes of high altitude glaciers from 1969 to 2010 in the Trans-Himalayan Kang Yatze Massif, Ladakh, Northwest India. Arct., Antarct., Alp. Res., 2012, 44(1), 107–121.

  • Schmidt, S. and Nüsser, M., Changes of high altitude glaciers in the trans-Himalaya of Ladakh over the past five decades (1969–2016). Geosci. J., 2017, 7, 27; doi:10.3390/geosciences7020-027.

  • Bhambri, R., Bolch, T., Chaujar, R. K. and Kulshreshtha, S. C.,Glacier changes in the Garhwal Himalaya, India, from 1968 to 2006 based on remote sensing. J. Glaciol., 2011, 57, 543–556;

  • doi:https://doi.org/10.3189/002214311796905604.


Abstract Views: 399

PDF Views: 127




  • Recent glacier area changes in Himalaya–Karakoram and the impact of latitudinal variation

Abstract Views: 399  |  PDF Views: 127

Authors

Ishmohan Bahuguna
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
Bhanu Prakash Rathore
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
Avtar Singh Jasrotia
Department of Remote Sensing, University of Jammu, Jammu 180 006, India
Surjeet Singh Randhawa
Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Shimla 171 009, India
Santosh Kumar Singh Yadav
Remote Sensing Applications Centre-Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow 226 021, India
Sadiq Ali
Department of Remote Sensing, University of Jammu, Jammu 180 006, India
Nishtha Gautam
Himachal Pradesh Council for Science, Technology and Environment, Shimla 171 009, India
Joyeeta Poddar
Remote Sensing Applications Centre-Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow 226 021, India
Madhukar Srigyan
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
Abhishek Dhanade
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
Purvee Joshi
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
Sushil Kumar Singh
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
Dhani Ram Rajak
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India
Shashikant Sharma
Space Applications Centre, Indian Space Research Organization, Ahmedabad 380 015, India

Abstract


We present the observed area changes in 5234 glaciers (out of which 3435 are debris-free) of Himalaya–Kara­koram (H–K) region, mapped at a scale of 1 : 25,000 using primarily IRS LISS III data between the years 2001 and 2016/2017/2018. Area change is a direct observable parameter in the monitoring of glaciers. The mapping results have been analysed in different sectors of H–K region. In the Karakoram region, 2143 glacier bodies with an area coverage of 18343.39 km2 show a gain of 0.026%, whereas in Himalayan region, 3091 glaciers covering an area of 11451.53 km2 show a loss of 1.44% over a span of 17 years. Loss in glacier area in Himalayan region varies from 0.76% in sub-basins located in the left side of NW flowing Indus River (N–W Himalaya/J&K and Ladakh), 2.2% in Chenab and Sutlej basins (Western Himalaya/Himachal Pradesh), 0.84% in Ganga basin (West-Central Himalaya/Uttarakhand), 2.16% in Ganga basin (Central Himalaya/Nepal and a few glaciers of Tibetan region) and 2.15% in Tista sub-basin (Eastern Himalaya/Sikkim). The mapping uncertainty is less than 0.01%. The results also show that debris free glaciers are more vulnerable to global warming thereby affirming the earlier theories of differential impact of warming on debris free and debris covered glaciers. Overall, the statistics clearly indicate the effect of latitudinal variations on the gain/loss in the area of glaciers from higher to lower latitudes in addition to microclimatic and geomorphological factors

Keywords


Ablation, accumulation, glacier retreat, snout, latitudinal variation

References





DOI: https://doi.org/10.18520/cs%2Fv121%2Fi7%2F929-940