Spatio-temporal changes observed in supra-glacial debris cover in Chenab Basins, Western Himalaya

Abstract

The response of debris covered glaciers to climate change is complex. Presence of debris cover influence the glaciers in two different ways depends on its composition. Thick debris cover retards the melting of underlying ice whereas the thin layer of debris accelerates the melting. Also, the debris cover alters the surface energy balance, affects the sediment transportation capacity and may also lead to the glacier fragmentation, if stagnant at terminus. Therefore, evaluating the changes in supra-glacial debris cover is needed. In this study, ~185 glaciers were selected from Chandra- Bhaga basins (Chenab) to study the changes in supra-glacial debris cover from 1994 to 2009. A semi-automatic approach is used along with Landsat TM imagery to evaluate the changes. Further, depending on the size of glaciers, they were classified into four classes i.e., 2-5, 5-10, 10-20 and more than 20 km2. The significant increase in debris cover between 1994 and 2009 is 1.83 ± 1.6 km2, respectively. © (2016) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.