Abstract
Decadal glacier thickness changes over the Upper Indus Basin in the Jammu and Kashmir Himalaya were estimated using the TanDEM-X and SRTM-C Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from 2000 to 2012. In the study area 12,243 glaciers having 19,727 ± 1,054 km2 area have thinned on an average of − 0.35 ± 0.33 m a−1 during the observation period. The highest thinning of − 1.69 ± 0.60 m a−1 was observed in the Pir Panjal while as the marginal thinning of − 0.11 ± 0.32 m a−1 was observed for the glaciers in the Karakoram. The observed glacier thickness changes indicated a strong influence of the topographic parameters. Higher thickness reduction was observed on the glaciers situated at lower altitudes (− 1.40 ± 0.53 m a−1) and with shallower slopes (− 1.52 ± 0.40 m a−1). Significantly higher negative thickness changes were observed from the glaciers situated on the southern slopes (− 0.55 ± 0.37 m a−1). The thickness loss was higher on the debris-covered glaciers (− 0.50 ± 0.38 m a−1) than on the clean glaciers (− 0.32 ± 0.33 m a−1). The cumulative glacier mass loss of − 70.32 ± 66.69 Gt was observed during the observation period, which, if continued, would significantly affect the sustainability of water resources in the basin.
Highlights
Decadal glacier thickness changes over the Upper Indus Basin in the Jammu and Kashmir Himalaya were estimated using the TanDEM-X and Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM)-C Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from 2000 to 2012
The present study investigated the changes in glacier thickness based on two publicly available SAR-based Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from 2000 to 2012 over the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) in the Jammu and Kashmir Himalaya, India (Fig. 1)
The study area is often divided in six mountain ranges: Pir Panjal range, (PPR), Greater Himalaya range (GHR), Shamaswari range (SR), Zanaskar range (ZR), Ladakh range (LR) and the Karakoram range (KKR) each with distinct climatic and topographic characteristics
Summary
Decadal glacier thickness changes over the Upper Indus Basin in the Jammu and Kashmir Himalaya were estimated using the TanDEM-X and SRTM-C Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from 2000 to 2012. The variability in the mass balance of glaciers in various Hindu-Kush Himalayan regions has been largely attributed to the peculiar topographic and climatic setting of each of the mountain ranges[16]. It has been observed that the response of glaciers to climate change is quite variable, even within the same topographic and climatic r egime[17], complicating any generalization of glacier behaviour at local or regional scale[18]. When considered in tandem, the morphological and topographical characteristics like glacier elevation, slope, aspect, glacier size and supra-glacial debris cover largely explain the variable glacier response[19,20,21]. The present study investigated the changes in glacier thickness based on two publicly available SAR-based Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from 2000 to 2012 over the UIB in the Jammu and Kashmir Himalaya, India (Fig. 1). Glaciers in the western Himalaya encompassing the study region receive 60–70% of their annual accumulation from the W Ds34
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