Contrasting Signals of Glacier Changes in Zanskar Valley, Jammu & Kashmir, India Using Remote Sensing and GIS
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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contrasting Signals of Glacier Changes in Zanskar Valley, Jammu & Kashmir, India Using Remote Sensing and GIS Swagata Ghosh & A. C. Pandey & M. S. Nathawat & I. M. Bahuguna & Ajai
Received: 27 November 2013 / Accepted: 12 February 2014 # Indian Society of Remote Sensing 2014
Abstract The study of advancement and recession of the glaciers in the Himalayas is essential due to their contrasting response towards climatic change. In the present study, Survey of India (SOI) topographical maps of 1962, IRS: LISS-III image of 2001 and LANDSAT-5: TM (Thematic Mapper) image of 2009 were used to analyze the glacier fluctuations in a part of Zanskar valley. The analysis carried out on 212 glaciers indicated decrease of 57 km2 (8 %) of glacier area over many glacier which was partly compensated with area increase by 42 km2 (6 %) in other glaciers, resulting an overall glacier area decrease by only 15 km2 (2 %) from 1962–2001. Due to glacier fragmentation the number of glaciers increased from 212 in 1962 to 238 by 2001. Although majority of glaciers (88 %) exhibited retreat (up to 13 my−1), minor
S. Ghosh (*) Department of Remote Sensing, Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi 835215, India e-mail: [email protected] A. C. Pandey Centre for Land Resource Management (CLRM), School of Natural Resource Management, Central University of Jharkhand, Brambe, Ranchi 835205, India e-mail: [email protected] M. S. Nathawat School of Sciences (SoS), Raman Bhawan, Block D, Academic Complex, Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), Maidan Garhi, New Delhi 110068, India e-mail: [email protected] I. M. Bahuguna : Ajai Space Application Centre, ISRO, P.O SAC, Ahemdabad 380015, India I. M. Bahuguna e-mail: [email protected] Ajai e-mail: [email protected]
advancement (5 km2) located over wider altitudinal range (700 m–1,000 m) whereas smaller glaciers (2
30 25 20 15
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Fig. 7 Terminus/snout shift in glaciers (2001–2009): a Categorization of glacier snout retreat, b Categorization of glacier snout advancement
from 27 °C to 30 °C. On the contrary decrease in temperature from 31 °C to 28 °C was observed during 1993– 1995. From 1988 to 2004 a fluctuating trend was observed with average maximum temperature of 29.1 °C). But to relate glacier fluctuation to temperature variation, more glacier measurement and monitoring using satellite images at an interval of three to four years were essential. Moreover to comment about the correlation between trends of glacier change and climatic trend, the information about the meteorological variables other than temperature should be considered (Ghosh and Pandey 2013). Supraglacial Debris Among 238 glaciers mapped in 2001, only 12 glaciers comprised of debris-covered tongues. Majority of the debris-covered glaciers (9) are bigger glaciers having area of more than 5 km2. The percentage of debris cover ranges from 1.43 % to 18.15 %. Based on the percentage of supraglacial debris cover, the debris covered glaciers were cat
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