Changes of High Altitude Glaciers from 1969 to 2010 in the Trans-Himalayan Kang Yatze Massif, Ladakh, Northwest India

Schmidt, Susanne; Nüsser, Marcus

doi:10.1657/1938-4246-44.1.107

Cited by 107 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 63 publications

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“…This spatial pattern supports the notion that monsoon-affected glaciers are more sensitive to climate warming than winter-accumulation-type glaciers (Fujita 2008 ). In the Indian trans-Himalaya of Ladakh, Schmidt and Nüsser ( 2012 ) assessed a shrinkage rate of the glaciated area of 0.3 % year −1 for small high-altitude glaciers over the last four decades. Average area loss rates of smaller Himalayan glaciers in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand reached up to 0.9 % year −1 over the same time period, with notable inter-decadal and regional variability (Kulkarni et al 2007 ;Bhambri et al 2011 ;Pandey et al 2011 ).…”

Section: Impact Of Climate Change On Glacierssupporting

confidence: 74%

Climate Change and Dynamics of Glaciers and Vegetation in the Himalaya: An Overview

Schickhoff

Singh

Mal

2016

Climate Change, Glacier Response, and Vegetation Dynamics in the Himalaya

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Mountains are globally signifi cant as 'water towers' of the Earth, as core areas of biodiversity and as source regions for important natural resources and ecosystem services. The ecological integrity of mountain environments is increasingly threatened by global environmental changes including climate change to which physical and ecological systems in mountains are highly vulnerable. Global warming rates have been higher in mountain regions compared to the global mean and have strongly affected the cryosphere, mountain biota and ecosystem processes.Temperature trends in most Himalayan regions substantially exceed the global mean trend of 0.85 °C between 1880 and 2012, with winter season temperature trends being generally higher than those of other seasons. Precipitation patterns are spatio-temporally differentiated, but show rather decreasing than increasing trends, in particular during summer. On average, glacier mass budgets have been negative for the past fi ve decades, with glaciers in the Himalaya and in the Hindu Kush showing distinct mass losses, while those in the Karakoram are close to balance. Shrinking rates are regionally variable, but often accelerating, corresponding approximately to a W-E gradient of increasing glacier retreat. Biotic responses to current climate change include elevational range shifts of species, intense recruitment of tree species in treeline ecotones and shifts in phenology, resulting in modifi ed structure, composition and functioning of Himalayan ecosystems.

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Section: Impact Of Climate Change On Glacierssupporting

confidence: 74%

Climate Change and Dynamics of Glaciers and Vegetation in the Himalaya: An Overview

Schickhoff

Singh

Mal

2016

Climate Change, Glacier Response, and Vegetation Dynamics in the Himalaya

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“…Glaciers in the Ladakh range are characteristically north-sloping, small, highaltitude, and display a distinct absence of debris cover. In this sense, they are characteristically similar to glaciers to the immediate south in the Zanskar range (Schmidt and Nüsser 2012), as opposed to the very large valley glaciers found in the Karakoram. The particularly small size of these glaciers, and hence their increased vulnerability to climate change, is of concern given the finding that glaciers in the region have displayed a significant reduction in area in the past two decades.…”

Section: Regional Glaciological Contextmentioning

confidence: 80%

“…The Ladakh Range exists between two regions of distinct glacier behaviour: the general retreat observed to the south in the Zanskar region (Schmidt and Nüsser 2012) and the distinct 'Karakoram Anomaly' observed in the Karakoram to the north (Scherler, Bookhagen, and Strecker 2011;Bolch et al 2012). Table 5 shows the results of this study and for two proximal studies with comparable methods and temporal coverage (Schmidt and Nüsser 2012;Bhambri et al 2013, study extents shown in Figure 1). It is apparent that the Ladakh Range displays behaviour in line with the Zanskar Range and significantly different from the Eastern Karakoram.…”

Section: Regional Glaciological Contextmentioning

confidence: 84%

Glacier characteristics and retreat between 1991 and 2014 in the Ladakh Range, Jammu and Kashmir

Chudley

Miles

Willis

2017

Remote Sensing Letters

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The Ladakh Range is a liminal zone of meteorological conditions and glacier changes. It lies between the monsoon-forced glacier retreat of the Himalaya and Zanskar ranges to the south and the anomalous stability observed in the Karakoram to the north, driven by mid-latitude westerlies. Given the climatic context of the Ladakh Range, the glaciers in the range might be expected to display intermediate behaviour between these two zones. However, no glacier change data have been compiled for the Ladakh Range itself. Here, we examine 864 glaciers in the central section of the Ladakh range, covering a number of smaller glaciers not included in alternative glacier inventories. Glaciers in the range are small (median 0.25 km 2 ; maximum 6.58 km 2 ) and largely distributed between 5000-6000 m above sea level (a.s.l.). 657 glaciers are available for multitemporal analysis between 1991 to 2014 using data from Landsat multispectral sensors. We find glaciers to have retreated -12.8% between 1991-2014. Glacier changes are consistent with observations in the Western Himalaya (to the south) and in sharp contrast with the Karakoram (to the north) in spite of its proximity to the latter. We suggest this sharp transition must be explained at least in part by non-climatic mechanisms (such as debris covering or hypsometry), or that the climatic factors responsible for the Karakoram behaviour are extremely localised.

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“…Beck et al [16] and Altmaier and Kany [17] rectified Corona imagery in low elevated terrain without ice and snow cover with an accuracy of 5-8 m and 10 m, respectively. Further studies mainly focussed on 2D changes [18][19][20] and did not exploit the full potential of the data for 3D observations and processing. Focusing on small area or single glaciers only, previous research used the stereoscopic capabilities of declassified Corona imagery to extend existing mass budget series back in time [21][22][23][24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Glacier Mass Loss during the 1960s and 1970s in the Ak-Shirak Range (Kyrgyzstan) from Multiple Stereoscopic Corona and Hexagon Imagery

et al. 2017

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Abstract:Comprehensive research on glacier changes in the Tian Shan is available for the current decade; however, there is limited information about glacier investigations of previous decades and especially before the mid 1970s. The earliest stereo images from the Corona missions were acquired in the 1960s but existing studies dealing with these images focus on single glaciers or small areas only. We developed a workflow to generate digital terrain models (DTMs) and orthophotos from 1964 Corona KH-4 for an entire mountain range (Ak-Shirak) located in the Central Tian Shan. From these DTMs and orthoimages, we calculated geodetic mass balances and length changes in comparison to 1973 and 1980 Hexagon KH-9 data. We found mass budgets between −0.4 ± 0.1 m·w.e.a −1 (1964)(1965)(1966)(1967)(1968)(1969)(1970)(1971)(1972)(1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980) and −0.9 ± 0.4 m·w.e.a −1 (1973)(1974)(1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980) for the whole region and individual glaciers. The length changes, on the other hand, vary heterogeneously between +624 ± 18 m (+39.0 ± 1.1 m·a −1 ) and −923 ± 18 m (−57.7 ± 1.1 m·a −1 ) for [1964][1965][1966][1967][1968][1969][1970][1971][1972][1973][1974][1975][1976][1977][1978][1979][1980]. An automation of the processing line can successively lead to region-wide Corona data processing allowing the analysis and interpretation of glacier changes on a larger scale and supporting a refinement of glacier modelling.

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Changes of High Altitude Glaciers from 1969 to 2010 in the Trans-Himalayan Kang Yatze Massif, Ladakh, Northwest India

Cited by 107 publications

References 63 publications

Climate Change and Dynamics of Glaciers and Vegetation in the Himalaya: An Overview

Climate Change and Dynamics of Glaciers and Vegetation in the Himalaya: An Overview

Glacier characteristics and retreat between 1991 and 2014 in the Ladakh Range, Jammu and Kashmir

Glacier Mass Loss during the 1960s and 1970s in the Ak-Shirak Range (Kyrgyzstan) from Multiple Stereoscopic Corona and Hexagon Imagery

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