Little Ice Age glacier extent and temporal changes in annual mass balance (2016–2019) of Pensilungpa Glacier, Zanskar Himalaya

Mehta, Manish; Kumar, V. Ravi; Garg, Siddhi; Shukla, Anurag

doi:10.1007/s10113-021-01766-2

Cited by 25 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 95 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The temperature rising trend further accelerated over the last two to three decades (Shukla and others, 2020). A recent study by Mehta and others (2021) linked depleting pattern of the Pensilungpa glacier to this temperature rise. However, assessment on decadal scale reveals that the glacier wastage was higher during 1993–2000 which subsequently reduced in the time frame 2000–16.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Stagnation of the Pensilungpa glacier, western Himalaya, India: causes and implications

Garg

Yousuf

et al. 2021

J. Glaciol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This study investigates stagnation conditions of the Pensilungpa glacier, western Himalaya. Multiple glacier parameters (length, area, debris extent and thickness, snowline altitude (SLA), velocity, downwasting and ice cliffs) were studied using field measurements (2016–18), high-resolution imagery from GoogleEarth (2013–17) and spaceborne Landsat, ASTER and SRTM data (1993–2017) to comprehend the glacier's current state. Results show a moderate decrease in length (6.62 ± 2.11 m a−1) and area (0.11 ± 0.03% a−1), a marked increase in SLA (~6 m a−1) and debris cover (2.86 ± 0.29% a−1) and a slowdown of ~50% during 1993–2016. Notable thinning of −0.88 ± 0.04 m a−1 was observed between 2000 and 2017 showing a similar trend as field measurements during 2016–17 (−0.88 m) and 2017–18 (−1.54 m). Further, results reveal a stagnation of the lower ablation zone (LAZ). Less mass supply and heterogeneous debris growth (6.67 ± 0.41% a−1) over the previous decade resulted in slowdown, margin insulation and slope-inversion, leading to stagnation. Stagnation of LAZ caused bulging in the dynamic upper ablation zone and favored the development of supraglacial ponds and ice cliffs. Ice cliffs have grown significantly (48% in number; 41% in area during 2013–17) and their back-wasting now dominates the ablation process.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

Stagnation of the Pensilungpa glacier, western Himalaya, India: causes and implications

Garg

Yousuf

et al. 2021

J. Glaciol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Many glaciers in the Jammu and Kashmir region are inaccessible for direct measurements due to the ruggedness of the terrain (Immerzeel et al, 2009;Bolch et al, 2019). It is pertinent to mention that long-term glaciological mass balance measurements in the trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh do not exist, however, there have been some initiatives very recently that attempt to establish longterm field-based glacial mass balance records in Stok Kangri (Soheb et al, 2020) and Zanskar regions (Mehta et al, 2021). On the contrary, the geodetic mass balance assessment is a quick method to access mass losses in the glaciers.…”

Section: Geodetic Mass Balancementioning

confidence: 99%

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Geodetic Mass Changes of Glaciers With Varying Debris Cover in the Pangong Region of Trans-Himalayan Ladakh, India Between 1990 and 2019

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Glaciers across the Himalayan arc are showing varying signs of recession. Glaciers in the eastern and western parts of the Himalayan arc are retreating more rapidly as compared to other regions. This differential retreat is often attributed to climatic, topographic, and geologic influences. The glaciers in the Trans-Himalayan region of Ladakh are believed to be relatively stable as compared to other parts of the western Himalaya. The present study ascertained the area changes and frontal retreat of 87 glaciers in the Pangong Region between 1990 and 2019 using satellite data. The geodetic mass changes were also assessed using SRTM and TanDEM-X digital elevation models of 2000 and 2012 respectively. Besides, the glacier outlines were delineated manually and compared with existing regional and global glacier inventories that are available over the region. The GlabTop model was used to simulate the glacier-bed overdeepenings of four glaciers that are associated with a proglacial lake. The study also analyzed the impact of topographic influences and varying debris cover on glacier recession. This analysis indicated deglaciation of 6.7 ± 0.1% (0.23% a−1) from 1990 to 2019 over the Pangong Region with clean-ice glaciers showing a higher retreat (8.4 ± 0.28%) compared to the debris-covered glaciers (5.7 ± 0.14%). However, the overall recession is lower compared to other parts of northwestern Himalayas. The glacier recession showed a positive correlation with mean glacier slope (r = 0.3) and debris cover (r = 0.1) with bigger size glaciers having retreated at a lesser pace compared to smaller ones. This underpins the need for in-situ data about debris thickness to precisely ascertain the role of debris on glacier recession in the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh where debris thickness data is absent. The mean glacier elevation did not indicate any influence on glacier recession. From 2000 to 12, the glaciers lost an ice mass amounting to 0.33 ± 0.05 m we. per year. The formation of four new proglacial lakes, although small (<6 ha), need to be monitored using remote sensing data while the infrastructure development activities should not be permitted given glacial lake outburst flood risk.

show abstract

“…Pangong Tso is a oligotrophic high-altitude lake (Chaudhari et al, 2020). The regional ISM rainfall pattern modifies the discharge of rivers as well as the volume of large lakes in the north-western Himalaya that apparently have broad correlations with the hydrological conditions of glaciers, glacial-lakes and northern hemisphere temperature regulation of the ISM and westerlies (Bookhagen and Burbank, 2010; Mehta et al, 2021; Sharma et al, 2016; Shukla et al, 2018). The intensified ISM winds are associated with northward shifting of the westerlies which implies that centennial-scale changes are associated with the westerlies strength and solar heating (Sun et al, 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Late-Holocene hydrological variability from the NW Himalaya and southwestern Tibetan Plateau: Paleo-salinity records from Pangong Tso

et al. 2023

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Variations in lake-levels and hydrology are connected to climatic dynamics over the Trans-Himalaya and Tibetan Plateau (TP). Pangong Tso, a ~140 km long hypersaline lake, is sensitive to changes in air temperature, precipitation and snow-glacier melt over the southwestern TP. The incised tributaries entering the lake expose deltaic sequences constituting topset, foreset and bottomset. Sedimentology, chronology and diatom analysis of delta sediments; and stable isotopic and sclerochronological analysis of gastropods helped delineate the Late-Holocene variation in lake levels, surface temperature and salinity. The elevation of the topsets is considered as representing past lake high-stands from where molluscs were also recovered. Three phased lake level changes are observed during the past 3 ka. The first high-stand (+1.4–3.0 m) was at ~2.8–2.0 ka when lake surface salinity and temperature were 4.67–6.01 ppt (parts per thousand) and 5°C–7°C, respectively, against the modern average values of 7.7 ± 0.09 ppt and 16.1°C ± 2.0°C. Followed by a brief decline, another high-stand (+3.0–3.6 m) is observed at 1.1 ka when the salinity is reduced to 4.03–5.72 ppt and lake surface temperature to 5°C–8°C. A corresponding increase in freshwater diatom concentration is also observed here. The third phase over the past 1 ka witnessed a fall of ~3.6–6 m in lake level that is attributed to an abrupt rise in aridity over the TP. We demonstrate that lake level variation in the region is a function of the variability of the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and the westerlies, however during the high-stand, the hydrology of the lake was dominated by ISM precipitation.

show abstract

Little Ice Age glacier extent and temporal changes in annual mass balance (2016–2019) of Pensilungpa Glacier, Zanskar Himalaya

Cited by 25 publications

References 95 publications

Stagnation of the Pensilungpa glacier, western Himalaya, India: causes and implications

Stagnation of the Pensilungpa glacier, western Himalaya, India: causes and implications

Spatiotemporal Dynamics and Geodetic Mass Changes of Glaciers With Varying Debris Cover in the Pangong Region of Trans-Himalayan Ladakh, India Between 1990 and 2019

Late-Holocene hydrological variability from the NW Himalaya and southwestern Tibetan Plateau: Paleo-salinity records from Pangong Tso

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About