Mass gain of glaciers in Lahaul and Spiti region (North India) during the nineties revealed by in-situ and satellite geodetic measurements

Vincent, Christian; Ramanathan, Alagappan; Wagnon, Patrick; Dobhal, D. P.; Linda, Anurag; Berthier, Étienne; Sharma, Parmanand; Arnaud, Yves; Azam, Mohammed Farooq; José, Paulo; Gardelle, J.

doi:10.5194/tcd-6-3733-2012

Cited by 6 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 32 publications

(45 reference statements)

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“…The episode of increased precipitation during 1973–1999 is observed in the AMJ‐P and falls within this period (Figure ). The positive mass balance records during 1988–1999 and mass wasting since 1999 of Chhota Shigri glacier located in the Chandrabhaga River basin of Lahaul and Spiti Valley (Vincent et al ., ) is also coherent with our tree‐ring record. The central Karakoram also records glacier expansions during the late 1900s (Hewitt, ; Bolch et al ., ).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Precipitation reconstruction for the Lidder Valley, Kashmir Himalaya using tree‐rings of Cedrus deodara

Shah

Pandey

Mehrotra

2018

Intl Journal of Climatology

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A reconstruction of annual to multi‐decadal precipitation based on ring‐width of Cedrus deodara (Himalayan cedar or deodar) was carried out in the Lidder (Liddar) Valley, Kashmir Himalaya. A composite tree‐ring chronology demonstrated a significant direct relationship with April–June precipitation. A modified version of point‐by‐point regression methodology was used to reconstruct April–June precipitation since 1723 C.E. This reconstruction accounts for 40% of the total variance of the actual precipitation in the calibration period. The reconstruction shows a prolonged decadal dry period between 1822 and 1887 C.E., the driest period in the reconstruction. The wettest period occurred during the early 19th century and latter part of the 20th century. Extreme dry and wet events have been identified in the reconstruction on the basis of percentile distribution. The reconstruction was compared with documented extreme flood, famines and drought events in Kashmir Valley occurring in those 288 years. The composite 500 mb height‐anomaly maps suggest the prospect to study the long‐term atmospheric circulation variability over the Kashmir Valley and surrounding region using tree‐ring data. The impact of westerlies in the precipitation patterns was also evident in analysis of composite 500 mb height anomaly. Furthermore, the reconstruction was validated through comparison with independent records and spatial correlation with gridded precipitation and drought.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Precipitation reconstruction for the Lidder Valley, Kashmir Himalaya using tree‐rings of Cedrus deodara

Shah

Pandey

Mehrotra

2018

Intl Journal of Climatology

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“…Similarly, high incidence of slope failures during the 1980s and 1990s and low incidence in the 2000s [ Laxton and Smith , ] are consistent with high and low SWE values recorded respectively in our reconstruction. Positive (1988–1999) and negative (1999–2011) mass balances recorded in glaciers situated in the Lahaul‐Spiti region [ Berthier et al ., ; Vincent et al ., ] are also consistent with high and low SWE values, respectively, in our reconstruction.…”

Section: Calibration and Reconstruction Of November–april Swe Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Tree‐ring‐based snowfall record for cold arid western Himalaya, India since A.D. 1460

Yadav¹,

Bhutiyani

2013

JGR Atmospheres

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Understanding snowfall variations in high‐elevation cold arid regions of the western Himalaya is important as snowmelt water is the main source of water to meet the scores of socioeconomic needs. The ground‐based observational data, though limited to the last two decades, show decreasing snowfall, raising the concern of looming water scarcity in the region. The tree‐ring data of Himalayan cedar from a network of six moisture‐stressed sites, where snowmelt water is the sole source of soil moisture for tree growth, were used to develop the November–April snow water equivalent (SWE) extending back to A.D. 1460. The reconstruction revealed persistent severe droughts in the 1780s followed by the 1480s and relatively lesser magnitude droughts in the 1540s–1560s, 1740s, and early twentieth century. The pluvial conditions observed in 1948–1958 and 1986–1996 stand out over any other period of such duration. The SWE reconstruction revealed large‐scale spatial coherence with the corresponding month's Palmer Drought Severity Index over the western Himalayan region. Significant relationship observed between SWE reconstruction and January–March Chenab River flow revealed its potential utility in understanding water resource availability in the long‐term perspective.

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“…In such scenario, continuous monitoring of glaciers at local and regional levels is essential. On a global scale, numerous efforts are being made to observe and monitor glacier health using ground-based, aerial and spaceborne remote sensing platforms, e.g., [2,3,4,5,6,7].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

UAV-Based Survey of Glaciers in Himalayas: Challenges and Recommendations

Ramsankaran

Navinkumar

Dashora

et al. 2021

J Indian Soc Remote Sens

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Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) based remote sensing (RS) studies in glaciology are mainly focusing on obtaining accurate high-resolution data from UAV images. Studies for identifying and minimising the challenges faced during the UAV-based RS data acquisition survey on inaccessible and harsh terrains of mountain glaciers is limited. This study aims to examine the practical challenges faced during UAV surveys of glaciers and derive strategies to minimize them. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first study that addresses such problems over the Himalayan region. Here, the UAV surveys were conducted using a fixed-wing commercialgrade off-the-shelf UAV (eBee plus, SenseFly) on three glacier sites (East Rathong, Hamtah and Panchinala-A) located in different zones and climate regimes lying within the Indian part of Himalayas. From UAV collected photos, the study was able to generate ultra-high-resolution ortho-mosaicked images and Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) at 0.1m GSD. UAV-derived DEMs was able to achieve vertical (horizontal) accuracy of 0.45 and 0.21 m (0.15 and 0.1 m) with 3 and 6 ground control points (GCPs) for an area of 0.75 km 2 and 1.38 km 2 . Accuracy assessment of UAV DEMs generated with and without GCPs indicate that GCPs are must to obtain decimetre level accurate DEM especially on glaciers with steep-valleyed terrains. The utility of the obtained ultra-high-resolution ortho-mosaicked images was demonstrated by generating glacier surface feature maps. Based on the challenges observed during UAV surveys, the study identifies and recommends best-suited locations on a glacier and its adjacent regions for conducting UAV surveys efficiently in the glaciated terrain of Himalayas and possibly beyond. Recommendations reported in this article shall minimise the challenges faced and involved risks for data acquisition and thus enable UAVs to cover more glaciated area successfully.

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Mass gain of glaciers in Lahaul and Spiti region (North India) during the nineties revealed by in-situ and satellite geodetic measurements

Cited by 6 publications

References 32 publications

Precipitation reconstruction for the Lidder Valley, Kashmir Himalaya using tree‐rings of Cedrus deodara

Precipitation reconstruction for the Lidder Valley, Kashmir Himalaya using tree‐rings of Cedrus deodara

Tree‐ring‐based snowfall record for cold arid western Himalaya, India since A.D. 1460

UAV-Based Survey of Glaciers in Himalayas: Challenges and Recommendations

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