Shrinkage of Satopanth and Bhagirath Kharak Glaciers, India, from 1936 to 2013

Nainwal, H. C.; Banerjee, Agnid; Shankar, R.; Semwal, Poonam; Sharma, Tushar

doi:10.3189/2016aog71a015

Cited by 36 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…An attempt was made to co-register all the maps and satellite images with the Sentinel 2 satellite image (14 October 2017). The plane-table map by Shipton and Tilman, published in Shipton (1935) as well as topographical maps by Heim and Gansser (1939) and the US Army (1954) were inconsistent with latest medium-high resolution satellite images due to their coarse scales, hence could not be properly co-registered (Nainwal et al, 2016). To co-register the large scale plane-table maps of the glacier terminus, the coordinate information of 1906 terminus position (Cotter and Brown, 1907) was transferred on Sentinel 2 image (14 October 2017).…”

Section: Data Sources and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A review of studies on Himalayan glaciers suggests spatially variable and irregular glacier response patterns across the Karakorum-Himalayan mountain (Mayewski and Jeschke, 1979;Scherler et al, 2011;Bolch et al, 2012Bolch et al, , 2019Kääb et al, 2012Kääb et al, , 2015Schickhoff et al, 2016;Azam et al, 2018). This spatially variable glacier response is linked to the spatial variability of changing climatic conditions (temperature and precipitation trends) and geomorphic factors; including local physiography, slope of glacier bed, glacier geometry, extent and thickness of debris cover, slope-aspects, elevation characteristics and glacial lake activities (Sakai et al, 2009;Raina, 2010;Bhambri et al, 2011a;Deota et al, 2011;Scherler et al, 2011;Bolch et al, 2012Bolch et al, , 2019Venkatesh et al, 2013;Nainwal et al, 2016;Shukla and Qadir, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In general, the debris free glaciers show relatively higher recession rates when compared to those covered with debris (Scherler et al, 2011;Shukla and Qadir, 2016). In addition, considering slope of the glacier bed as an important factor of glacier recession, several studies suggest that glaciers with steep slopes have receded at lower rates when compared to those with gentle slopes (Venkatesh et al, 2013;Nainwal et al, 2016). Further, Deota et al (2011) suggest that south-facing glaciers have receded much faster than those facing north.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, the terminus positions of some central Himalayan glaciers have been surveyed and mapped (plane-table) in the field since the early twentieth century [e.g., the Gangotri (Auden, 1937;Jangpangi, 1958); the Pindari (Cotter and Brown, 1907;Tewari and Jangpangi, 1962;Tewari, 1972); the Satopanth and Bhagirath (Jangpangi, 1958) and the Milam, Poting, Burphu, Pacchu, Shanunkalpa (Cotter and Brown, 1907;Jangpangi and Vohra, 1959;Jangpangi, 1975;Kumar et al, 1975;Shukla and Siddiqui, 2001)] (Bhambri and Bolch, 2009). These historical field-based plane-table maps of glacier terminus provide important information about their past extents, which can be compared with recent satellite images to assess the glacier recessions over a considerable time period (Bhambri and Bolch, 2009;Chand et al, 2017), for instance, Gangotri (Bhambri et al, 2012) and Satopanth and Bhagirath glaciers (Nainwal et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recession and Morphological Changes of the Debris-Covered Milam Glacier in Gori Ganga Valley, Central Himalaya, India, Derived From Satellite Data

Mal

Mehta

Singh

et al. 2019

Front. Environ. Sci.

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We analyzed the recession of the Milam glacier in the Gori Ganga valley, Uttarakhand Himalaya, using historical plane-table survey maps, topographical maps, Corona image (1968), Landsat 5 TM (1990), Landsat 7 ETM+ (2001), and Sentinel 2 (2017) satellite data. We estimate that the Milam glacier has receded by 1565.4 ± 20.6 m (31.9 ± 0.4 m a −1) over the period 1968-2017, while lower recession rate (21.1 ± 1.7 m a −1) was observed between 2001 and 2017. The Milam glacier lost 2.27 ± 0.06 km 2 of its area from 1968 to 2017 due to recession. Two tributary glaciers detached from the main trunk between 1990 and 2017, which indicates glacier thinning and melting. The glacier recession also resulted in deformation of moraine ridges on either sides in lower ablation zone of Milam glacier, which is caused due to the removal of basal ice support caused by glacier melting.

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Section: Data Sources and Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Recession and Morphological Changes of the Debris-Covered Milam Glacier in Gori Ganga Valley, Central Himalaya, India, Derived From Satellite Data

Mal

Mehta

Singh

et al. 2019

Front. Environ. Sci.

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“…The reported mean loss of glacial length over four decades is approximately 621 ± 468 m, with large variations across the Himalayan region (Kulkarni and Karyakarte 2014). Morover, the recent studies on individual glaciers also suggest that most of the glaciers are in retreating phase although the rate of retreat varies from one glacier to another (Mehta et al, 2011;Azam et al, 2012;Bhambri et al, 2012;Pandey and Ghosh 2012;Dobhal et al, 2013;Mehta et al, 2013;Pandey and Venkataraman 2013;Mehta et al, 2014b;Azam et al, 2014;Chand and Sharma 2015b;Nainwal et al, 2016;. Such complexity and variations invites a rigorous and systematic analysis of the Himalayan glaciers instead of direct comparisons and extrapolations of results from wellstudied glaciers in some of the basin to others poorly observed glacierized basin (Chand and Sharma 2015a).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Studies on Quaternary Glaciations in India During 2010-2016

Sharma

Chand²

2016

Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy

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In the recent years, number of studies were carried out to define the timing and extent of Quaternary glaciation throughout the Himalayan region. Such studies have helped to understand the past climate changes and further develop predictive futuristic models. There have been 22 research studies that were carried out during the past six years (2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016) with equal contribution from Indian researcher and their international counterparts in terms of research output. Most of these studies have focused on the north-western Himalaya, with only a few studies being carried out in the eastern part. Recently published new glacial succession chronology (Terrestrial Cosmogenic Nuclide ( 10 Be TCN), Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL), Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) and Radiocarbon ( 14 C)) in these studies provide a synoptic picture of glacial episode for most the Himalayan regions. Major glacial advances occurred during the Last glacial stage and early Holocene, with minor fluctuations during the mid-Holocene. However, recent study suggests contrary to the earlier suggestions that a reasonably large valley glacier expansion occurred during the global Last Glacial Maxmium (LGM), likely in response to global variations in temperature. Keywords IntroductionThe Himalayan region altered large-scale climate systems including the Asian monsoon and considerably influenced the regional and global atmospheric circulation that may have played a key role in the onset of Quaternary glaciation (Molnar and England, 1990;Ruddiman and Kutzbach, 1991;Prell and Kutzbach, 1992;Raymo and Ruddiman, 1992;Benn and Owen, 1998;Owen et al., 2002). Information on the geographic extent and magnitude of Quaternary glaciations in this largest glaciated area outside the polar region is important for understanding the climatic, erosional, and tectonic evolution of this giant orogenic system (Brozovic et al., 1997;Zeitler et al., 2001;Norton et al., 2010;Willett, 2010). Practically in the context of contemporary global warming, climate variability, and associated societal impacts and for a better assessment of regional and global forcing factors for future glacier behavior, it is important to characterize and quantify past glacial changes (Owen, 2009;Scherler, 2010).There is a growing number of chronologic data and studies in recent years, yet there is no general consensus concerning the timing, extent, and climatic forcing of glaciations in the Himalayan region (Gillespie and Molnar, 1995;Owen et al., 2008;Scherler et al., 2010;Owen and Dortch, 2014). This region is fed by two dominant climate systems viz. the Indian summer monsoon (ISM) and the mid-latitude westerlies. The influence of these weather systems varies spatially so much that most of the southern and eastern part of the Himalaya experiences a pronounced summer precipitation which sharply declines northward across the Himalaya. The mid-latitude westerlies are responsible for a winter precipitation maximum at the extreme west of the Himalaya, Trans-Himalaya an...

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