Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central Himalaya
Himalayan glaciers have been shrinking and losing mass rapidly since 1970s with an enhanced rate after 2000. The shrinkage is, however, quite heterogeneous and it is important to document individual glacier characteristics and their changes at the basin scale. We present an updated glacier inventory...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Glaciology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000879/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1797821783061037056 |
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| author | Aditya Mishra H. C. Nainwal Tobias Bolch Sunil Singh Shah R. Shankar |
| author_facet | Aditya Mishra H. C. Nainwal Tobias Bolch Sunil Singh Shah R. Shankar |
| author_sort | Aditya Mishra |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Himalayan glaciers have been shrinking and losing mass rapidly since 1970s with an enhanced rate after 2000. The shrinkage is, however, quite heterogeneous and it is important to document individual glacier characteristics and their changes at the basin scale. We present an updated glacier inventory of the Upper Alaknanda Basin (UAB), Central Himalaya for the year 2020 and report area, debris cover and length changes for the periods 1994–2006 and 2006–2020 based on remote-sensing data. We identified 198 glaciers, comprising an area of 354.6 ± 8.5 km2, and classified them according to their size and morphology. The glaciers of the basin lost 4.2 ± 2.9% (0.16 ± 0.11% a−1) of their frontal area (from 368.6 ± 9.2 to 353.0 ± 5.3 km2) from 1994 to 2020. The average retreat rate was higher in the period 2006–2020 (13.3 ± 1.8 m a−1) in comparison to 1994–2006 (9.3 ± 1.9 m a−1). However, the area change rate was similar for the two periods (0.14 ± 0.27% a−1 for 1994–2006 and 0.16 ± 0.19% a−1 for 2006–2020). The debris-covered area has increased by 13.4 ± 4.4% from 1994 to 2020. A comparison with previous studies in UAB indicates consistent area loss of ~0.15% a−1 since the 1960s. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:57:54Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T09:57:54Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa7711c9aef14bf69c2a3fb524a559012023-05-23T11:53:18ZengCambridge University PressJournal of Glaciology0022-14301727-56522023-06-016959160610.1017/jog.2022.87Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central HimalayaAditya Mishra0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4808-9337H. C. Nainwal1Tobias Bolch2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8201-5059Sunil Singh Shah3R. Shankar4Department of Geology, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, IndiaDepartment of Geology, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, IndiaDepartment of Geography, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland School of Geography & Sustainable Development, University of St. Andrews, Scotland, UKDepartment of Geology, H.N.B. Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand, IndiaInstitute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, IndiaHimalayan glaciers have been shrinking and losing mass rapidly since 1970s with an enhanced rate after 2000. The shrinkage is, however, quite heterogeneous and it is important to document individual glacier characteristics and their changes at the basin scale. We present an updated glacier inventory of the Upper Alaknanda Basin (UAB), Central Himalaya for the year 2020 and report area, debris cover and length changes for the periods 1994–2006 and 2006–2020 based on remote-sensing data. We identified 198 glaciers, comprising an area of 354.6 ± 8.5 km2, and classified them according to their size and morphology. The glaciers of the basin lost 4.2 ± 2.9% (0.16 ± 0.11% a−1) of their frontal area (from 368.6 ± 9.2 to 353.0 ± 5.3 km2) from 1994 to 2020. The average retreat rate was higher in the period 2006–2020 (13.3 ± 1.8 m a−1) in comparison to 1994–2006 (9.3 ± 1.9 m a−1). However, the area change rate was similar for the two periods (0.14 ± 0.27% a−1 for 1994–2006 and 0.16 ± 0.19% a−1 for 2006–2020). The debris-covered area has increased by 13.4 ± 4.4% from 1994 to 2020. A comparison with previous studies in UAB indicates consistent area loss of ~0.15% a−1 since the 1960s.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000879/type/journal_articleCentral Himalayaclimate changedebris-covered glaciersglacier changesglacier inventory |
| spellingShingle | Aditya Mishra H. C. Nainwal Tobias Bolch Sunil Singh Shah R. Shankar Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central Himalaya Journal of Glaciology Central Himalaya climate change debris-covered glaciers glacier changes glacier inventory |
| title | Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central Himalaya |
| title_full | Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central Himalaya |
| title_fullStr | Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central Himalaya |
| title_full_unstemmed | Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central Himalaya |
| title_short | Glacier inventory and glacier changes (1994–2020) in the Upper Alaknanda Basin, Central Himalaya |
| title_sort | glacier inventory and glacier changes 1994 2020 in the upper alaknanda basin central himalaya |
| topic | Central Himalaya climate change debris-covered glaciers glacier changes glacier inventory |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0022143022000879/type/journal_article |
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