Chair: Anil Kulkarni
Co-Chair: Liu Shiyin
Rapporteur: Rajendra Shrestha
The thematic session on remote sensing of Cryosphere (Glacier mapping and monitoring) has highlighted that glacier response patterns and behaviours of individual glaciers show exceeding complexity in the HKH. There is difference in the behavior of Himalayan glaciers across the mountain range from east to west because of regional variation in the trends of precipitation and temperature. In the east, sustained warming is leading to the formation of glacial lakes and causing floods associated with them. But in the west, number of glaciers are thickening and their termini advancing resulting in a number of glacial hazards. Also, lack of mass-balance data, hampering the assessment of the glacier changes in the HKH has been highlighted.
Great efforts have been made in mapping and monitoring of the cryosphere. The GLIMS database is being used both in regional and global studies and analysis of glacier surface area.
From GLIMS database, use have been made of glacier area in combination with SRTM topographic data to derive glacier hypsometry in the Himalaya as input to area-distributed models for determining the contribution of glaciers to stream flow in Nepalese basins. GLIMS glacier outlines have been used to assess the accuracy of a glacier-mapping algorithm based on the coarser resolution imagery from MODIS, applied to the Nepal Himalaya. Similarly, a Second Generation Glacier Inventory of the HKH is being prepared using only remotely sensed single source (multi-spectral Landsat satellite data) of narrow temporal range (2005-2009 only). Second glacier inventory of China is compiled based on RS data, and 563 ASTER and 84 Landsat TM/ETM+ using the band ratio method to extract debris free glacier outlines by manual digitization.
It had been shown that the multi-temporal digital terrain models allow to calculate glacier mass changes by the geodetic method, e.g. using stereo optical data (Corona KH-4, year 1962, KH-4B, 1970, aerial imagery, 1984, ASTER, 2002, and Cartosat-1, 2007 in south of Mt. Everest/Nepal 1962 – 2007, calculation of glacier volume changes indicated all glaciers lost mass over the whole period and thinning with a rate of 0.37+ 0.27 m/a and lost about 0.6 cu. Km of ice with a specific mass balance of 0.32+ 0.23 m w.e/a between 1970 and 2007. Mass loss is accelerated when compared with recent DTM.
Glaciers studies in the Ladakh mountain had shown that glaciers in Ladakh are significantly different to the rest of glaciers in the Himalaya for their preferred geographical location. Similarly, comparison of glacial retreat in Warwan and Bhut basins of Chenab river of western Indian Himalaya using RS and GIS has shown that there are many factors that have influence in glacier retreat or advance such as altitude of glaciers, depth of glacier, debris cover as well as amount of changes in moraine cover.
Emphasis was also laid upon the improved transnational cooperation and study of the shared HKH resources and hazards which can also allay territorial and security concerns and economic development of many nations in the region.
Great efforts have been made in mapping and monitoring of the cryosphere. The GLIMS database is being used both in regional and global studies and analysis of glacier surface area.
From GLIMS database, use have been made of glacier area in combination with SRTM topographic data to derive glacier hypsometry in the Himalaya as input to area-distributed models for determining the contribution of glaciers to stream flow in Nepalese basins. GLIMS glacier outlines have been used to assess the accuracy of a glacier-mapping algorithm based on the coarser resolution imagery from MODIS, applied to the Nepal Himalaya. Similarly, a Second Generation Glacier Inventory of the HKH is being prepared using only remotely sensed single source (multi-spectral Landsat satellite data) of narrow temporal range (2005-2009 only). Second glacier inventory of China is compiled based on RS data, and 563 ASTER and 84 Landsat TM/ETM+ using the band ratio method to extract debris free glacier outlines by manual digitization.
It had been shown that the multi-temporal digital terrain models allow to calculate glacier mass changes by the geodetic method, e.g. using stereo optical data (Corona KH-4, year 1962, KH-4B, 1970, aerial imagery, 1984, ASTER, 2002, and Cartosat-1, 2007 in south of Mt. Everest/Nepal 1962 – 2007, calculation of glacier volume changes indicated all glaciers lost mass over the whole period and thinning with a rate of 0.37+ 0.27 m/a and lost about 0.6 cu. Km of ice with a specific mass balance of 0.32+ 0.23 m w.e/a between 1970 and 2007. Mass loss is accelerated when compared with recent DTM.
Glaciers studies in the Ladakh mountain had shown that glaciers in Ladakh are significantly different to the rest of glaciers in the Himalaya for their preferred geographical location. Similarly, comparison of glacial retreat in Warwan and Bhut basins of Chenab river of western Indian Himalaya using RS and GIS has shown that there are many factors that have influence in glacier retreat or advance such as altitude of glaciers, depth of glacier, debris cover as well as amount of changes in moraine cover.
Emphasis was also laid upon the improved transnational cooperation and study of the shared HKH resources and hazards which can also allay territorial and security concerns and economic development of many nations in the region.
Presenters:
Jeffrey S. Kargel: Science and Technology Basis for Operational High-Frequency Monitoring of Glaciers and their Environs in the Himalaya-Hindu Kush Region
Bruce Raup: GLIMS Glacier Mapping: Lessons from the past and future directions
Dhananjay Regmi: Current knowledge on Mountain Permafrost in Nepal Himalaya and Future Research Prospective in the Context of Global Climate Change.
Guo Wanqin: Data and Methods in Second Glacier Inventory of China
Bajracharya SR: Second generation glacier inventory of HKH region (Afghanistan, Bhutan, Myanmar and Nepal)
Tobias Bolch: Glacier mass changes at Mt. Everest/Nepal 1962 – 2007 based on multi-temporal digital terrain models
Qamar-ul-Zaman: Recent Surge in Tributaries of Panmah Glacier in Karakoram Ranges Pakistan
Rupal M. Brahmbhatt: A comparison of glacial retreat in two adjacent basins of Western Himalaya, India: Study using RS and GIS .
R.K. Ganjoo: Are secular movements in the glaciers of Ladakh Mountains, Ladakh (J & K State), India a response to climate change?
D.J. Quincy: Radar remote sensing for evaluating climatically induced hazards in the Himalaya.
