Title: Inventory and status of glaciers in the Pir Panjal Range Kashmir basin between 1980 and 2020

Authors: Mohmad Ashraf Ganaie; Syed Kaiser Bukhari

Addresses: Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, 190006, India ' Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, 190006, India

Abstract: The study aims to investigate watershed-wise glacier inventory, their observational changes and topographic influence on the glaciers in the Pir Panjal range of the Kashmir basin from 1980 to 2020. In total, 122 glaciers (0.01 km²−0.96 km²) were mapped from 2020 image with a mean size of 0.13 km². The glaciers have shrunk from 25.74 km² in 1980 to 15.91 km² in 2020, with an area loss of 9.83 km². The Vishaw watershed hosts the maximum number of glaciers (55) and observed the highest glacier loss (6.1 km²) during the period. The results revealed that there is a strong topographic influence on the recession of the glaciers. Smaller glaciers (≤ 0.5 km²) have receded more (~ 38.89%) as compared to the larger glaciers (> 0.5 km²). South facing glaciers observed higher glacier loss as compared to North facing glaciers. Furthermore, high-altitude glaciers (< 3,800 m amsl and 3800-4000 m amsl) have witnessed higher recession than low-altitude glaciers. Glaciers having steep slopes of (> 20°) experienced lower recession compared to glaciers having gentle slopes (< 20°).

Keywords: Google earth engine; GEE; remote sensing; glacier recession; topographic parameters; Pir Panjal Range.

DOI: 10.1504/IJHST.2024.137781

International Journal of Hydrology Science and Technology, 2024 Vol.17 No.3, pp.319 - 347

Received: 14 Jul 2022
Accepted: 23 Dec 2022
Published online: 05 Apr 2024 *

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