Long-term Monitoring of Surging Glaciers in Upper Shyok Valley, Karakoram Range, India: A Case Study of Rimo and Kumdan Groups of Glaciers

Abstract

Glaciers in the Himalaya are generally showing a recessional pattern since the little ice age. In contrast to this, some glaciers in the Karakoram are either advancing or stagnant. Such behaviours of glaciers in the region have been termed as “Karakoram Anomaly” (Hewitt Kenneth, 2005; Raina, 2008; Kumar et al., 2015). In the present study, an attempt has been made to analyze the surging phenomena of four selected glaciers viz. Chong Kumdan, Kichik Kumdan, Aqtash and Rimo group of glaciers in the Shyok valley of Karakoram Himalaya; and also to analyze the inter-annual variations in their behaviour by using high temporal resolution remote sensing satellite images acquired from 1975 to 2013. These glaciers responded for surging phenomena differently in different time periods. The present study also fills the gaps of the earlier study of Bhambri et al. (2013) on the Rimo glacier, and demonstrates a different and unique pattern of snout movement. Findings of the present investigation depicts that the short-term variations in surging phenomena of the glaciers can be easily monitored using satellite images acquired from Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) Satellite and Landsat Satellite Sensor. Further, as it is well established that the surging phenomenon is a rapid process, we suggest that annual to biennial data should be used to monitor the movements and understanding the dynamics of surging process.