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Debris control on glacier thinning—a case study of the Batal glacier, Chandra basin, Western Himalaya

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Abstract

Complex factors such as climate, glacial geometry, topographical features and debris covers have significant influence on the dynamics of the Himalayan glaciers. Presence of debris covers on the surface of glaciers can significantly alter the surface energy balance and influence the climatic response of glaciers. In this study, the influence of debris covers and its impact on the ablation processes were analyzed from the in situ data collected over the surface of the Batal glacier in Chandra Basin, Western Himalaya. Almost 90 % of the ablation zone of the Batal glacier is covered by debris, 35 % of which is thick debris (>10 cm). Fourteen stakes (depth ∼10 m) with increasing altitude and with varying debris thicknesses were installed to cover the whole ablation zone. Among them, four stakes represent thin debris (<2 cm), two stakes represent 2–5 cm debris thickness, two stakes represent 5–25 cm debris thickness, three stakes represent 25–50 cm debris thickness and three stakes represent >50 cm debris thickness. Our study has revealed high surface melting (−2.0 cm. w.e.d−1) in the debris free glacier while low surface melting observed in thick debris covered ice (−0.6 cm. w.e.d−1). Although limited to one season, this observation revealed a significant difference in the rate of surface melting as per the increasing debris thickness. Contrasting to normal ablation pattern over glaciers, Batal has experienced inverse retreat rate of ablation along with increasing altitude. A high degree of negative correlation (r = −0.82, p < 0.05) between ablation rate and debris thickness in Batal suggest a significant control of debris thickness over ablation rate.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Director, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR), Goa for his continued support. The National Remote Sensing Centre, Hyderabad, is acknowledged for Indian Remote Sensing satellite images and U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) for Landsat images and ASTER GDEM V2 datasets. We thank our field assistant Mr. B. B. Adhikari and all the porters involved in our field trips. We are thankful to anonymous reviewers for the valuable comments. This is NCAOR contribution no. 04/2016.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa, 403804, India

    Lavkush Kumar Patel, Parmanand Sharma, Meloth Thamban & Ajit Singh

  2. Earth System Science Organization, Ministry of Earth Sciences (Government of India), Prithvi Bhawan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi, 110003, India

    Rasik Ravindra

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  1. Lavkush Kumar Patel
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Correspondence to Lavkush Kumar Patel.

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Patel, L.K., Sharma, P., Thamban, M. et al. Debris control on glacier thinning—a case study of the Batal glacier, Chandra basin, Western Himalaya. Arab J Geosci 9, 309 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-016-2362-5

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