Mapping and monitoring of glacier areal changes using multispectral and elevation data: A case study over Chhota-Shigri glacier

The Glacier studies are important for monitoring the hydrological cycle as well as the impact of climate change. Recent studies indicate that the glacier area-shrinking rate is accelerating specifically in the Himalayan glaciers. In this study, an integrated approach based on semi-automatic method has been used over the Chhota-Shigri glacier. The combination of multispectral (Landsat data from 1989 to 2015) and elevation data is used for delineation of glacier features. This comprehensive approach has integrated the remote sensing indices, thermal information and morphometric parameters generated using elevation data to delineate the glacier into three categories i.e. clean ice, ice mixed with debris (IMD) and debris. Results indicate that the areal extent of clean ice has significantly decreased whereas the IMD and debris cover area has increased from 1989 to 2015. The accuracy assessment is performed using a pan-sharpened image and field data. The overall accuracy obtained about 90.0% with a 0.895 kappa coefficient for the adopted approach. This glacier areal change information can be used for flow velocity measurements, hazard caused by glaciers, and the impact of climate change on glaciers.