Himalayan Geology, Vol. 39 (1), 2018, pp. 1-32, Printed in India
Glacier Lake inventory of Himachal Pradesh
RAKESH BHAMBRI1, ANSHUMAN MISRA1, AMIT KUMAR1, ANIL K. GUPTA2, AKSHAYA VERMA1, SAMEER K. TIWARI3
1Centre for Glaciology, Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248001, India
2Department of Geology and Geophysics, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur 721302, India
3Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun 248001, India
Email (Corresponding author): rakeshbhambri@gmail.com
Abstract: The flash flood occurring due to glacier lake outbursts (GLOFs) are usually catastrophic to the human lives and infrastructure in the downstream areas. It is therefore, important to map and frequently monitor glacier lakes of Himalaya not only to know the impact of climate change on glacier lakes but also to mitigate hazards that may cause loss to the society. In the present study, we have generated a glacier lake inventory of Himachal Pradesh using high resolution Resourcesat 2 LISS IV satellite images. A total of 958 glacier lakes (size > 500 m2) of Himachal Pradesh (covering an area of 9.6±0.3 km2) have been mapped using high resolution images. Out of these, 345 were classified as moraine-dammed lakes having a total area of 5.1±0.2 km2 (53.1 % of the total glacier lake area). Altitude wise distribution of glacier lakes in Himachal Pradesh range from 3001 m a.s.l. to 5614 m a.s.l. The maximum glacier lakes area is seen in Chandra basin (2.7±0.09 km2). Sissu, an artificial lake (area, 1900±66 m2) is situated at the minimum elevation (~3100 m) in the Chandra basin. A supra-glacial lake in the Spiti basin is located at the maximum mean elevation of the study area (5614 m). The largest lake in the Himachal Pradesh has been classified as other moraine-dammed lake (1.0±0.03km2) is sited at frontal of Samundra Tapu Glacier in the Chandra basin. The maximum number of glacier lakes are seen in the Miyar basin (156 counts), whereas minimum lakes are located in the Siul basin (06). The present study will provide a reference database to quantify impact of climate change on glaciers and glacial lakes in the region and will allow identification of potentially dangerous lakes in the state in conjunction with detailed ground investigations.
Key words: Glacier Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF), Himalaya, Moraine-dammed lake, Remote Sensing.
