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Introduction

Table 1. Characteristics of Sutri Dhaka and Batal glaciers.

Particulars

Sutri Dhaka glacier

Batal glacier

Identification number

IN 5Q 212 12 058*

IN 5Q 212 12 054*

Latitude

32∘22′49′′N

32∘20′29′′N

Longitude

77∘32′05′′E

77∘34′57′′E

Maximum elevation

6200 m amsl

6200 m amsl

Snout elevation

4400 m amsl

4280 m amsl

Basin area

42 km2

16 km2

Glacier area

25.24 km2

4.92 km2

Glacier length

11 km

6.60 km

Orientation

Accu.-N/Ablat.-NE

Accu.-NE/Ablat–NE

Mean depth

100 m

30 m

Volume

2.53 km3

0.15 km3

Accumulation area ratio (AAR)

56%

61%

∗These are the numbers given to each of the glaciers of Indian part of Himalaya by Geological Survey of India (GSI) inventory (Sangewar and Sukla 2009).

The east–west trending Hindukush–Himalayan mountain chain that runs over several Asian countries is home to the largest ice mass outside the Polar regions. It covers 37 × 103 km2 area out of 540 ×103 km2 area of mountain glaciers worldwide (Dyurgerov and Meier 2005; Rai and Gurung 2005; Raina and Srivastava 2008) and has a critical impact on the socio-economic development of the region (Barnett et al. 2005; Wagnon et al. 2007). The response of glaciers fluctuations to the climate change is complex and also depends on non-climatic factors such as the geographical extent, topography, glacial geomorphology, ice dynamics and debris cover (Racoviteanu et al. 2008). Debris covered glaciers are common in many mountain regions of the world (Scherler et al. 2011), including the Himalayas. In Himalayas, for some glaciers, almost 40% of the ablation zone is covered by debris, with thickness ranging from few centimetres to tens of centimetres that play a significant role in ablation rate and mass balance (Ogilvie 1904; Østrem 1959). The role of the supra-glacial debris cover over surface ice melt has been a subject of extensive studies. Various studies (Østrem 1959; Takeuchi et al. 2000; Bishop et al. 2001; Taschner and Ranzi 2002; Brock et al. 2007; Buchroithner and Bolch 2007; Bolch et al. 2008; Kamp et al. 2011;...

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