Estimation of recent changes in thickness and mass balance of the Patsio glacier in the Great Himalayan region using geodetic technique and ancillary data

An understanding of glacier mass budget in the Himalayas is important for regional water resource management. This study presents a detailed estimation of mass budget of the Patsio glacier (The Great Himalaya) using SRTM-X (2000), Cartosat-1 (2005) and TanDEM-X (2013) DEMs. Geodetic findings indicate an overall mass loss by -0.26 +/- 0.11 m.w.e/yr,-0.30 +/- 0.10 m.w.e/yr and -0.16 +/- 0.11 m.w.e/yr during 2000-2013, 2000-2005 and 2005-2013 respectively. Maximum downwasting was observed in the terminus area of the glacier during the period 2000-2013. The observed lower rate of mass loss between 2005 and 2013 was attributed to declining temperature during that period. However, long-term temperature trends depict warming, so was exhibited by mass loss during 2000-2013. Geodetic based findings were found to be concordant with GPR based estimation. This study confirms the suitability of geodetic mass balance technique for mountainous glaciers, which will be useful to evaluate future changes in the glacial extent and runoff study.