The satellite observed glacier mass changes over the Upper Indus Basin during 2000–2012

Decadal glacier thickness changes over the Upper Indus Basin in the Jammu and Kashmir Himalaya were estimated using the TanDEM-X and SRTM-C Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) from 2000 to 2012. In the study area 12,243 glaciers having 19,727 ± 1,054 km2 area have thinned on an average of − 0.35 ± 0.33 m a−1 during the observation period. The highest thinning of − 1.69 ± 0.60 m a−1 was observed in the Pir Panjal while as the marginal thinning of − 0.11 ± 0.32 m a−1 was observed for the glaciers in the Karakoram. The observed glacier thickness changes indicated a strong influence of the topographic parameters. Higher thickness reduction was observed on the glaciers situated at lower altitudes (− 1.40 ± 0.53 m a−1) and with shallower slopes (− 1.52 ± 0.40 m a−1). Significantly higher negative thickness changes were observed from the glaciers situated on the southern slopes (− 0.55 ± 0.37 m a−1). The thickness loss was higher on the debris-covered glaciers (− 0.50 ± 0.38 m a−1) than on the clean glaciers (− 0.32 ± 0.33 m a−1). The cumulative glacier mass loss of − 70.32 ± 66.69 Gt was observed during the observation period, which, if continued, would significantly affect the sustainability of water resources in the basin.