Spatio-temporal analysis of snow cover and effect of terrain attributes in the Upper Ganga River Basin, central Himalaya

Continuous monitoring of snow cover area (SCA) in space and time is a vital input to estimate the snow/glacier melt runoff, glacial mass balance and other hydrological studies. The present study aims to find out the spatio-temporal variation of SCA and inter-relationship between snow accumulation and topography in the Upper Ganga River Basin (UGRB) including Bhagirathi, Alaknanda, Mandakini and Pindar River sub-basins, central Himalaya using MODIS Terra (MOD10A2) data. SCA is found similar to 32.33% to the total basin area of similar to 18724 km(2) in UGRB. The Average of 12 year shows that Bhagirathi River Basin has maximum SCA similar to 33.25%, whereas Pindar river basin has minimum SCA similar to 17.50% among these four sub-basins. Maximum rate of change of SCA is found in the Mandakini River Basin. Slope class 20 degrees-30 degrees has more favorable conditions for snow accumulation. North and north-west aspect has higher snow accumulation with maximum positive attribution in January and minimum in July.

Automated summary

This study used MODIS Terra data to analyze the spatiotemporal variation of snow cover area (SCA) and its relationship with topography in the Upper Ganga River Basin. The results showed that the Bhagirathi River Basin had the highest SCA, while the Pindar River Basin had the lowest SCA. The Mandakini River Basin had the highest rate of change of SCA. Slopes with a gradient of 20 to 30 degrees were more favorable for snow accumulation. Snow accumulation was highest in the north and northwest aspect in January and lowest in July.