Satellite-observed glacier recession in the Kashmir Himalaya, India, from 1980 to 2018

The study, first of its kind in the Kashmir Valley, uses a time series of satellite data (1980-2018) to determine the glacier health, which is critical for sustaining the perenniality of the rivers originating from the area. The role of topography, morphology and climate on the observed glacier recession was investigated. In total, 147 glaciers were mapped from 1980 image; similar to 72% of the glaciers have area <= 3 km(2) and a majority of them (123) are having size < 1 km(2). The glaciers have reduced from 101.73 +/- 16.79 km(2) in 1980 to 72.41 +/- 4.7 km(2) in 2018 showing a recession of 29.32 +/- 12.09 km(2) during the period (28.82%). The observed glacier loss is higher (0.77 +/- 0.31 km(2)a(-1)) compared with the other Himalayan regions. The results indicated that there is strong influence of altitude, aspect, slope and climate on glacier recession. The glaciers with area <= 1 km(2) have receded significantly more (41.20 +/- 6.20%) than the larger glaciers > 3 km(2) in area (15.97 +/- 5.13%). The glaciers situated between 4200 and 4400 m altitudes have receded more (similar to 55 +/- 5.01%) than those situated at altitudes > 4800 m (similar to 19 +/- 6.9%). Furthermore, the glaciers with steep slope (> 25) have witnessed lower recession (0.25 +/- 0.15 km(2)a(-1)) compared to the glaciers with gentle slope (0.51 +/- 0.22 km(2)a(-1)). The south-facing glaciers showed higher recession (similar to 38%) compared with the north-facing glaciers (similar to 27%). The findings suggest that the increase in temperature and decline in winter solid precipitation have resulted in the glacier recession with the consequent depletion of the stream flows, which, if continued in the future, would adversely affect the economy in the region.