Evaluating the sensitivity of glacier to climate by using stable water isotopes and remote sensing

Glaciers in the Himalayan Mountain system are undergoing rapid retreat, and the global climate change has a significant impact on it. In the present study, we used stable water isotope and remote sensing data to understand the impact of climate on melting behavior of some high-altitude glaciers in two glacier-fed basins of western Himalaya, India. Glacier samples were collected from four major glaciers of Liddar (Kashmir region) and Suru basins (Ladakh region) during melting season from May 2012 to November 2013 for delta O-18 and delta H-2. It was observed that the glacier samples from Suru basin were more depleted in O-18 and H-2 (-10.9 to -16.2 parts per thousand and -73 to -128 parts per thousand) than the glaciers of Liddar basin (-8.2 to -14.9 parts per thousand and -52 to -102 parts per thousand). However, the d-excess of the glacier samples in Suru basin was lower (13.5-21.6 parts per thousand) than the glaciers of Liddar basin (17-28 parts per thousand). It was observed that the temporal changes in weather pattern strongly influence the isotopic composition of the glaciers with progressive decrease and increase in delta O-18 (or delta H-2) with the increase in ambient temperature and rainfall, respectively. The results suggest that during the sunny days of August and September, the glaciers are melting at higher altitudes (3900-4172 m) in the accumulation zone, reflecting that the glaciers of Liddar basin are not the ideal sites for the ice coring for paleoclimatological studies. The study also revealed that 20% glacier extent (glacierized area) in Liddar basin has been lost in <35 years, which is quite higher than that of Suru basin (2%)