Response of the Thick and Thin Debris-Covered Glaciers between 1971 and 2019 in Ladakh Himalaya, India—A Case Study from Pensilungpa and Durung-Drung Glaciers

This paper aims to broadly understand the response of glaciers thick and thin debris cover from one less explored regions (Zanskar) Himalaya. The present study is based on ground-based measurements (from 2015 2019), satellite data (since 1971), available topographic maps (at a 1:50,000 scale). includes snout retreat, changes in equilibrium line altitude (ELA), surface elevation, modeled mass balance debris-covered Pensilungpa (Suru River basin) Durung-Drung (Doda western Indian Himalaya, Ladakh, for past five decades. Glacier (DDG) receded ~−624 ± 547 m with an average rate −12 11 a−1 between 1971 2019. frontal part DDG broad (~2 km wide), which shows wide discrepancies its retreat. Compared DDG, small narrow (PG) retreated −270.5 27.5 (1971 −5.6 0.57 a−1. Similarly, four years (2015–2019) field observations suggest that retreat PG −6.7 3 −18 15 a−1, glacier loss −0.29 0.3 −0.3 w.e. respectively. Furthermore, ELA 2019 increased by ~59 38 ~23 19 m, change longitudinal profile along centerline 2000 2017 lost ~17 ice thickness. plays critical role lowering, shrinkage, balance. Hence, we quantitatively evaluated influence summer ablation terminus recession two different characteristic (DDG PG) potential effect process (area-volume loss).