Annual and seasonal glaciological mass balance of Patsio Glacier, western Himalaya (India) from 2010 to 2017

• Published in: Journal of Glaciology
• Main Authors: Thupstan Angchuk, Alagappan Ramanathan, I. M. Bahuguna, Arindan Mandal, Mohd Soheb, Virendra Bahadur Singh, Somdutta Mishra, Sarvagya Vatsal
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2021
• Subjects: Glacier mass balance; Himalayan glaciers; winter mass balance; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Meteorology. Climatology; QC851-999; Journal of Glaciology
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1017/jog.2021.60; https://doaj.org/article/62b0135b462e44bdbb28c3bc5061a584

Improving the knowledge on Himalayan glaciers mass balance is a key to understand the present and past annual atmospheric variations and future water availability in the region. Here, we present glaciological mass balance for Patsio Glacier, located in Himachal Pradesh (India), western Himalaya. Annual glacier-wide mass balance was measured for 7 consecutive years (2010/11 to 2016/17) and winter mass balance for 6 years (2011/12 to 2016/17). The cumulative mass balance over this period was −2.35 ± 0.37 m w.e. The corresponding mean mass balance was −0.34 m w.e. a−1. The mean annual ablation gradient excluding the debris-covered area was 0.47 m w.e. (100 m)−1. The annual ablation over the debris-covered area is reduced by an average of −1.0 m w.e. compared to the clean ice surface. Winter mass balance was consistently positive with a maximum of 1.34 m w.e. in 2014/15 and a minimum of 0.88 m w.e. in 2011/12. Multiple regression analysis between annual mass balance versus annual and winter precipitation of the Lahaul-Spiti region shows a significant positive correlation. Our results highlight the importance of monitoring seasonal mass balance and consideration of non-climatic parameters (debris and aspect) while estimating the glacier-wide mass balance.