Status on snow cover area, mass balance, glacial area loss, surface velocities and applications of snowmelt runoff model over Kashmir Himalayas and Upper Indus Basin: A review

Abstract

This review work presented a detailed review of snow cover area, mass balance status, glacial area loss, surface velocities and applications of snowmelt runoff model (SRM) applied in the Kashmir Himalayas and Upper Indus Basin (UIB) of the Himalayas. This study reviewed all the studies done in the past which are done on the Kashmir Himalayas and UIB glaciers by different methods. The geodetic and glaciological methods suggested that the glaciers in the Kashmir Himalayas and UIB are having a negative glacial mass balance and are losing ice mass at higher rates during the last two decades and are losing glacial area every year. And the glaciers in the Zanskar range are also having negative mass balance but are losing less ice mass as compared to the Glaciers in Kashmir Himalayas, while the glaciers in the Karakorum range are having positive mass balance and are losing glacial area at slower rates. Studies have found that higher surface velocities are observed in the glaciers which are present in the Kashmir region and indicate rapid melting because of higher temperatures recorded in this part of the world because of global warming. This review reflects an increasing understanding that how much of the water reservoirs we have lost and in which era we are heading to.