Quantifying Ice Thickness and Volume of Glaciers in the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, Western Himalaya: Insights from GlabTop2 Model and GPR Dataset

Sarvagya Vatsal; Mohd Farooq Azam; Anshuman Bhardwaj; Arindan Mandal; Ishmohan Bahuguna; Sangita Singh Tomar

doi:10.1007/s12524-025-02244-6

Quantifying Ice Thickness and Volume of Glaciers in the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, Western Himalaya: Insights from GlabTop2 Model and GPR Dataset

Sarvagya Vatsal, Mohd Farooq Azam, Anshuman Bhardwaj, Arindan Mandal, Ishmohan Bahuguna, Sangita Singh Tomar

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Determining ice thickness is essential for assessing the freshwater reserves stored in the form of ice. In the present study, we conducted assessments to quantify the ice thickness of glaciers within the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, western Himalaya, India utilizing the GlabTop2 model. To evaluate the accuracy of the model, we utilized in-situ Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data obtained from the Patsio, Hamtah, and Chhota Shigri glaciers within the basin. For each glacier, we generated corresponding Digital Elevation Models using ASTER L1A V003 stereopairs datasets, aligning them with the year of the GPR survey conducted on the respective glaciers. Our analysis uncovered a bias ranging from − 39 to 35 m in the ice thickness evaluations generated by the GlabTop2 model. Ice thickness varied from 0 to 576 m, with a total ice reserve estimated at 112.5 ± 35 km3. These results provide valuable insights into the distribution and extent of ice reserves within the region, highlighting the applicability of the GlabTop2 model at the basin scale. This contributes to a comprehensive understanding of freshwater resources and their potential impacts on the local environment.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	3353–3367
Number of pages	15
Journal	Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing
Volume	53
Issue number	10
Early online date	8 Jul 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/s12524-025-02244-6
Publication status	Published - Oct 2025

Data Availability Statement

The glacier ice thickness dataset generated in this study can be retrieved from https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6595546.

Funding

We are grateful to the Space Application Center, Ahmedabad, (ISRO) for providing support under “Integrated studies of Himalayan Cryosphere” program. We are also thankful to the Glaciology Group, Jawaharlal Nehru University for providing necessary support for this research. MFA acknowledges the grants from Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) (CRG/2020/004877) and MOES/16/19/2017-RDEAS projects. SV and MFA than the support from ISRO/RES/4/690/21-22 project.

Funders	Funder number
Indian Space Research Organisation	ISRO/RES/4/690/21-22 project

Keywords

Glacier
Ice thickness
GPR
GlabTop2

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10.1007/s12524-025-02244-6

Cite this

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title = "Quantifying Ice Thickness and Volume of Glaciers in the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, Western Himalaya: Insights from GlabTop2 Model and GPR Dataset",

abstract = "Determining ice thickness is essential for assessing the freshwater reserves stored in the form of ice. In the present study, we conducted assessments to quantify the ice thickness of glaciers within the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, western Himalaya, India utilizing the GlabTop2 model. To evaluate the accuracy of the model, we utilized in-situ Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data obtained from the Patsio, Hamtah, and Chhota Shigri glaciers within the basin. For each glacier, we generated corresponding Digital Elevation Models using ASTER L1A V003 stereopairs datasets, aligning them with the year of the GPR survey conducted on the respective glaciers. Our analysis uncovered a bias ranging from − 39 to 35 m in the ice thickness evaluations generated by the GlabTop2 model. Ice thickness varied from 0 to 576 m, with a total ice reserve estimated at 112.5 ± 35 km3. These results provide valuable insights into the distribution and extent of ice reserves within the region, highlighting the applicability of the GlabTop2 model at the basin scale. This contributes to a comprehensive understanding of freshwater resources and their potential impacts on the local environment.",

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author = "Sarvagya Vatsal and Azam, {Mohd Farooq} and Anshuman Bhardwaj and Arindan Mandal and Ishmohan Bahuguna and Tomar, {Sangita Singh}",

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AU - Azam, Mohd Farooq

AU - Bhardwaj, Anshuman

AU - Mandal, Arindan

AU - Bahuguna, Ishmohan

AU - Tomar, Sangita Singh

PY - 2025/10

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N2 - Determining ice thickness is essential for assessing the freshwater reserves stored in the form of ice. In the present study, we conducted assessments to quantify the ice thickness of glaciers within the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, western Himalaya, India utilizing the GlabTop2 model. To evaluate the accuracy of the model, we utilized in-situ Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data obtained from the Patsio, Hamtah, and Chhota Shigri glaciers within the basin. For each glacier, we generated corresponding Digital Elevation Models using ASTER L1A V003 stereopairs datasets, aligning them with the year of the GPR survey conducted on the respective glaciers. Our analysis uncovered a bias ranging from − 39 to 35 m in the ice thickness evaluations generated by the GlabTop2 model. Ice thickness varied from 0 to 576 m, with a total ice reserve estimated at 112.5 ± 35 km3. These results provide valuable insights into the distribution and extent of ice reserves within the region, highlighting the applicability of the GlabTop2 model at the basin scale. This contributes to a comprehensive understanding of freshwater resources and their potential impacts on the local environment.

AB - Determining ice thickness is essential for assessing the freshwater reserves stored in the form of ice. In the present study, we conducted assessments to quantify the ice thickness of glaciers within the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, western Himalaya, India utilizing the GlabTop2 model. To evaluate the accuracy of the model, we utilized in-situ Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) data obtained from the Patsio, Hamtah, and Chhota Shigri glaciers within the basin. For each glacier, we generated corresponding Digital Elevation Models using ASTER L1A V003 stereopairs datasets, aligning them with the year of the GPR survey conducted on the respective glaciers. Our analysis uncovered a bias ranging from − 39 to 35 m in the ice thickness evaluations generated by the GlabTop2 model. Ice thickness varied from 0 to 576 m, with a total ice reserve estimated at 112.5 ± 35 km3. These results provide valuable insights into the distribution and extent of ice reserves within the region, highlighting the applicability of the GlabTop2 model at the basin scale. This contributes to a comprehensive understanding of freshwater resources and their potential impacts on the local environment.

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ER -

Quantifying Ice Thickness and Volume of Glaciers in the Chandra-Bhaga Basin, Western Himalaya: Insights from GlabTop2 Model and GPR Dataset

Abstract

Data Availability Statement

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Keywords

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