A knowledge based approach for assessing debris cover dynamics and its linkages to glacier recession

This article focuses on the application of a hierarchical knowledge-based classifier (HKBC) to map the temporal changes in the debris cover together with other glacier terrain classes on a group of glaciers (16) located in Upper Indus Basin, Western Himalayas. The glacier terrain classes were mapped sequentially using HKBC on Landsat ETM+ 1999, ASTER 2003, Landsat TM 1998 and Lansat-8OLI 2014 images. A reduction of 16.1Km² in the glaciated and ~ 9.1 Km of cumulative retreat had been accompanied by a secular increase in supraglacial debris cover by 13.57 Km². This clearly suggests the profound influence of debris cover on glacier dynamics and linkages with shrinking of glaciers.