Geo-spatial Study of Land Surface Temperature Change, Glacial Lakes Development and Risk of Outburst Flood: A Case Study of Lahual and Spiti District, Himachal Pradesh, India
Md. Arif HUSAIN, University of Delhi, India
Pankaj KUMAR, University of Delhi, India
The acronym GLOF is used for glacier floods caused by the drainage of naturally dammed lakes in the glacier, on or at the margin of glaciers. Glacial lakes form when a glacier retreats, leaving the debris mass at the end of the glacier the end moraine exposed. The land surface temperature (LST) and geomorphological conditions, clubbed with global warming are supposed to be major causes of formation of glacial lakes. The LST is the skin temperature of the earth surface which depends on the amount of sunlight received by any geographical area. The LST is calculated by applying the established formula based on Liqin et al. (2018). Increase in LST has direct impact on the glaciers of Lahaul and Spiti district when surface temperature raises glaciers convert into glacial lakes. These newly developed lakes are highly vulnerable and increase the risk of glacial lake outburst flood. The main objective of the paper is to establish correlation between land surface temperature and glacial lakes. The Landsat images are the main source of data of the study which includes Thematic Mapper (TM) and Operational Land Imagery/Thermal Infra-red sensor (OLI/TIRS). The mean LST of Lahaul and Spiti was recorded 11°C in 1990 but it increased by 2°C and reached to 13°C in 2020. Four glacial lakes were identified in 2020 which were not exist in1990. Several GLOFs in Lahaul and Spiti district are recorded to have damaged bridges, roads, agricultural fields and villages. Therefore, GLOFs in the present context need careful and precise assessment for monitoring and hazard mitigation.
Mots clés : Landsat|LST|GLOF|Lahaul and Spiti
A103866MH