Manasi DEBNATH, Nagaland University, India
Milap Chand SHARMA, Centre for the Study of Regional Development, Jawaharlal Nehru University, India
Hiambok Jones SYIEMLIEH, Department of Geography, North-Eastern Hill University, India
Arindam CHOWDHURY, Department of Geography, North-Eastern Hill University, India
The Changme Khangpu basin (CKB) in the Sikkim, a part of Eastern Himalaya has been investigated for glacial lake area variability. The Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and North-East Monsoon provide the precipitation in this N-S trending basin. The present study offers a great potential to identify the nature of climate variability using the glacial lakes as a proxy.
A sum of 49 lakes has been delineated in the CKB covering an area of 3.37 ± 0.175 km2. Change detection analysis for the last 26 years (1988 – 2016) has been carried out for 48 lakes which were existed in 1988, and had been partially free from shadow effect. Varying sizes of lakes are existing as ice-scoured trough, moraine dammed lake, tarn, proglacial lake and supraglacial lake. The local topography such as, aspects, altitude, surrounding geomorphology determine glacial lake distribution as well as lake area dynamics in the CKB. Total lake area had increased by 8% during 1988 – 2001, but decreased by 1% post 2001. The most dynamic supraglacial and proglacial lakes made significant contribution for such total glacial lake area anomaly. Further, additional focus has been given on the Sebu Lake, Lake adjacent to Palochuthang-2 glacier and Lake of Tenbawa Kangse glacier. The impact of debris-covered topography, ice cliff, aspects of those cliffs, and supraglacial pond showed innumerable impacts on the lake area dynamics.
Mots clés : Changme Khangpu basin|Eastern Himalaya|moraine dammed lake|proglacial lake|topography
A104997MD