Is the Indian Army now prepared to demilitarize the Siachen Glacier, the world's highest and coldest battlefield? One probable reason for this interesting observation is that debris-covered parts lying near the glacier margins have lower velocities compared with the exposed-ice parts located in the middle and having higher velocities (Fig. Indias Siachen Glacier has a place in the hearts and minds of its citizens. All acquisitions were along orbit 523 (Table 3). The displacement maps were geocoded to geographical coordinates with the WGS84 horizontal datum and the EGM96 vertical datum at 90m resolution, using the SRTM Digital Elevation Database v4.1 (Jarvis and others, Reference Jarvis, Reuter, Nelson and Guevara2008). Gardelle and others (Reference Gardelle, Berthier and Arnaud2012), based on remotely sensed geodetic measurements over 5615km2 of glacierized area in the central Karakoram, computed a region-wide mass budget of 0.110.22m w.e. 2018. Siachen: The place of wild roses - Pakistan - DAWN.COM The final binary image was converted to a vector shapefile. Wang, Wenling The KH-9 program (code-named Hexagon) of the US military, operational from 1973 to 1980, was aimed at reconnaissance and map making. The height of this region varies from 19,000 feet to 25,000 feet. Zhang, Yong These values were used to adjust the Cartosat-I DEM iteratively until a maximum of 10 iterations was reached or until the horizontal offset a was <1m. Residual elevation differences over stable non-glacierized areas due to rotation and scale distortions were minimized by second-order spatial trend corrections (applied to the Cartosat-I DEM). The Cartosat-I ortho-pair was radiometrically corrected and coarsely geolocated using the pathrow referencing system, which gives a horizontal accuracy of 170300m (Gianinetto and Fassi, Reference Gianinetto and Fassi2008; Pieczonka and others, Reference Pieczonka, Bolch and Buchroithner2011). Besides, continuous monitoring of glaciers is crucial for identifying the regional impacts of changing climate (Bolch and others, Reference Bolch2012), particularly where long-term climatic measurements are rare. 8). Transportation of essential commodities is therefore difficult. 7a) and drops steadily in the ablation area (section B) from a maximum at the end of Section A. But due to the rising tensions between both the sides, manning is done 24x7. However, the general pattern reveals decreasing velocities towards the tongue and very low velocities on the frontal part of the tongue. The mass budget results computed by Zaman and Liu (Reference Zaman and Liu2015) using hydrological method with probable overestimation of mass loss due to evaporation seem to be consistent with results of this study. For estimating the ELA of Siachen Glacier we have assumed that the late-summer snow line altitude (SLA), i.e. Haritashya, Umesh K. Area and mass changes of Siachen Glacier (East Karakoram), Department of Applied Geology, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, India, Divsion of Geodetic Science, School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA, Department of Geography, University of Zurich, 8057 Zrich, Switzerland, Institute for Cartography, Technische Universitt Dresden, 01069 Dresden, Germany, Gamma Remote Sensing, Gmligen, Switzerland, Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (ISM), Dhanbad, India, Reference Immerzeel, Pellicciotti and Bierkens, Reference Immerzeel, van Beek and Bierkens, Reference Kulkarni, Rathore, Singh and Bahuguna, Reference Nuimura, Fujita, Yamaguch and Sharma, Reference Gardelle, Berthier, Arnaud and Kb, Reference Scherler, Bookhagen and Strecker, Reference Kb, Berthier, Nuth, Gardelle and Arnaud, Reference Tiwari, Pande, Punia and Dadhwal, Reference Pieczonka, Bolch and Buchroithner, Reference Padmanabha, Shashivardhan Reddy, Narender, Muralikrishnan and Dadhwal, Reference Neckel, Kropacek, Bolch and Hochschild, Reference Strozzi, Koureav, Wegmlle, Sharoy and Werner, Reference Jarvis, Reuter, Nelson and Guevara, $${\rm dh} = a \cdot \tan \alpha \cdot \cos \;(b - \psi ) + \; {\rm dh}{\rm ^{\prime}}$$, Reference Berthier, Arnaud, Vincent and Rmy, Reference Seehaus, Marinsek, Helm, Skvarca and Braun, Reference Hagg, Braun, Uvarov and Makarevicha, Reference Ragettli, Bolch and Pellicciotti, Reference Bolch, Buchroithner, Peters, Baessler and Bajracharya, Reference Bel, Mayer, Smiraglia and Tamburini, Using L-Band SAR coherence to delineate glacier extent, Reconstruction of the annual mass balance of Chhota Shigri glacier, Western Himalaya, India since 1969, Multivariate controls on the incidence of glacier surging in the Karakoram Himalaya, The recent evolution of Liligo glacier, Karakoram, Pakistan, and its present quiescent phase, Biases of SRTM in high-mountain areas: implications for the monitoring of glacier volume changes, Remote sensing estimates of glacier mass balances in the Himachal Pradesh (Western Himalaya, India), Heterogeneity in glacier response in the upper Shyok valley, northeast Karakoram, Overall recession and mass budget of Gangotri Glacier, Garhwal Himalayas, from 1965 to 2015 using remote sensing data, Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India, Glacier area and mass changes since 1964 in the Ala Archa Valley, Kyrgyz Ala-Too, northern Tien Shan, Identification of glacier motion and potentially dangerous glacier lakes at Mt. The velocity estimates are for the period 26 January 200911 December 2008. Similar results are obtained for the change in elevation of the glacier, which is equal to 0.232.00m for the 8 years between 1999 and 2007 or 0.030.25m a1. Siachen glacier's average elevation from sea level is around 17770 feet. Hence, the density scenarios hardly affect the result and indicate a more or less balanced mass budget. The Siachen Glacier is in the eastern Karakoram range in the Himalaya Mountains along the disputed India-Pakistan interim border at approximately . Further, earlier reported expansion of high-relief glaciers in the Karakoram (Hewitt, Reference Hewitt2005) was later negated by Bhambri and others (Reference Bhambri2013) and Minora and others (Reference Minora2016), who reported heterogeneous glacier behavior but on average no significant change in the Upper Shyok Valley, NE Karakoram since 1970 and in Central Karakoram since 2000. Thermal insoles, snow goggles, ice axe, boots, avalanche victim detector, rock pitons . On days, when the weather goes to an extreme, the worlds highest battleground has zero visibility. evaporation and runoff) from hydrological inputs (i.e. First, everything that has to be delivered here weather it is food or any other essentials has to be through air, which means via helicopters having limited capacity. The status of glaciers in the Karakoram has a direct impact on some of the key components of the global water cycle, global mean sea-level rise (Gardelle and others, Reference Gardelle, Berthier and Arnaud2012), freshwater availability and the risk of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods and droughts. To overcome noise and isolated pixels in an automated manner, a 33 median filter was applied. Kulkarni, Anil V. Military experts say the inhospitable . The height of this region varies from 19,000 feet to 25,000 feet. a1, respectively. Molaei, Ali Arnaud, Yves View all Google Scholar citations Both India and Pakistan maintain permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 ft), and continue to . Wang, Xiaoming It is interesting to note that the variations in elevation change for the smaller western tributary glaciers do not follow a fixed pattern (Figs 9bg). According to senior meteorologists at Skymet. a1) has been obtained for 19992007. Changes in area and length of Siachen Glacier, 19802014, DEM difference error statistics before and after co-registration, Estimates of elevation change and mass budget for Siachen Glacier for 19992007. The average elevation change obtained can then be multiplied by suitable densities to obtain mass change estimates. Siachen conflict - Wikipedia and The volume of discharge generated by snow and glacial melt far exceeds the volume of the discharge generated in the downstream areas of the basin (Immerzeel and others, Reference Immerzeel, van Beek and Bierkens2010). Copland and others, Reference Copland2011; Quincey and others, Reference Quincey2011; Rankl and others, Reference Rankl, Kienholz and Braun2014). Location of Siachen Glacier. Liu, Shiyin Area and mass changes of Siachen Glacier (East Karakoram) Siachen Glacier - NASA Earth Observatory Each elevation change has an uncertainty of 2.0 m. http://dds.cr.usgs.gov/-srtm/version2_1/SRTM3/. Siachen Glacier was the Land of Wild Roses before it became a battle field. Photogramm. 3). Radi, Valentina Elevation changes along profiles AA to GG (Fig. The lowest temperature - minus 57 degree Celsius - was reported from North Glacier, or Siachen, the highest battlefield in the world. Life in Siachen - Times of India For a FBS with ground-range pixel spacing of 7.5m and an azimuthal pixel spacing of ~3m, two-dimensional (2-D) ice velocities can be computed with an expected error of 0.8m in 46 days or ~10m a1. Elevation changes over exposed and debris-covered ice as a function of altitude. Singh, Gulab The Siachen glacier also boasts of the world's highest helipad built by India at Point Sonam, 21,000 feet (6,400 m) above the sea level, to supply its troops. Thus, a comparison between SRTM-X and SRTM-C permits an estimate of the elevation dependency of the C-band penetration (Gardelle and others, Reference Gardelle, Berthier and Arnaud2012). Siachen is also considered as one of the most difficult terrains for human habitation, particularly during winters. (ad) Represent the interferometric pairs (Table 2). This means that you cannot see clearly in front of you. Close this message to accept cookies or find out how to manage your cookie settings. It is the second-largest glacier in the world's non-polar areas and Karakoram's longest glacier. 3. Gardelle and others (Reference Gardelle, Berthier and Arnaud2012) reported that, on average, the elevation loss of exposed and debris-covered areas for the glaciers of the Eastern Karakoram are similar. and Westerlies are an important source of precipitation for the Karakoram including Siachen Glacier. Chand, Pritam This region faces inclement weather conditions round the clock with marginal relief during the months of April and May. Siachen Glacier is the largest glacier in the entire Karakoram Range and extends between the latitudes of 3510N-3542N and longitudes 7646E-7725E (Fig. Our study suggests that, in the upper ablation areas of the main trunk, climatic and topographic conditions resulted in high ice flux and insignificant elevation changes. Zero Visibility. The ASAR is onboard the ENVISAT satellite launched in 2003. Annual velocity estimates for other debris-covered glaciers such as Gangotri Glacier (Scherler and others, Reference Scherler, Bookhagen and Strecker2007; Bhattacharya and others, Reference Bhattacharya2016) and Khumbu Glacier (Quincey and others, Reference Quincey, Luckman and Benn2009; Bolch and others, Reference Bolch, Buchroithner, Peters, Baessler and Bajracharya2008) lie in the range 5.511cmd1, which is lower than the winter velocity of Siachen Glacier reported here. The debris-covered ice located mainly near the margins of the glacier suffers from higher elevation losses. the elevation of the snowline at the end of the hydrological year, can be considered as representative of the ELA (Rabatel and others, Reference Rabatel2012). for this article. The average elevation of Siachen Glacier from sea level is . 7. (17,880 to 25,330 feet). It is crucial to make adequate corrections for the penetration depth of the SRTM's C-band radar beams into snow and ice (Gardelle and others, Reference Gardelle, Berthier and Arnaud2012; Kb and others, Reference Kb, Berthier, Nuth, Gardelle and Arnaud2012). The letters (AH) in the figure refer to the trace of the particular profile line; for example, letter A refers to the trace of the profile line AA. Usually thin debris enhances melt, while thick debris cover reduces melt (Nicholson and Benn, Reference Nicholson and Benn2006). "corePageComponentGetUserInfoFromSharedSession": true, Can the snowline be used as an indicator of the equilibrium line and mass balance for glaciers in the outer tropics? Also, a large number of surge-type glaciers have been reported in the Karakoram since the 1860s (Barrand and Murray, Reference Barrand and Murray2006; Copland and others, Reference Copland2011). The curves have been smoothed using a moving average filter with a span of five observations. . If we talk about the temperatures in the region, the severity of the weather can be gauged from the fact that the day temperature during winters settles between -50 degrees and -60 degrees Celsius which can definitely make survival for a human being near impossible. The Siachen Glacier is positioned from northwest to southeast. Uncertainties are 2.0m for elevation changes and 0.004md1 for velocities. The Siachen glacier, in northern Kashmir, is regarded as the world's highest battlefield. Bandyopadhyay, Debmita Also shown is the 1 standard deviation confidence region (red lines).
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