ABSTRACT
Estimation of glacier volume is important for assessing water reserve stored in the form of ice. The livelihood dependency on the cryospheric system in Ladakh region makes it even more important to understand the change in ice volume. Glacier and glacieret volume estimation was performed in two catchments (18 glaciers/glacierets) to understand the volume change for a period of over two decades. It was found that the glaciers/glacierets of these catchments had decreased with time. However, glacierets in these regions showed a higher retreat, almost twice the amount, as had glaciers. The Matoo village catchment witnessed comparatively higher retreat over two decades. By the end of August 2015, total ice reserve in these catchments was found to be 0.107 and 0.116 Gt in Stok and Matoo village catchment, respectively.
