Implementation and performance analysis of various techniques for snow cover monitoring in western himalayas

Abstract

Himalayan region has very high concentration of mountain glaciers and it is completely covered by snowfall during winter period between November and April. Very few studies on monitoring of snow cover have been reported in this region. However, the demand for snow cover monitoring in this region has gained importance in order to find the solution to some of the related issues such as global warming, lack of water supply, electrification in rural areas and hazard forecasting etc. The availability of moderate resolution image data almost on day today basis from sensors such as MODIS and AWiFS has provided great opportunity for regular mapping and monitoring of snow in this region. The present thesis entitled Implementation and Performance Analysis of Various Techniques for Snow Cover Monitoring in Western Himalayas deals with evaluating the performance of various topographic correction techniques on the snow spectral characteristics obtained from MODIS and AWiFS data and suggesting the most suitable technique for this region. It also deals with the monitoring of snow using per pixel and sub-pixel techniques and a new statistical linear regressive relationship has been developed between normalized difference snow index (NDSI) and fraction of snow covered image obtained by Linear Mixture Modeling and Fuzzy c- mean Clustering in the Beas region of Western Himalaya. The study also been carried out to evaluate the effect of topographic corrections on the accuracy of results obtained using Improved Change Vector Analysis. Chapter 1 as Introduction provides brief description about snow, snow cover, importance of snow cover monitoring in general and in the Himalayan terrain in particular. Basic principles of satellite based remote sensing and spectral reflectance characteristics of various land covers are also briefly explained. The layout of the thesis has been given at the end of the chapter.