Assessment of Snow Cover Changes Over the Tons River Basin During Last Two Decades (2000–2019)

Abstract

Tons river originating from Bandar punch mountain of Uttarakhand, is a major tributary of Yamuna river. Covering a stretch of 148 km, the river contributes runoff from an area of 5146 km2. The water availability in the river depends on the precipitation received in different forms. The present study is principally concerned with snow cover changes over the Tons river basin on monthly, annual, and seasonal basis over two decades (2000–2019). In the present study, MODIS data was used with a non-parametric Mann-Kendall test (MK test) and Sen’s slope estimator. The monthly zone wise snow cover area analysis reveals spatial and temporal variations in snow cover. A notable variation is detected in higher elevation area (>3000 m elevation) of the basin. Annual snow cover variation is also found in the middle of the basin. The average snow cover for the area varies from 38 to 50%.