Advances in Remote Sensing

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Advances in Remote Sensing Technology
and the Three Poles
Advances in Remote Sensing Technology
and the Three Poles

Edited by
Manish Pandey
Chandigarh University, Department of Civil Engineering, Mohali, India

Prem C. Pandey
School of Natural Sciences, Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Center for Environmental Sciences &
Engineering, Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

Yogesh Ray
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Headland Sada, Vasco-da-Gama, Goa

Aman Arora
Bihar Mausam Seva Kendra, Planning and Development Department, Bihar, India

Shridhar D. Jawak
University Centre in Svalbard, Longyearbyen, Norway

Uma K. Shukla
Banaras Hindu University, Institute of Science, Varnasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
This edition first published 2023
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Pandey, Manish (Assistant professor), editor.
Title: Advances in remote sensing technology and the three poles / edited by
Manish Pandey [and five others]
Description: Hoboken, NJ : John Wiley & Sons, 2023.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022028873 | ISBN 9781119787723 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119787730 (pdf) |
ISBN 9781119787747 (epub) | ISBN 9781119787754 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Remote sensing--Polar regions. | Remote sensing--Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region.
Classification: LCC G70.5.P73 .A38 2023 | DDC 621.36/780911--dc23/eng20221013
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022028873

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 Indra Bir Singh (1943–2021)
Department of Geology,
University of Lucknow,
Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India

Prof I.B. Singh was an eminent scholar of international
repute, a dedicated geoscientist, and an ideal teacher. He
was born on 8 July 1943 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Prof Singh breathed his last in the morning of 11 February
2021 after a brief illness. He completed his secondary edu-
cation from the Lucknow Christian College in 1956. For
higher education, he joined the Lucknow University, from
where he obtained a BSc (1961) and MSc (1962) in Geology.
This was the time when his classmates noticed in him an
exceptional ability to look at the subject of Geology in a
more common way relating to natural processes at work.
After completing his post graduation, he joined the Oil and
Natural Gas Corporation of India for a brief period and
being unsatisfied with the job he left. He went to Germany
to obtain a Dr.Rer.nat. degree from Technical University,
Stuttgart, Germany in 1966 under the supervision of H.
Aldinger. He then worked as a research associate at
Senckenberg Institute, Wilhelmshaven, Germany in 1966.
He spent two years (1967–1968) as a Post-doctoral fellow at
the Oslo University, Norway. Later, he returned to
Senckenberg Institute, Wilhelmshaven, as Alexander von
Humboldt Fellow and worked from 1969 to 1972 on mod-
ern shallow marine sediments.
In 1972, Prof Singh returned to India and started working
in the Department of Geology, University of Lucknow, from
where he retired as Head of the Department in 2008. He
brought out qualitative changes in teaching and research of
the Department. He headed the department in the most
democratic way and raised it to the level of Centre of Advance
Studies in Geology. Returning to India, he started working on
the sedimentary sequences of the Himalaya and central India
ranging in age from the Precambrian to Holocene. Applying
his experience of working on modern sediments of marine
and fluvial origin, Prof Singh was able to interpret the depo-
sitional environments of the Himalayan rock sequences pre-
cisely in terms of physical processes and age. He reinterpreted
the Krol belt of Himalaya as Upper Proterozoic, which had
been considered to be of Mesozoic age for over a century.
This study changed the stratigraphy and evolutionary history
of the Himalaya. He made many significant contributions for
understanding rock sequences of the Kashmir, Kachchh,
Gondwana, and Himalaya, east coast delta. These studies
provided an in-depth understanding of the depositional pro-
cesses based on field-based Facies Analysis.
In the early 1990s, Prof Singh established a very strong
group with his students and adopted a multiproxy approach
including Facies Analysis supported by OSL dating, geo-
chemistry, and isotopic signatures to study the Ganga Plain
of Himalayan Foreland Basin. He worked on the landform
evolution, architectural element analysis of channel bars.
and floodplain deposits. His group identified the contribu-
tion of interfluves (doab) processes in the fluvial domain
which was a new discovery. This study provided insights
into the nature of river systems, chronology to the Late
Quaternary landform evolution, tectonic events, and cli-
mate changes in the Ganga Plain. He emphasized geoar-
chaeological aspects of the Ganga Plain and has been able
to establish palaeovegetation, human settlement patterns,
and agricultural activity, particularly the domestication of
rice. Working on different aspects, Prof Singh guided 15
doctoral theses and published about 200 research papers in
journals of national and international repute. His students
have now established themselves as leaders in their own
right and are a tribute to the training he imparted. With
Prof H.E. Reineck, he co-authored the book, “Depositional
Sedimentary Environments,” published in 1973. This is a
classic book on depositional environments and has been
translated into Russian and Chinese. With A.S.R. Swamy,
he also wrote the book entitled “Delta Sedimentation: East
Coast of India.”
Prof Singh was elected as Fellow of Indian National
Science Academy, New Delhi in 1995. He was a recipient
of the National Mineral Award, Government of India
(1996) and National Award for excellence in Earth
System Science in 2013. He also received the L. Rama
Rao Birth Centenary Award of the Geological Society of
India. He was honored with Fellow of Alexander von
Humboldt Foundation, Germany in 1988–1989. Prof
Singh was visiting Professor at Louisiana State University,
USA (1984–1986) and at the University of Erlangen–
Nuremberg, Germany (1998–1999). He has served as a
board member of governing bodies on several commit-
tees dealing with research and teaching and is easily
placed among those few who have impacted Indian geo-
sciences, research, and teaching in a fundamental way
and with indigenous resources and ideas.
 vii

Contents

About the Editors xvii

Notes on Contributors xx
Foreword xxv
Preface xxvi
List of Acronyms xxviii

Section I Earth Observation (EO) and Remote Sensing (RS) Applications in Polar Studies 1

1 The Three Poles: Advances in Remote Sensing in Relation to Spheres of the Planet Earth 3
Manish Pandey, Prem C. Pandey, Yogesh Ray, Aman Arora, Shridhar Digmabar Jawak, and Uma Kant Shukla
1.1 Introduction 3
1.1.1 Earth as a System and Components of the Earth System 4
1.1.2 Role of the “Three Poles” and the Three Poles Regions in the Earth System 4
1.1.2.1 Defining the Three Poles, Three Poles Regions, and Their Geographical Extent 4
1.1.2.2 Interaction Among Components of the Earth System and Role of the Three Poles 5
1.1.3 Advancement of RS Technologies in Relation to Their Application in the Three Poles Regions 6
1.1.3.1 Remote Sensing Technology Advancements 6
1.1.3.2 Role of Remote Sensing (RS) in Mapping/Monitoring/Quantitative Analysis of Sub-Systems of Our Planet in the
Three Poles Regions 7
1.2 Aim of the Book and Its Five Sections 11
1.3 Overview of the Contributing Chapters Covering Research About Different Aspects of the Sub-Systems of Our
Planet in the Three Poles Regions 11
1.4 Summary and Recommendations 14
References 15

2 Continuous Satellite Missions, Data Availability, and Nature of Future Satellite Missions with Implications to
Polar Regions 24
Jagriti Mishra, Takuya Inoue, and Avinash Kumar Pandey
2.1 Introduction 24
2.1.1 Types of Orbit 24
2.1.1.1 High Earth Orbit (HEO) 25
2.1.1.2 Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) 25
2.1.1.3 Semi-Synchronous Orbit 25
2.1.1.4 Molniya Orbit 25
2.1.1.5 Low Earth Orbit (LEO) 25
2.1.1.6 Polar Orbit and Sun-Synchronous Orbit 25
2.1.1.7 Lagrange’s Point 26
2.2 Satellite Missions and Data Availability 26
2.3 Future Satellite Missions 26
2.4 Applicability of Satellite Products in Three Poles Regions 32
2.5 Challenges and Limitations 33
2.6 Summary 34
Acknowledgments 34
References 34

3 Assessing the Accuracy of Digital Elevation Models for Darjeeling-Sikkim Himalayas 36

Prodip Mandal and Shraban Sarkar
3.1 Introduction 36
3.2 Study Area 37
viii Contents

3.3 Materials and Methods 38

3.3.1 Generation of Cartosat-1 DEM and Orthoimage 38
3.3.2 TanDEM-X 40
3.3.3 ALOS PALSAR 40
3.3.4 DGPS Survey for Obtaining Ground Control Points (GCPs) 40
3.3.5 Datum Transformation 40
3.3.6 Accuracy Assessment Methods 40
3.3.6.1 Vertical Accuracy 41
3.3.6.2 Spatial Accuracy 41
3.4 Results and Discussion 41
3.4.1 Vertical Accuracy Assessment: Comparison of DEMs With Reference to GCPs 41
3.4.2 Vertical Accuracy of DEMs for Different Land Use Classes 41
3.4.2.1 Dense Forest 41
3.4.2.2 Open Forest 43
3.4.2.3 Tea Garden 43
3.4.2.4 Built-up Area 43
3.4.3 Spatial Accuracy Assessment: Comparison of DEMs With Reference to Stream Networks 43
3.5 Conclusions 45
Acknowledgments 46
References 46

4 An Overview of Morphometry Software Packages, Tools, and Add-ons 49

Satarupa Mitra, Shailendra Pundir, Rahul Devrani, Aman Arora, Manish Pandey, Romulus Costache,
and Saeid Janizadeh
4.1 Introduction 49
4.2 Overview of Morphometry Tools and Toolboxes 50
4.3 Stand-Alone Tools 52
4.4 Tools that Run within Coding Bases 54
4.5 Conclusion 55
References 55

5 Landscape Modeling, Glacier and Ice Sheet Dynamics, and the Three Poles: A Review of Models,
Softwares, and Tools 58
Satarupa Mitra, Rahul Devrani, Manish Pandey, Aman Arora, Romulus Costache, and Saeid Janizadeh
5.1 Introduction 58
5.2 Taxonomy 59
5.2.1 Geomorphic Process-Based Models 60
5.2.2 Classification Based on Process of Modeling 60
5.2.2.1 Based on Geomorphic Processes 60
5.2.2.2 Based on Modeling Process 60
5.3 Working Principles for Geomorphological Models 61
5.3.1 Soil Production 61
5.3.2 Hillslope Transport 62
5.3.3 Land Sliding 62
5.3.4 Fluvial Incision and Transport 62
5.3.5 Glacial Erosion 62
5.4 Landscape Evolution Models 63
5.4.1 DEM-Based Models 63
5.4.2 SIBERIA 63
5.4.3 GOLEM 64
5.4.4 CASCADE 64
5.4.5 ZScape 64
5.4.6 CHILD 64
5.4.7 CAESAR 65
5.4.8 APERO 65
5.4.9 SIGNUM (Simple Integrated Geomorphological Numerical Model) 65
 Contents ix

5.4.10 TTLEM (TopoToolbox Landscape Evolution Model) 1.0 65

5.5 Other Models 65
5.5.1 DELIM 65
5.5.2 EROS 66
5.5.3 Landscape Evolution Model Using Global Search 66
5.5.4 eSCAPE 66
5.5.5 r.sim.terrain 1.0 66
5.6 Combined/Application-Specific Models 66
5.7 Machine Learning Models 66
5.8 LEMs Developed for Glaciated Landscapes 66
5.9 Some Significant Glacier Evolution Models 68
5.10 Models Developed for Alpine Regions 71
5.11 Models Developed for the Arctic Regio 72
5.12 Models Developed for the Antarctic Region 72
5.13 Conclusion and Future Prospects 75
Acknowledgment 75
Declaration of Competing Interest 75
References 76

6 Spectral Indices Across Remote Sensing Platforms and Sensors Relating to the Three Poles: An Overview
of Applications, Challenges, and Future Prospects 83
Mallikarjun Mishra, Kiran Kumari Singh, Prem C. Pandey, Rahul Devrani, Avinash Kumar Pandey, KN Prudhvi Raju,
Prabhat Ranjan, Aman Arora, Romulus Costache, Saeid Janizadeh, Nguyen Thuy Linh, and Manish Pandey
6.1 Introduction 83
6.2 Database and Methodology 84
6.3 Rationale of Different Spectral Indices Across RS Sensors and Platforms 85
6.4 RS Sensors and Platforms: Characteristics (Spatial, Temporal, Spectral, and Radiometric Resolutions) 87
6.5 Most Widely and Popularly Used Spectral Indices 87
6.5.1 Spectral Indices and Lithosphere 87
6.5.2 Spectral Indices and Hydrosphere 88
6.5.3 Spectral Indices and Atmosphere 90
6.5.4 Spectral Indices and Biosphere 91
6.5.5 Spectral Indices and Anthroposphere 103
6.6 Thematic Evolution and Trends 105
6.6.1 Thematic and Network Maps 105
6.7 Summary and Recommendations 110
Acknowledgments 111
References 111

Section II Antarctica: The Southernmost Continent Having the South Pole Environment
and Remote Sensing 117

7 Glacier Dynamics in East Antarctica: A Remote Sensing Perspective 119

Kiledar Singh Tomar, Sangita Singh Tomar, Ashutosh Venkatesh Prasad, and Alvarinho J. Luis
7.1 Introduction 119
7.2 Satellite Remote Sensing of Glacier Dynamics in East Antarctica 120
7.3 Glacier Velocity Estimation Using Remote Sensing 121
7.3.1 Glacier Velocity Estimation Using SAR Interferometry 121
7.3.2 Glacier Velocity Estimation Using Offset Tracking 121
7.4 Remote Sensing Based Dynamics of PRG: A Case Study 122
7.4.1 Data and Methods 123
7.4.2 Results and Discussion 123
7.4.2.1 Ice Front Location 123
7.4.2.2 Glacier Velocity Over the Period of 2016–2019 124
7.4.3 Summary and Conclusion 124
References 125
x Contents

8 Terrestrial Deglaciation Signatures in East Antarctica 128

Uday Sharma, Yogesh Ray, and Manish Pandey
8.1 Introduction 128
8.2 Geomorphology 128
8.2.1 East Antarctica 129
8.3 Landform Variation Concerning Various Sectors and Elevation 132
8.3.1 Dronning Maud Land 132
8.3.2 Enderby Land 133
8.3.3 Mac. Robertson Land, Amery Ice Shelf, and Prince Elizabeth Land 133
8.3.4 Wilkes Land 135
8.4 Chronology 135
8.4.1 Dronning Maud Land 136
8.4.2 Enderby Land 137
8.4.3 Mac. Robertson Land, Amery Ice Shelf ’s and Princess Elizabeth Land 137
8.4.4 Wilkes Land 138
8.5 Discussion 138
8.6 Conclusion 139
Acknowledgments 140
References 140

9 Geospatial Tools for Monitoring Vertebrate Populations in Antarctica With a Note on the
Ecological Component of the Indian Antarctic Program 144
Anant Pande, Ankita Anand, Shailendra Saini, and Kuppusamy Sivakumar
9.1 Introduction 144
9.2 Novel Geospatial Tools for Biodiversity Monitoring in Antarctica 145
9.2.1 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 145
9.2.2 Satellite Imagery 147
9.3 Spatial Mapping of Seabirds Under the Indian Antarctic Program 149
9.4 Recommendations to Incorporate New Tools for Antarctic Wildlife Monitoring Program 151
9.5 Conclusion 152
Acknowledgments 152
References 152

10 Bryophytes of Larsemann Hills, East Antarctica and Future Prospects 155

Devendra Singh
10.1 Introduction 155
10.2 Study Area 156
10.3 Materials and Methods 156
10.4 Taxonomic Treatment 156
10.5 Phytosociological Studies 174
10.6 Results and Discussion 175
10.7 Future Prospects 175
Acknowledgments 177
References 177

11 Antarctic Sea Ice Variability and Trends Over the Last Four Decades 179
Swathi M., Juhi Yadav, Avinash Kumar, and Rahul Mohan
11.1 Introduction 179
11.2 Datasets and Methods 180
11.2.1 Sea Ice Extent Analysis 180
11.2.2 Analysis of Physical Parameters 181
11.3 Results and Discussion 182
11.3.1 Sea Ice Variability in the Southern Ocean 182
11.3.2 Sea Ice Distribution With Respect to Ocean-Atmospheric Temperature 182
11.4 Summary and Conclusions 187
 Contents xi

Acknowledgments 188
References 189

Section III Himalayas: The Third Pole Environment and Remote Sensing 191

12 Some Unresolved Problems in the Himalaya: A Synoptic View 193

Om N. Bhargava
12.1 Introduction 193
12.2 Stratigraphic Ages, Basin Configuration, and Palaeontology 193
12.3 Sedimentology 195
12.4 Tectonics and Structure 195
12.5 Magmatism and Geochronology 196
12.6 Metamorphism 196
12.7 Mineral Deposits 196
12.8 Palaeomagnetic Studies 197
12.9 Glaciological Studies 197
12.10 Geomorphological Studies 197
12.11 Conclusion 198
Acknowledgments 198
References 198

13 Fluctuations of Kolahoi Glacier, Kashmir Valley, Its Assessment With Tree-Rings of Pinus wallichiana and
Comparable Satellite Imageries and Field Survey Records 203
Uttam Pandey, Santosh K. Shah, and Nivedita Mehrotra
13.1 Introduction 203
13.2 Tree-Ring Sampling Site and Data Acquisition 204
13.3 Tree-Ring Chronology and Its Assessments 206
13.4 Fluctuations of Kolahoi Glacier: Existing Records and Its Assessment With Tree-Rings 207
13.5 Conclusions 210
Acknowledgements 210
References 210

14 Applications of ICESat-2 Photon Data in the Third Pole Environment 213

Giribabu Dandabathula
14.1 Introduction 213
14.2 Brief Background About NASA’s ICESat-2 Mission 214
14.3 Terrain Profiling From ICESat-2 Photon Elevations Over a Mountainous Region 216
14.4 Longitudinal Profiling of Rivers in a Mountainous Region 216
14.5 Inland Water Level Detection in Mountainous Regions Using ICESat-2 Photon Data 216
14.6 Inferring Annual Variations of Water Levels in Mountain Lakes Using ICESat-2’s ATL13 Data Product 218
14.7 Inferring Lake Ice Phenology in Mountainous Regions Using ICESat-2 Photon Data 221
14.8 Estimating Tree Heights in Mountain Regions Using ICESat-2 Photon Data 223
14.9 Utilization of ICESat-2 Photon Data to Generate Digital Elevation Models 223
14.10 Conclusion 225
Acknowledgments 226
References 226

15 Extreme Hydrological Event-Induced Temporal Variation in Soil Erosion of the Assiganga River Basin, NW
Himalaya 230
Rohit Kumar, Rahul Devrani, Astha Dangwal, Benidhar Deshmukh, and Som Dutt
15.1 Introduction 230
15.2 Study Area 231
15.3 Methodology and Dataset 233
15.3.1 Soil Erodibility (K Factor) 234
15.3.2 Rainfall Erosivity (R Factor) 234
15.3.3 Slope Length and Steepness Factor (LS Factor) 235
xii Contents

15.3.4 Crop Management (C Factor) and Support Practices (P Factor) 237

15.4 Results and Discussion 239
15.4.1 Pre-Post R, C, and P Variation 239
15.4.2 Soil Loss Spatial Pattern and Extent 240
15.5 Conclusion 243
Acknowledgments 243
References 243

16 Understanding the Present and Past Climate-Human-Vegetation Dynamics

in the Indian Himalaya: A Comprehensive Review 247
Mehta Bulbul, Yadav Ankit, Aljasil Chirakkal, Ambili Anoop, and Praveen K. Mishra
16.1 Introduction 247
16.2 Study Site 248
16.3 Climate Vegetation Interaction in the Indian Himalaya 248
16.3.1 Present-Day Conditions 248
16.3.2 The Holocene Epoch 249
16.3.2.1 Western Himalaya 249
16.3.2.2 Eastern Himalaya 252
16.3.2.3 Central Himalaya 253
16.4 Conclusions 253
References 254

17 Flash Flood Susceptibility Mapping of a Himalayan River Basin Using

Multi-Criteria Decision-Analysis and GIS 257
Pratik Dash, Kasturi Mukherjee, and Surajit Ghosh
17.1 Introduction 257
17.2 Study Area 258
17.3 Data and Methodology 259
17.3.1 Data 259
17.3.2 Multicriteria Analysis 259
17.3.3 Selection and Classification of Flood Predictors 259
17.3.4 Flood Hazard Index 260
17.3.5 Validation 260
17.4 Results and Discussion 260
17.4.1 Flood Controlling Factors 260
17.4.2 Multicriteria Analysis 264
17.4.3 Flood Susceptibility Mapping 264
17.4.4 Validation 265
17.5 Conclusion 266
References 266

18 The Role of Himalayan Frontal Thrust in the Upliftment of Kimin Formation and the Migration of Sedimentary
Basin in Arunachal Himalaya, Around Bandardewa, Papumpare District, Arunachal Pradesh 268
Mondip Sarma, Sajeed Zaman Borah, Devojit Bezbaruah, Tapos Kumar Goswami, and Upendra Baral
18.1 Introduction 268
18.2 Geology 269
18.2.1 Siwaliks of Arunachal Himalaya 269
18.2.2 Geology of the Study Area 269
18.3 Materials and Method 272
18.4 Study of Alluvial Fan 273
18.4.1 Description of Lithosections 273
18.4.1.1 Kimin Formation 273
18.4.1.2 Terrace Deposits 274
18.4.2 Grain Size Analysis 275
18.4.3 Cumulative Curve 275
18.4.4 Calculation of Size Parameters 275
 Contents xiii

18.4.4.1 Graphic Mean 275

18.4.4.2 Graphic Standard Deviations 275
18.4.4.3 Graphic Skewness 275
18.4.4.4 Graphic Kurtosis 275
18.4.5 Inter-Relationship of Size Parameters 275
18.4.6 CM Plot 278
18.5 Discussion and Conclusions 279
Acknowledgments 280
References 280

19 Himalayan River Profile Sensitivity Assessment by Validating of DEMs and Comparison of Hydrological
Tools 283
Rahul Devrani, Rohit Kumar, Maneesh Kuruvath, Parv Kasana, Shailendra Pundir, Manish Pandey, and Sukumar Parida
19.1 Introduction 283
19.2 Study Area 284
19.3 Methodology (LSDTopoTools) 284
19.4 Details of DEM Datasets Used 286
19.4.1 ALOS-PALSAR 286
19.4.2 ASTER 286
19.4.3 CartoDEM 287
19.4.4 Copernicus DEM 287
19.4.5 NASA DEM 287
19.4.6 SRTM 289
19.5 Result and Discussion 289
19.5.1 Assessment of DEMs Generated Watershed Boundary and Slope 289
19.5.2 Sensivity of Longitudinal River Profiles Using Different DEMs 289
19.6 Conclusion 295
Acknowledgments 295
References 295

20 Glacier Ice Thickness Estimation in Indian Himalaya Using Geophysical Methods: A Brief Review 299
Aditya Mishra, Harish Chandra Nainwal, and R. Shankar
20.1 Introduction 299
20.2 Geophysical Methods for Estimation of Glacier Ice Thickness 300
20.2.1 Gravity 300
20.2.2 Magnetic 300
20.2.3 Resistivity 300
20.2.4 Seismic 300
20.2.5 Ground Penetrating Radar 300
20.3 Geophysical Methods in the Indian Himalaya Region 300
20.4 GPR Surveys in the Debris Covered Glaciers 302
20.5 A Case Study on ­Debris-Covered Satopanth Glacier 303
20.6 Conclusions and Future Prospects 304
Acknowledgments 304
References 305

21 Landscapes and Paleoclimate of the Ladakh Himalaya 308

Anil Kumar, Rahul Devrani, and Pradeep Srivastava
21.1 Introduction 308
21.2 Geology of the Ladakh Himalaya 308
21.2.1 Karakoram Region 310
21.3 Past Climate Variability 310
21.3.1 Early Holocene (~11.7 to 8.2 ka) 310
21.3.2 Mid-Holocene (~8.2–4.2 ka) 310
21.3.3 Late-Holocene (~4.2 ka–Present) 311
21.4 Modern Climatic and Vegetation 311
xiv Contents

21.5 Landscapes in the Ladakh Region 312

21.6 Glaciation and Associated Landforms 315
21.7 Flood History and Disaster 315
21.8 Conclusion 316
Acknowledgment 316
References 316

22 A Review of Remote Sensing and GIS-Based Soil Loss Models With a Comparative Study From the Upper and
Marginal Ganga River Basin 321
Rohit Kumar, Rahul Devrani, and Benidhar Deshmukh
22.1 Introduction 321
22.2 Geospatial Models 323
22.2.1 USLE (Universal Soil Loss Equation) 324
22.2.2 RUSLE (Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation) 324
22.2.2.1 Rainfall Erosivity Factor “R” 325
22.2.2.2 Soil Erodibility “K” 325
22.2.2.3 Slope Length and Steepness “LS” 325
22.2.2.4 Crop Management (C) 326
22.2.2.5 Support Practices “P” 326
22.2.3 MUSLE (Modified Universal Soil Loss Equation) 326
22.3 A Case Study in Upper and Marginal Ganga River Basins Using RUSLE Model 326
22.3.1 Study Area (Upper and Marginal Ganga
River Basins) 326
22.3.2 Dataset and Methodology 327
22.3.3 Rate of Soil Loss in Rishiganga Basin (RG) 328
22.3.4 Rate of Soil Loss in Lower Chambal Basin (LC) 329
22.4 Discussion 331
22.5 Conclusion 333
Acknowledgments 334
References 334

23 Wetlands as Potential Zones to Understand Spatiotemporal Plant-Human-Climate Interactions: A Review on

Palynological Perspective from Western and Eastern Himalaya 340
Sandhya Misra, Anupam Sharma, Ravi Shankar Maurya, and Krishna G. Misra
23.1 Introduction 340
23.2 Importance of Wetlands 340
23.3 Climate of Himalaya 341
23.4 Vegetation Types in the Himalayan Region 341
23.5 Wetlands as Sites for Floristic Analysis 341
23.6 Wetlands as Sites for Past Vegetation-Climate-Human Interaction 342
23.7 Conclusions 347
Acknowledgments 348
References 348

24 Investigation of Land Use/Land Cover Changes in Alaknanda River Basin, Himalaya During 1976–2020 351
Varun Narayan Mishra
24.1 Introduction 351
24.2 Materials and Methods 352
24.2.1 Study Area 352
24.2.2 Data Used 352
24.2.3 Methods 353
24.2.3.1 LULC Classification Scheme 353
24.2.3.2 LULC Change Investigation 353
24.3 Results and Discussion 353
24.3.1 LULC Status 354
24.3.2 LULC Change 354
 Contents xv

24.4 Conclusions 355

References 355

Section IV  he Arctic: The Northernmost Ocean Having the North Pole Environment and
T
Remote Sensing 357

25 Hydrological Changes in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and the Himalaya: A Synoptic View from the Cryosphere
Change Perspective 359
Shyam Ranjan, Manish Pandey, and Rahul Raj
25.1 Introduction 359
25.2 Cryosphere and Its Influence on Socio-Ecological-Economical (GLASOECO) System 360
25.2.1 Cryospheric Change and Its Influence on Agriculture and Livestock 360
25.2.2 Cryospheric Change and Its Influence on Ecosystem and Environment 361
25.2.3 Cryospheric Change and Its Influence on the Economy 362
25.2.4 Cryospheric Change as a Risk to Energy Security 362
25.3 Hydrological Changes in the Arctic and the Antarctic Regions 363
25.3.1 Hydrological Changes in the Arctic 363
25.3.2 Hydrological Changes in the Antarctic 363
25.4 Hydrological Changes in the Third Pole (Himalaya) 363
25.4.1 Runoff Flooding 364
25.4.2 Future Hydrological Change in the Third Pole 364
25.5 Conclusion 365
Acknowledgments 365
References 365

26 High-Resolution Remote Sensing for Mapping Glacier Facies in the Arctic 371
Shridhar Digambar Jawak, Sagar Filipe Wankhede, Alvarinho J. Luis, and Keshava Balakrishna
26.1 Introduction 371
26.1.1 Glacier Facies Mapping Using Multispectral Data 372
26.1.2 Image Classification 372
26.1.3 Training Samples and Operator Skill 373
26.1.4 The Test of Operator Influence 373
26.2 The Geographical Area and Geospatial Data 374
26.3 Methodology 374
26.3.1 Radiometric Calibration and Digitization 375
26.3.2 Operator Selections 376
26.3.3 Classification and Reference Point Selection 376
26.4 Results and Discussion 376
26.5 Inferences and Recommendations 378
26.6 Conclusion 378
References 378

27 Supraglacial Lake Filling Models: Examples From Greenland 381

Prateek Gantayat
27.1 Introduction 381
27.2 Methods 381
27.2.1 Supraglacial Lake FillING (SLING) 381
27.2.2 Surface Routing and Lake Filling Model (SRLF) 383
27.2.3 Surface Routing and Lake Filling With Channel Incision (SRLFCI) 384
27.3 Study Area 384
27.4 Data Used 384
27.5 Results 386
27.5.1 Results For SLING Model 386
27.5.2 Results For SRLF Model 387
27.5.3 Results For SRLFCI Model 387
27.6 Discussion 387
27.7 Conclusions 388
xvi Contents

Acknowledgments 388
References 388
28 Arctic Sea Level Change in Remote Sensing and New Generation Climate Models 390
S. Chatterjee, R.P. Raj, A. Bonaduce, and R. Davy
28.1 Introduction 390
28.2 Remote Sensing of Arctic Ocean Sea-Level Changes 390
28.3 Results and Discussion 392
28.3.1 Observed Trend and Variability 392
28.3.2 Arctic Ocean Sea Level and ­Large-Scale Atmospheric and Ocean Circulation 392
28.3.3 Arctic Ocean Sea Level in CMIP6 395
28.4 Conclusions 396
Acknowledgments 398
References 398
29 Spatio-Temporal Variations of Aerosols Over the Polar Regions Based on Satellite Remote Sensing 401
Rohit Srivastava
29.1 Introduction 401
29.2 Data and Methodology 402
29.3 Results and Discussion 403
29.3.1 Seasonal Variations of Relative Humidity (RH) Over Northern and Southern Polar Regions 403
29.3.1.1 Arctic 403
29.3.1.2 Antarctic 403
29.3.2 Seasonal Variations of Winds over Northern and Southern Polar Regions 404
29.3.2.1 Arctic 404
29.3.2.2 Antarctic 405
29.3.3 Seasonal Variations of Global Fire Activities 405
29.3.4 Aerosol Variations Over the Northern and Southern Polar Region 407
29.3.5 Seasonal Aerosol Variations Over the Northern and Southern Polar Regions 407
29.3.5.1 Arctic 407
29.3.5.2 Antarctic 408
29.4 Conclusions 409
Acknowledgments 410
References 410

Section V The Research Institutions on the “Three Poles,” Data Pools, Data Sharing Policies, Career in Polar
Science Research and Challenges 413
30 Multi-Disciplinary Research in the Indian Antarctic Programme and Its International Relevance 415
Anand K. Singh, Yogesh Ray, Shailendra Saini, Rahul Mohan, and M. Javed Beg
30.1 Introduction 415
30.2 India in the International Bodies for Antarctica 415
30.3 Multi-Disciplinary Antarctic Research in the Last Decade 416
30.4 International Relevance 417
30.5 Concluding Remarks 418
References 418
31 Indian and International Research Coordination in the Arctic 420
Archana Singh, David T. Divya, and K.P. Krishnan
31.1 The Changing Arctic and Inherited Interest 420
31.2 International Research Coordination 421
31.3 Arctic Research Coordination at the National Level 422
31.4 Coordination Among Students, Young Researchers, and Educators 424
Acknowledgments 425
Declaration of Competing Interest 425
References 425

Index 427

About the Editors
Dr Manish Pandey currently
works at the University Center
for Research & Development
(UCRD), Chandigarh University
located in Mohali, Punjab,
India. He earned his gradua-
tion (Geography honors) and
post-graduation (Geography)
from the University of
Allahabad located in
Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India. He has been awarded a
research grant as Junior Research Fellow (JRF) and Senior
Research Fellow (SRF) for carrying out his doctoral research
by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR),
Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of
India. After earning his PhD degree in the field of
Geomorphology, he has been engaged in post-doctoral
research (at different research positions) for more than five
years. His research interests are in Geography, Fluvial and
Glacial Geomorphology, Glaciology, and Remote Sensing &
Geoinformatics (GIS). Recently, he discovered his new area
of interest in the application of artificial intelligence,
machine learning, and deep learning algorithms in the
domains of natural hazards, and how their application can
be extended for exposure of land to future natural hazards.
His simple interest is in understanding the process–form
relationship in diverse environmental settings. He is an
experienced research associate with a demonstrated capabil-
ity of working in the research industry, skilled in
Cartography, Geomorphology, well versed in GIS packages
like ArcGIS, QGIS, ERDAS Imagine, and Data Analysis, and
is a strong research professional with a Doctor of Philosophy
(PhD) in Fluvial Geomorphology from Banaras Hindu
University. His exposure to glaciological field work and
xvii
training by India’s elite government institutions like the
Geological Survey of India, and geospatial training provided
to him by institutions like ISRO, has infused some very
important skills in the respected fields of research needed to
carry out this project to finality. Dr Manish has been in the
field training groups carrying out research in the study of the
Himalayan Foreland Basin deposits, ancient Neogene
Siwalik sequences and their modern analogs like the
Gangetic Foreland Basin sediments facies, to understand the
role of synsedimentary processes in the evolution of one of
the world’s most important foreland basin systems on the
planet. He has published high-quality peer reviewed
research articles in national/international scientific journals
and books including Ecological Indicators, Science of the
Total Environments, Advances in Space Research, Frontiers in
Earth Science, etc.
Dr Prem C. Pandey received
PhD from the University
of Leicester, United King­-
dom, under Commonwealth
Scholarship and Fellowship
Plan. He did his Post-Doctoral
from the Department of
Geography and Human Envi­
ronment, Faculty of Exact
Sciences, Tel Aviv University
Israel. Currently, he is working
as Assistant Professor at the School of Natural Sciences,
Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering, Shiv
Nadar Institution of Eminence (erstwhile, Shiv Nadar
University), Uttar Pradesh, India. Previously, he has been asso-
ciated with Banaras Hindu University India as a SERB-NPDF
xviii About the Editors
fellow. He received his BSc and MSc degrees (Environmental
Sciences) from Banaras Hindu University and his M.Tech
degree (Remote Sensing) from Birla Institute of Technology,
India. He has worked as a Professional Research fellow on
remote sensing applications in the National Urban Information
System funded by the NRSC Government of India. He has
been a recipient of several awards including Commonwealth
Fellow United Kingdom, INSPIRE fellow GoI, MHRD-UGC
fellow GoI, Malviya Gold Medal from Banaras Hindu
University, SERB-NPDF from the Government of India, and
Young Investigator Award. Dr Pandey is working on three pro-
jects related to Monitoring of wetlands/chilika lakes, mainly
focusing on ramsar sites along with other natural resources-
based research work funded by the NGP and SERB
Government of India. Dr Pandey is also working with science
collaborators in real-time disaster monitoring in the Himalayan
regions. He has published more than 45 peer reviewed journal
papers , 6 edited books, several book chapters, and presented
his work at national and international conferences. He is a
serving member (associate editor) of the editorial board for
Geocarto International Journal, Taylor & Francis, and acted as
guest editor for Remote Sensing, MDPI. Additionally, he is also
a member of ISG (Indian Society of Geomatics), ISRS (Indian
Society of Remote Sensing), IUCN-CEM (2017–2025), Society
of Wetland Scientists (2021–2022), SPIE, and AAG. Dr Pandey
focuses his research on remote sensing for natural resources
including forestry, agriculture, urban studies, environmental
pollutant modeling. and climate change.
Dr Yogesh Ray is presently
working as Scientist-E at
National Centre for Polar and
Ocean Research, Ministry of
Earth Sciences (Government of
India) Goa, India. He earned
his PhD from Wadia Institute
of Himalayan Geology, MoU
with HNB Garhwal University.
He has published several
papers in peer-reviewed journals and chapters in edited vol-
umes. Research interests lie in Clastic Sedimentology,
Geomorphology, Himalayan Geology, and the evolution of
the Antarctic landscape in the Pliestocene-Holocene. Actively
involved with the Indian Antarctic programme. Dr Ray par-
ticipated in the 33rd, 35th, 37th, and 40th Indian Scientific
expeditions to Antarctica (ISEA) and was entrusted with the
responsibility of “Voyage Leader” during the 37th and 40th
ISEA. He was bestowed with the Young Researcher Award
2010, Ministry of Mines, Government of India, Foundation
day best research paper award 2010–2011 from the Wadia
Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India, the Shri PV
Dehadrai Memorial Gold Medal, and Prof MS Srinivasan
Gold Medal from Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India.
Dr Aman Arora has com-
pleted his doctorate (PhD) in
Geography, specializating in
Remote Sensing (RS) and
Geographic Information
System (GIS) and has more
than twelve years experience
in different public and pri-
vate organizations. He also
holds a master’s degree as
well as a postgraduate diploma in RS & GIS. Dr Aman
Arora has core expertise in change detection analysis,
urban planning, network analysis, flood frequency analy-
sis, hydrometeorological trend analysis, and spatial mode-
ling. His current research interests are in the fields of risk
map analysis for different natural hazards by utilizing sat-
ellite images and advanced statistical algorithms including
machine learning models in GIS environment. He had
received awards and travel grants from different organiza-
tions/institutes of international repute such as the National
Science Foundation, USA; United Nations Office for Outer
Space Affairs, Vienna, Austria; Council of Scientific
Industrial Research, India; and Sun Yat-sen University,
China; for research work presentations, participation in
conferences, and training programs.
In his current role as a Scientific Officer/Scientist (RS &
GIS) at Bihar Mausam Sewa Kendra, Planning &
Development Department, Government of Bihar, Dr Aman
Arora is leading his team in providing support to others by
performing accurate and timely delivery of weather maps to
the stakeholders and officials for Bihar. Also, he and his team
are actively involved in monitoring, assessment, and forecast
of hydrological extreme events (floods/droughts) and mete-
orological extreme events (heat waves/cold waves).
In addition to his professional and academic achieve-
ment, Dr Aman Arora is an active International Rated
Chess Player recognized by The Fédération Internationale
des Échecs (FIDE), Switzerland.
Dr Shridhar D. Jawak is
­currently working as a Senior
Adviser in Remote Sensing at
the Svalbard Integrated Arctic
Earth Observing System (SIOS),
Longyearbyen, Norway. He is
on the advisory/evaluation
board of three European pro-
jects focusing on Earth obser-
vation activities. He has
chaired more than 14 ses-
sions in international conferences, published more than 40
peer-reviewed articles, and presented more than 100

conference presentations in the past 12 years. He has par-
ticipated in three summer expeditions to Antarctica and
one field campaign to Svalbard during his doctoral
research. He has acted as a co-principal investigator (Co-
PI) of four projects peer-reviewed by national referees. He
has guided/co-guided around 90 master’s students for their
master’s thesis/summer training projects in the field of
Earth observation and Remote Sensing in Polar Regions.
He is the recipient of five prestigious awards/fellowships:
1) Emerging leadership grant: 2022 by the Arctic Frontiers;
2) International Mentorship Award: 2021 by the Association
of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS); 3) Indian
National Geospatial Award: 2018 by the Indian Society of
Remote Sensing (ISRS); 4) International Arctic Science
Committee (IASC) Fellow: 2017; and (5) Recipient of
Young Geospatial Scientist: 2017 by the Geospatial World
Forum. His research interests include remote sensing of
the cryosphere, specifically focusing on the usage of multi-
satellite (SAR/Optical/LiDAR) and airborne data for spati-
otemporal changes in the cryosphere of the Arctic,
Antarctic, and Himalayas.
Professor Uma Kant Shukla
is currently an Alexander von
Humboldt Fellow at the
Center for Advanced Study in
Geology, Institute of Science,
Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi. He is a sedimentolo-
gist with 30 years of doctoral
and postdoctoral research
experience. His research inter-
est hinges on facies analysis of ancient and modern deposits
of fluvial, marine, and lake origin. For more than one decade,
he has been using modern tools such as architectural ele-
ment analysis, palaeocurrent, trace fossil, etc., in the study of
the Himalayan Foreland Basin deposits, including ancient
Neogene Siwalik sequences and modern Gangetic Foreland
Basin sediments to generate facies models for various
About the Editors xix
depositional domains, and to evaluate the role of synsedi-
mentary tectonics and palaeoclimate influencing the mode
of sedimentation through Neogene-Quaternary times. Study
of modern fluvial processes has been helpful to understand
the river dynamics in the past. The incised valley system of
Gangetic Plain Rivers has also been compared to the Stuttgart
Formation (Carnian, Late Triassic) of Germany, which is
believed to have been formed under similar climatic settings.
Palaeolake deposits of Ladakh and paleoflood sediments
have been investigated and the interpretation of palaeocli-
mate and tectonic evolution of the Trans-Himalayan terrain.
Glacial history of the Suru-sub-Basin of Kashmir Himalaya
has been studied and an inventory of paleoclimatic response
of glaciers has been proposed.
Recently, it has been realized that Geoarchaeological
studies of ancient settlements may have societal implica-
tions and can help masses to understand existing myths
and traditions in a more scientific way. Therefore, a col-
laborative attempt has been made involving experts from
the Archaeology and Geography Departments of BHU to
unravel the settlement history of Varanasi city and its pos-
sible evolution with the dynamics of River Ganga through
the ages. This work has resulted in an authored book titled
Varanasi and Ganga, published by Aryan Books
International, New Delhi. Study of the Cretaceous Lameta
and Bagh Formation of Central India, Precambrian
sequences of Kumaun Lesser Himalaya, and the Vindhyan
basin has helped to understand the processes of sedimenta-
tion, facies models, and palaeogeographic reconstruction
of these basins. The Permian-Triassic Boundary in Spiti
Himalaya has been studied and a major catastrophe has
been deduced.
Professor Shukla has, to his credit, authored more than
90 national and international peer reviewed papers, book
chapters, and has presented his research findings in differ-
ent conferences and seminars, both in India and abroad.
He has been a member of expert committees in MoES,
Government of India, and SERB, a statutory body under
the Department of Science and Technology, Government
of India.
xx
Notes on Contributors
Avinash Kumar Pandey
Department of Chemistry, GLA University, Chaumuhan,
Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, India
Email ID: avinash.pandey@gla.ac.in
Benidhar Deshmukh
Discipline of Geology, School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi
National Open University, New Delhi, India.
Email ID: bdeshmukh@ignou.ac.in
Maneesh Kuruvath
Kuruvath House, Muttathukulangara, Vellikulangara P.O
Thrissur, Kerala, India
Email ID: maneeshkuruvath@gmail.com
Manish Pandey
University Center for Research & Development (UCRD),
Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India
Email ID: manish07sep@gmail.com
Rahul Devrani
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun-248001,
India; University School of Environment Management,
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Delhi, India
Email ID: rahuldevrani18@gmail.com
Rahul Mohan
ESSO National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: rahulmohan@ncpor.res.in; rahulmohan@
ncpor.res.in
Rohit Kumar
Discipline of Geology, School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi
National Open University, New Delhi, India.
Email ID: rohitkumargeologist@gmail.com
Romulus Costache
Department of Civil Engineering, Transilvania University
of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Email ID: romuluscostache2000@yahoo.com; romulus.
costache@icub.unibuc.ro
Satarupa Mitra
University Center for Research & Development (UCRD),
Chandigarh University, Mohali, Punjab, India
Email ID: ruupa86@gmail.com
Yogesh Ray
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: yogeshray@gmail.com; yogesh@ncpor.res.in
Aditya Mishra
Hemvati Nandan Bahuguda Garhwal University,
Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India
Email ID: mishraaditya557@gmail.com
Aljasil Chirakkal
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Mohali, Manauli, Punjab, India
Email ID: jasilchirakkal@gmail.com
Alvarinho J. Luis
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: alvjuis@gmail.com
Aman Arora
Bihar Mausam Seva Kendra, Planning and Development
Department, Government of Bihar, Patna, Bihar, India
Email ID: aman.jmi01@gmail.com

Ambili Anoop
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Mohali, Manauli, Punjab, India
Email ID: anoop.ambili85@gmail.com
Anand K. Singh
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, Headland Sada,
Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: singhaaks@gmail.com; aks@ncpor.res.in
Anant Pande
Department of Endangered Species Management, Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehra Dūn, India
Email ID: anantpande1984@gmail.com; anant@wii.gov.in
Anil Kumar
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun,
India
Email ID: anilwihg@gmail.com
Antonio Bonaduce
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre, Norway
Email ID: Antonio.Bonaduce@nersc.no
Anupam Sharma
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, India
Email ID: anupam110367@gmail.com
Archana Singh
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Govt. of India, Headland Sada,
Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: archanasingh@ncpor.res.in; archana.
singh199101@gmail.com
Ashutosh Venkatesh Prasad
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: venkatesh.ashu@gmail.com
Astha Dangwal
Discipline of Geology, School of Sciences, Indira Gandhi
National Open University, New Delhi, India.
Email ID: asthamahima@gmail.com
Avinash Kumar
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry
of Earth Sciences (Govt. of India) Headland Sada, Vasco-
da-Gama, Goa, India; India & Department of Geography,
University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
Email ID: avinash@ncaor.gov.in; kumaravinash13@
gmail.com
Notes on Contributors xxi
Chandra Prakash Singh
Department of Endangered Species Management, Wildlife
Institute of India, Dehra Dūn, India
Email ID: cpsingh@sac.isro.gov.in
Devendra Singh
Botanical Survey of India, Acharya Jagadish Chndra Bose
Indian, Botanic Garden, Howrah, India
Email ID: singhdrds@rediffmail.com
Devojit Bezbaruah
Department of Applied Geology, Dibrugarh University,
Dibrugarh, Assam, India
Email ID: devojit.bezbaruah@gmail.com
Divya David T.
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa
Email ID: divya@ncpor.res.in
Giribabu Dandabathula
Regional Remote Sensing Centre (West), NRSC, Indian
Space Research Organization, Jodhpur, India
Email ID: dgb.isro@gmail.com
Harish Chandra Nainwal
Hemvati Nandan Bahuguda Garhwal University,
Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India
Email ID: nainwalhc@yahoo.co.in
Jagriti Mishra
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi, India; Civil Engineering Research
Institute for Cold Region, Sapporo,
Japan
Email ID: jagritimp@gmail.com
Juhi Yadav
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: juhi@ncpor.res.in
K. P. Krishnan
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: kpkrishnan@gmail.com
Kasturi Mukherjee
Associate Professor, Department of Geography, Adamas
University, Kolkata. India
Email ID: kasturi.mukherjee@adamasuniversity.ac.in
xxii Notes on Contributors
Keshava Balakrishna
Department of Civil Engineering, Manipal Institute of
Technology, Manipal Academy of Higher Education,
Manipal, Karnataka, India
Email ID: k.balakrishna@manipal.edu
Kiledar Singh Tomar
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: kdsingh108@hotmail.com; kiledarsingh108@
gmail.com
Kiran Singh
Department of Geography, Central University of Punjab,
Bathinda, Punjab, India
Email ID: kiran.singhgeo@gmail.com; kiran.singh@cup.
edu.in
KN Prudhvi Raju
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Email ID: knpraju1954@gmail.com
Krishna G. Misra
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53-University
Road, Lucknow, India
Email ID: kg_misra@bsip.res.in
M. Javed Beg
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: javed.beg@gmail.com; mjbeg@ncpor.res.in
Mallikarjun Mishra
Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India
Email ID: mallikarjungeobhu2016@gmail.com
Mehta Bulbul
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Mohali, Manauli, Punjab, India
Email ID: bulbulmehta11@gmail.com
Mondip Sarma
Department of Applied Geology, Dibrugarh University,
Dibrugarh, Assam, India
Email ID: mondip_sarma@yahoo.com
Neelam Verma
Amity School of Earth & Environment Sciences, Amity
Education Valley Gurugram, Manesar, Panchgaon,
Haryana, India
Email ID: neeelverma@gmail.com
Nguyen Thuy Linh
Institute of Applied Technology, Thu Dau Mot University,
Binh Duong Province, Vietnam
Email ID: nguyenthuylinh@tdmu.edu.vn
Nivedita Mehrotra
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow,
India
Email ID: nivedita_mehrotra23@hotmail.com
ON Bhargava
Honorary Professor, Geology Department, Panjab
University, Chandigarh, INSA Honorary Scientist
Email ID: onbhargava@gmail.com
Parv Kasana
Department of Geology, University of Delhi, Chattra
Marg, Delhi, India
Email ID: kasanaparv009@gmail.com
Prabhat Ranjan
Central Pollution Control Board, Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Parivesh
Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar, Shahdara, Delhi,
India
Email ID: prabhatranjan.jnu@gmail.com
Pradeep Srivastava
Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee; Wadia Institute
of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India
Email ID: pradeep71s@rediffmail.com
Prateek Gantayat
Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster
University, UK
Email ID: gantayat.prateek@ymail.com
Pratik Dash
Assistant Professor, Department of Geography, Khejuri
College, West Bengal, India
Email ID: pratik.bidyut@gmail.com
Praveen K. Mishra
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun,
Uttarakhand, India
Email ID: pk.geobhu@gmail.com
Prem Chandra Pandey
Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering
(CESE), School of Natural Sciences (SoNS), Shiv Nadar
Institution of Eminence, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Uttar
Pradesh, Delhi, India
Email ID: prem26biT@gmail.com

Prodip Mandal
Department of Geography, Cooch Behar Panchanan
Barma University, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India
R. Shankar
The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, Tamil
Nādu, India
Email ID: shankar@imsc.res.in; shankar.chennai@gmail.
com
Rahul Devrani
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun, India;
University School of Environment Management, Guru
Gobind Singh Indraprastha University Delhi, India
Email ID: rahuldevrani18@gmail.com
Rahul Raj
Centre for Korean Studies, School of Language, Literature
& Culture Studies Jawaharlal Nehru University, New
Delhi, India
Email ID: rahulrajkorean@gmail.com
Ravi S. Maurya
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University
Road, Lucknow, India
Email ID: ravishankarmaurya94@gmail.com
Richard Davy
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre,
Norway
Email ID: Richard.Davy@nersc.no
Rohit Srivastava
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: rohits@ncpor.res.in; rohitphy@gmail.com
Roshin P. Raj
Nansen Environmental and Remote Sensing Centre,
Norway
Email ID: roshin.raj@nersc.no
Saeid Janizadeh
Department of Watershed Management Engineering and
Sciences, Faculty in Natural Resources and Marine Science,
Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Email ID: janizadehsaeid@modares.ac.ir
Sagar F. Wankhede
Department of Geoinformatics, Mangalore University,
Mangalore, Karnataka, India
Email ID: swankhede436@gmail.com
Notes on Contributors xxiii
Sajeed Zaman Borah
Techno Canada Inc., Barmer, Rajasthan, India
Email ID: sajeedborah28@gmail.com
Sandhya Misra
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences, 53 University
Road, Lucknow, India
Email ID: sandhyabsip@gmail.com; sandhya.sharma@
bsip.res.in
Sangita Kumari
Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of
Technology Bombay, Powai, Maharashtra,
India
Email ID: singh.sangita15@gmail.com
Santosh K. Shah
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences,
Lucknow, India
Email ID: santoshkumar_shah@bsip.res.in
Shailendra Saini
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama,
Goa, India
Email ID: shailendra.saini@gmail.com; shailendra@ncpor.res.in
Shraban Sarkar
Department of Geography, Cooch Behar Panchanan Barma
University, Cooch Behar, West Bengal, India
Email ID: shraban.sarkar@yahoo.com
Shridhar D. Jawak
Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System
(SIOS), SIOS Knowledge Centre, Longyearbyen, Svalbard,
Norway
Email ID: shridhar.jawak@gmail.com
Sukumar Parida
Physical Research Laboratory, Navrangpura, Ahmedabad,
India
Email ID: paridasukumar@gmail.com
Shyam Ranjan
School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru
University, New Delhi, India
Email ID: shyamrockranjan@gmail.com
Siddhi Garg
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun,
Uttarakhand, India
Email ID: g.siddhi86@gmail.com
xxiv Notes on Contributors
Som Dutt
Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology, Dehradun,
Uttarakhand, India
Email ID: somduttmudgil1@gmail.com
Sourav Chatterjee
National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry
of Earth Sciences (Government of India) Headland Sada,
Vasco-da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: sourav@ncpor.res.in
Surajit Ghosh
International Water Management Institute, Colombo, Sri Lanka
Email ID: surajitghosh.ind@gmail.com
Swathi M.
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: mswathi@ncpor.res.in
Takuya Inoue
Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region,
Sapporo, Japan
Email ID: inouetakuya@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Tapos Kumar Goswami
Department of Applied Geology, Dibrugarh University,
Dibrugarh, Assam, India
Email ID: taposgoswami@gmail.com
Uday Sharama
ESSO-National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research,
Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India,
Headland Sada, Vasco-Da-Gama, Goa, India
Email ID: uday@ncaor.gov.in; udaysharmaofficial@
gmail.com
Uma Kant Shukla
Center for Advanced Study in Geology, Institute of
Science, Banaras Hindu University,
Varanasi, India
Email ID: shukla_umakant@yahoo.com
Upendra Baral
Key Laboratory of Continental Collision and Plateau
Uplift, Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research, Chinese
Academy of Sciences, Beijing China; Kathmandu Center
for Research and Education,
Chinese Academy of Sciences, Tribhuvan University,
Kirtipur
Email ID: upendrabaral@gmail.com
Uttam Pandey
1-Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences,
Lucknow-226007, India; 2-Graduate School of
Environmental Studies, Nagoya University,
Nagoya, Japan
Email ID: uttampandeygeo@gmail.com
Varun Narayan Mishra
Centre for Climate Change and Water Research (C3WR),
Suresh Gyan Vihar University,
Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Email ID: varun9686@gmail.com
Yadav Ankit
Indian Institute of Science Education and Research
Mohali, Manauli, Punjab, India
Email ID: ankitvrishm22@gmail.com

Foreword
The polar regions of the world comprise the Antarctic, the
Arctic, and the regions of Hindukush-Karakorum-Himalaya-
Tibet jointly referred to as the three poles of our planet. These
distinct geographical locations, separated from each other
are the natural laboratories of the earth to study and quantify
the effects of climate change. Additionally, the regions of the
three poles are remote and have extreme conditions, and pos-
sess challenges to study in detail. With the advent of satellites
and remote sensing technology, these regions can be studied
like never before.
This book provides the latest information about the
techniques, advances, and wide-ranging applications of
remote sensing on all three poles. The degradation of
polar ice sheets and the Himalayan glaciers to natural
xxv
and anthropogenic forcing on local, regional, and global
scales is elucidated in dedicated chapters. Additionally,
chapters related to flora and fauna, landscape changes,
and multidisciplinary research activities undertaken at
Indian research stations in the Antarctic and Arctic are
also briefly touched up.
All the editors have done a commendable task to pool up
the present understanding related to the recent advances in
the field of remote sensing along with the case studies from
the experts and the leading scholars. I am sure the book will
serve a useful purpose for academicians, researchers, and
students.
M. Ravichandran
xxvi
Preface
Poles are the most sensitive to climate change and their
impacts on different components of the earth system in
the polar regions are becoming prominently more visible.
Owing to the intense focus of the research community on
the study in all the three polar regions, and the allocation
of proportionately high funds for research by interna-
tional and national organizations of various countries in
these sensitive regions of our planet, we now have a bet-
ter understanding of the three pole environments.
While working on a theme paper that involved the
Himalayas, the Arctic, and the Antarctic, members of the
present group of editors have noticed that, though there
is an abundance of research work going on in different
spheres of the three poles using geospatial data and tech-
nology, it is dispersed and not compiled. And also, there
is a dearth of books that systematically account for
research works relating to themes on any of the spheres
of our planet, such as remote sensing technology. Aiming
at filling that gap, we, in this publication, seek to provide
an insight into advancements in geospatial techniques,
relating to multidisciplinary study of the three poles,
namely Antarctica, the Arctic, and the Himalayas. This
book provides both traditional as well as advanced geo-
spatial techniques used in lithospheric, atmospheric,
hydrospheric, biospheric, and anthropospheric contexts
of the three poles along with their strengths, limitations,
and gap areas.
The importance of this book is also because there is
­geological evidence that proves the existence of several
supercontinents like Columbia, Rodinia, Pangea, and
Gondwana, which provide clues about the connectedness
of all the continental landmasses at some points in time of
the history of planet Earth. This book brings together
research works on different aspects of all the spheres of all
the three poles into one place. Even though the breaking
up of the most recent supercontinent Pangea and the
drifting away of continents have created the present-day
Himalayas, the Arctic, and Antarctica, they are connected
through different subsystems like atmospheric and ocean-
ographic components. The two distinctive poles, the North
Pole and the South Pole of our planet, are situated in the
Arctic and Antarctica respectively. Whereas the Arctic is
an ocean surrounded by continents, in contrast, Antarctica
is a continent surrounded by oceans and due to its immense
altitude and being the youngest orogeny on Earth, the
Himalaya is fondly referred to as the third pole. Not only
are these landmasses peculiar in their own physical, cli-
matic, and ecosystem components, but are interconnected
by the teleconnections of the atmosphere, hydrosphere,
lithosphere, biosphere, and cryosphere through different
feedback systems.
Recent developments in satellite remote sensing,
­geoinformatics, and landscape evolution modeling tech-
niques have made it possible to trace the harsh effects of
climate change on the three poles, two of them being the
icy continent surrounded by oceans and the partially fro-
zen ocean surrounded by continents. The increased reso-
lution of the satellite data has aided in the quantification
of ever-changing landforms and surface processes. This
book attempts to understand the subtle link between cli-
mate change and its effects on the cryospheric and
related processes. There are a total of five subsections in
the book that aim to include chapters dealing with the
Quaternary geology and geomorphology of Antarctica,
Arctic, and the Himalaya, GPS, geodesy, geodynamics,
glacier monitoring, glacier dynamics, sea–ice interaction
with the continent, hydrology aquatic and terrestrial
­floral and faunal dynamics, etc., depending upon the
­availability of contributions and the book size-related
constraints.
The five sections, Section I to Section V, comprise ­original
and review research articles on various aspects of our

planet’s systems under the boundaries of the three poles
regions. Section I, entitled “Earth Observation (EO) and
Remote Sensing (RS) Applications in Polar Studies”
includes six chapters that encompass a critical review of
past, present, and future satellite missions, their data char-
acterizes, and availability; data accuracy assessments, and
various software packages, tools, add-ons for morphometry
and landscape evolution modeling; and finally reviews of
various spectral indices used for identification and assess-
ment of the health of respective elements of identification
(EOI) for all the spheres of our planet, such as lithosphere,
hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and anthroposphere.
Section II of this book has five chapters dedicated to
“Antarctica: The Southernmost Continent having the
South Pole, Environment and Remote Sensing” dealing
with glacial dynamics, terrestrial quaternary deglaciation,
Antarctic biodiversity relating to geospatial technology,
prospects of Bryophytes in the Larsemann Hills, and sea-
ice variability relating to physical forcing. Section III,
focusing on “Himalayas: The Third Pole Environment and
Remote Sensing” has 13 chapters covering all the spheres,
i.e., lithosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere, atmosphere, and
anthroposphere. In Section IV, five chapters on “The
Arctic: The Northernmost Ocean Having the North Pole
Environment and Remote Sensing” focus on gaps in polar
research, glacier facies evaluation with high-resolution sat-
ellite products, supraglacial lakes impact on Greenland Ice
Sheets dynamics, and aerosol variation over space and time
Preface xxvii
in the polar regions. The last section, Section V, has two
chapters covering research collaboration efforts among
national and international polar research organizations,
and an overview of the multi-disciplinarity of the National
Antarctic Programs of India.
Since the book covers a very wide spectrum of the
research scope, we could not include chapters on all the
aspects of all the spheres of the three poles. For example,
there is an absence of chapters on lithospheric, atmos-
pheric, and anthropospheric contexts in Section II dealing
with Antarctic Environments. Similarly, Section IV lacks
chapters on topics falling within the lithosphere, bio-
sphere, and anthroposphere. Though Himalayan environ-
ments are dealt with in Section III that also covers chapters
on all the five spheres, there is great scope for including
quality chapters on different specific topics, e.g., relating
modeling and remote sensing of different elements of
those five systems of our planet. Hopefully, these topics
will be covered in separate books under this special series
called “Advancements in Remote Sensing Technology and
The Three Poles.”
Dr Manish Pandey
Dr Prem Chandra Pandey
Dr Yogesh Ray
Dr Aman Arora
Dr Shridhar D. Jawak
Prof Uma Kant Shukla
xxviii

List of Acronyms

Chapter 1 EI: Error Index

TPR: Third Pole Region ERDAS: Earth Resources Data Analysis System
NPR: Northern Polar Region GCP: Ground Control Point
SPR: Southern Polar Region GPS: Global Positioning System
AMOC: Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation ICESat:Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite
ENSO: El Niño Southern Oscillation IDEM: Intermediate Digital Elevation Model
EMS: Electromagnetic Spectrum InSAR: Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar
RADAR: Radio Detection and Ranging JAROS: Japan Resources Observation System Organization
HFT: Himalayan Frontal Thrust JAXA: Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
GEE: Google Earth Engine LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging
MHD: Mahalanobis Distance classifier LPS: Leica Photogrammetric Suite
MAE: Mean Absolute Error
Chapter 2 ME: Mean Error
EO: Earth Observation MERIT: Multi Error Removed Improved-Terrain
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration METI: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry
HEO: High Earth Orbit PALSAR: Phased Array L-band Synthetic Aperture Radar
GSO: Geosynchronous Orbit PPP: Public Private Partnership
LEO: Low Earth Orbit RMSE: Root Mean Square Error
GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment RPC: Rational Polynomial Coefficient
ICESat: Ice, Cloud, and land Elevation Satellite RTC: Radiometric Terrain Correction
RTK-GNSS: Real Time Kinematic-Global Navigation
Chapter 3 Satellite System
ALOS: Advance Land Observing Satellite SAR: Synthetic Aperture Radar
ASF: Alaska Satellite Facility SOI: Survey of India
ASTER GDEM: Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission SPI: Stream Power Index
and Reflection Radiometer Global Digital Elevation Model SRTM: Shuttle Radar Topography Mission
DEM: Digital Elevation Model TWI: Topographic Wetness Index
DGM: Digital Ground Model UTM: Universal Transverse Mercator
DGPS: Differential Global Positioning System WGS: World Geodetic System
DHM: Digital Height Model
DSM: Digital Surface Model Chapter 4
DTM: Digital Terrain Model GIS: Geographical Information System
EGM: Earth Gravitational Model DEM: Digital Elevation Model
 List of Acronyms  xxix

GUI: Graphical User Interface SAR: Synthetic Aperture Radar

LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging SLC: Single Look Complex
ALM: ACME-Accelerated Climate Modeling for Energy
TAK: Topographic Analysis Toolkit Chapter 8
ITC: Inter Tropical Convergence LGM: Last Glacial Maximum
ILWIS: Integrated Land and Water Information System EAIS: Eastern Antarctic Ice Sheet
CERL: Construction Engineering and Research Ka: Kilo years
Laboratory Ma: Million Years
TAS: Terrain Analysis System BP: Before Present
SAGA: System for Automated Geoscientific Analyses CRN: Cosmogenic Radionuclides
TIN: Triangular Irregular Network OSL: Optically Stimulated Luminescence
TAPES: Terrain Analysis Programs for Environmental DML: Dronning Maud Land
Sciences MIS: Marine Isotope Stage

Chapter 5 Chapter 9
LEM: Landscape Evolution Modeling APIS: Antarctic Pack Ice Seal program
GEM: Global Environmental Monitoring CMFRI: Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute
TIN: Triangular Irregular Network CSIR: Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
ERDAS: Earth Resources Data Analysis System
Chapter 6 ESRI: Environmental Systems Research Institute
LiDAR: Light Detection and Ranging ETM: Enhanced Thematic Mapper
UAVs: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles/Uncrewed Aerial GIS: Geographic Information System
Vehicles MLC: Maximum Likelihood Classification
VIS: Visible NIO: National Institute of Oceanography
NIR: Near Infra-Red/Near Infrared OBIS: Ocean Biodiversity Information System
MIR: Middle Infrared RPAS: Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems
RS: Remote Sensing SPOT: Satellite pour l’Observation de la Terre
EO: Earth Observation UAS: Unmanned Aerial System
SPOT: Satellite Pour l’Observation de la Terre UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
RADAR: Radio Detection and Ranging VHR: Very High Resolution
MODIS: Moderate Resolution Imaging VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing
Spectroradiometer WII: Wildlife Institute of India
LAI: Leaf Area Index
EoD: Elements of Detection Chapter 10
BSIP: Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeobotany
Chapter 7 CAL: Central National Herbarium
AIS: Antarctic Ice Sheet GSI: Geological Survey of India
ASTER: Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and IITM: Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology
Reflection Radiometer KM: Kilometer
COMNAP: Council of Managers of National Antarctic KV: Kilowatt
Programs LH: Larsemann Hills
DEM: Digital Elevation Model NCPOR: National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research
DInSAR: Differential SAR Interferometry NHO: National Hydrographic Office
EAIS: East Antarctic Ice Sheet OS: Schirmacher Oasis
GCP: Ground Control Point SAC: Space Application Centre
GRD: Ground Range Detected SEM: Scanning Electron Microscope
HH: Horizontal transmit and horizontal receive SOI: Survey of India
InSAR: Interferometric SAR WII: Wildlife Institute of India
IW: Interferometric Wide
MIMC: Multi Image Multi Chip Chapter 11
PRG: Polar Record Glacier ACW: Antarctic Circumpolar Wave
PS-InSAR: Permanent Scatterer Interferometry AMJ: April, May, June
REMA: Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica AT: Air Temperature
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
opening the flap without leaving a trace, but the task was
accomplished at last.
“Now!” he exclaimed, his face flushed and his eyes gleaming, “we’ll
see what this great message is all about!”
From the envelope he took several sheets of parchmentlike paper,
which were covered with writing. Then, by the light of the lamp, he
settled himself to read the message that had never been intended for
other eyes than those of Frank Merriwell.
As Packard read he showed signs of surprise. At first he whistled
softly, then he uttered an exclamation, and at last he exclaimed
aloud:
“Well, by Jove! this is interesting!”
When he had finished reading, he started up, exclaiming:
“Frank Merriwell’s fate is in my hands! Almighty goodness! What a
ten-strike! With the aid of this I can turn him out into the world a
pauper! Roland Packard, this is the greatest piece of work you ever
did. Five hundred dollars! Why, this is worth five million dollars!”
He was wildly excited, and could hardly repress wild shouts of joy.
Indeed, he executed a savage dance of exultation.
“At last!” he panted. “Now I am able to obtain revenge for every
injury Merriwell has done me! Oh, but my revenge will be a sweet
one!”
The rascal was so excited and interested that he again read the
wonderful message from beginning to end.
“Now,” he said, “to fool Mescal first. He must pay me the five
hundred, for I need it.”
There was some writing-paper on a table near. He took several
sheets, folded them, and thrust them into the envelope from which
the message had been removed. Then he stuck down the flap with
care and brought out his sealing-wax and the ring he had purchased.
Removing the chimney from the lamp, he heated the wax in the
flame and dropped it on exactly the spot where the original seal had
been. At the proper time he pressed the ring on the wax, and an
exact reproduction of the first seal was made.
Packard surveyed his work with pride, examining it closely to see if a
casual observer could detect that the envelope had been tampered
with.
“It’s all right,” he decided. “I’ll defy anybody to tell that it has been
opened. Oh, I’m a clever devil! Mr. Merriwell is in the midst of his
glory now, but he shall go out from Yale a beggar! If he only knew!
Some time he shall know. When it is too late, I’ll tell him all, and that
shall be my triumph.”
Then he set about fixing the other envelope, into which he placed the
message, sticking down the flap and putting on the seal.
“All that is necessary is to soil it a little,” he said. “Then it will be
exactly like the original. No—by George, no!”
He had turned the original envelope and seen the writing upon it.
“Well,” muttered the fellow, after a few moments. “I’m rather clever at
imitating handwriting, so I’ll see what I can do in this case.”
Finding pen and ink, he set about the task. At first he imitated on a
sheet of paper the writing on the original envelope. The first trial was
not perfectly satisfactory, so he made another attempt.
“There,” he said, as he examined it, “if I can do as well as that on the
envelope it will be a first-class job.”
Without delay he set at work on the envelope, and the result was
greatly to his liking.
“It’s all right,” he decided, as he blotted it. “I believe it would fool
Merriwell himself.”
He destroyed the sheet on which he had been practising, and then
placed the envelope containing the message in his pocket, where it
would be safe.
“Now to get the five hundred!” he laughed, as he picked up the other
envelope. “Hamlet’s ghost! but won’t Mr. Anton Mescal be hot under
the collar when he opens this and finds nothing but blank paper in it!”
There was a slight sound at the door. A key turned in the lock, and
Packard leaped to his feet, turning in time to see the door swing
open. Quick as a flash, he thrust the envelope into his pocket.
Oliver Packard stepped into the room.
“You?” exclaimed Roland.
“Yes!” said Oliver.
He stepped in, closed the door, and locked it.
“Why the devil are you here?” snarled Roland.
“To find you,” said Oliver quietly.
“What do you want of me?”
“I want that message.”
“What message?”
“The one you snatched from Merriwell.”
“What ails you? Are you nutty?”
“Hand it over!” commanded Oliver.
“You go die!” sneered Roland. “You’re silly.”
“I am here to take it, and I shall,” declared Oliver.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“What did you put in your pocket just as I entered?”
“None of your business!”
“I know what it was.”
“Then if you know so much, why do you ask me?”
“It was the message.”
“What are you giving me about a message?”
“It’s no use to play innocent with me, Roll.”
Roland uttered a savage exclamation.
“You get out of here!” he cried, taking a step.
Oliver did not stir.
“I’ll go when you give me what I am after,” he said.
“I’ll give it to you—in the neck!”
“Roll,” said Oliver quietly, “you can’t bluff me. I know you snatched a
message from Frank Merriwell’s hand to-night, and you have it with
you. I was accused, but Merriwell believed me on my word of honor.”
“That’s more than he would me,” said Roland, with a harsh laugh.
“You have only yourself to blame if no one will believe your word of
honor,” said Oliver.
“Sermon, is it?” cried the other. “You’re always preaching nowadays,
Oll.”
“It’s no sermon now, for I have no time to waste.”
“I’m glad of it. Get out and let me alone.”
“I shall not go till I get what I came for. I will clear myself of suspicion,
and I will restore to Merriwell what rightfully belongs to him.”
“You’ve tackled a big job.”
“I shall do it.”
“How?”
“Somehow—anyhow. You have disgraced me time and again, Roll,
and I have stood it for mother’s sake. She loves you more than she
does me, and——”
“Oh, cut it out! You’ve told me this before.”
“But for me you would have broken her heart already.”
“Good little Oliver! he was his mammy’s precious boy!” mocked Roll.
“Oh, you make me sick!”
“You know what I say is true. But for me you would have been
expelled in disgrace before this. I have saved you when Frank
Merriwell was ready to punish you for your wrong-doing. How have
you repaid me! To-day you have done something that has filled me
with intense shame and humiliation. Yet I do not believe you care a
snap.”
“What’s the use?”
“Ingrate!” panted Oliver, aroused.
“Bah!” returned the other, snapping his fingers.
Oll advanced into the room, his eyes flashing.
“Before this I have shouldered the blame that you should have
taken,” he cried. “Your actions have caused me to be dropped by my
best friends, with the exception of Merriwell. Your actions caused me
to lose my chance of making the nine again this year. I have endured
all that I can. The limit is reached.”
“Now what?”
“I’m going to cut clear from you.”
“I’m glad of it!”
“But first I am going to restore that stolen message to Merriwell.”
“Are you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, go ahead.”
Roland was defiant.
“Give it to me!” panted Oliver, his hands clenched, while he trembled
in every limb. “I demand it!”
“Well, you’ll have to demand. You won’t get it.”
“You can’t get out without giving it to me, Roll,” asserted Oliver
grimly, as he now advanced upon his brother.
“What do you think you are going to do?” demanded the young
rascal. “Don’t make an idiot of yourself!”
Oliver clutched his brother by the collar.
“Give it up!” he commanded. “I’ll take it if I have to strip your clothes
off to do so.”
Roland laughed defiantly. Then he suddenly broke Oliver’s hold and
struck the hand of his brother aside.
A moment later Oliver flew at Roland with terrible fury, grasping him
by the throat.
Then began a desperate encounter between the brothers. Roland
found Oliver desperate and determined. For at least ten minutes they
fought, and at last Oliver had thrown his brother to the floor and
pinned him there. Then he thrust his hand into Roland’s pocket and
drew out the envelope that the youthful villain had prepared to
deceive Anton Mescal.
“I have it!” exclaimed Oliver triumphantly.
“Well, keep it!” grated Roland, inwardly delighted over the fact that
the message was safe and Oliver was deceived. “Let me up! You
ought to be satisfied.”
Having put the letter in his pocket, Oliver quickly leaped to his feet
and backed away, saying:
“I am satisfied in getting the message, but I’d had it even though you
had forced me to kill you!”
“You’re a nice one!” snapped Roland, sitting up. “You’re a fine
brother to have!”
“I can return the compliment with interest. But never again will I
shoulder any of your wrong-doing, Roland. If you get into a bad
scrape in the future through your actions, you must not look to me for
assistance.”
“Oh, I won’t! Don’t worry about that. After to-night we are no longer
brothers! You are my enemy!”
“I have been your best friend. You have made your choice by your
conduct.”
Oliver had retreated to the door, still watching Roland, who now
laughed and said:
“Get out if you want to; I sha’n’t try to stop you. I’ll not fight again
over that old message. I don’t believe it amounts to anything,
anyhow.”
Oliver unlocked the door cautiously, for he did not trust Roland, even
then.
“I shall tell Merriwell the truth,” he said, “and I shall not ask him to let
you off without punishment, as I have in the past. He may punish you
or not, as he chooses. If he does not, it will be because he is the soul
of generosity.”
Then he opened the door and disappeared quickly, closing it behind
him.
Roland Packard laughed in noiseless triumph.
“Go it, you fool!” he whispered. “I have the message, and you have
nothing but an envelope containing a lot of blank paper. I’d like to
see Merriwell’s face when he opens that envelope!”
 CHAPTER V.
CELEBRATION OF THE OLD GRADS.

The celebration was in progress. Frank Merriwell, with Inza Burrage

at his side, was watching the fun from Vanderbilt. Frank’s heart was
troubled because of the loss of the message, but his face was
smiling.
The class of ’Umpty-six was celebrating its silver-wedding. Twenty-
five years had passed since these hilarious old grads received their
sheepskins. They were back in force, and they had set out to make
things lively.
The great dinner at Heibs’ was over. But, unless one eats the dinner,
what profit to describe it. So the class of ’Umpty-six made merry on
this occasion of hilarious good cheer. After twenty-five years the
class had returned to dear old Yale, dined in the shadow of her
buildings, and drunk often and lovingly to the memory of bygone
days.
A band awaited those sons of ’Umpty-six outside the door. The
toasts were over, so that now they were ready to start upon their
night of fun. What though their hair is streaked with gray! What
though some are bewhiskered to the eyes! Have they not left dignity,
business cares, and such minor matters at home?
The band struck up, “For He’s a Jolly Good Fellow.” The ’Umpty-
sixers came out of Heibs’, arm in arm. They caught up the song,
and, in full blare, the band moved toward Chapel Street, the grads
following. They turn into Chapel Street, which, even at this hour, is
brilliantly lighted, for no one thinks of sleep to-night. And thus they
move toward Osborne Hall.
On that corner, where is now the sober recitation hall, for half a
century stood the old Yale fence, the focus of college life, the scene
of storied struggles, the theater of evening glees, the symbol of
happy days at Yale.
But now the old fence is gone. However, nothing will do for these old
grads but that a substitute, propped up by iron supports, must be set
in front of Osborn, and thither the jolly old ’Umpty-sixers direct their
course.
“To the fence! Clear the road! Let off the red fire! Turn loose the sky-
rockets and Roman candles, and cram the night full of blooming
noise!”
Up Chapel Street they come in a flare of colored fire, with the rockets
hissing skyward, the Roman candles popping aloft their gleaming
balls of colored flame, while torpedoes and giant crackers add to the
racket.
The windows of the New Haven House are filled with women and
pretty girls who had been watching the hilarious crowd of grads
across the street all the evening. This is a new and wild scene to
them, and now, when they behold the ’Umpty-sixers come singing
and dancing up to the fence, not a few are more than ever
impressed by the fact that it is a dangerous thing to turn a Yale
graduate loose on old New Haven town upon the occasion of one of
his class reunions.
“’Umpty-sixers, take the fence!” goes up the cry.
There follows a rush of the old fellows, all eager to gain a place on
the fence.
Then the band plays all the old college songs, and for several hours
to come these hilarious old gray-beards will bawl and howl to the
strains of the band.
But ’Umpty-six is not the only class mixed up in this general blow-
out. Other and younger classes are there, back for occasions of
lesser significance than the silver-wedding. Nearly a thousand Yale
men are surging about Osborn corner, which is kept brilliantly lighted
by the glare of Egyptian red lights. Judging by the deafening noise, it
would seem that the entire stock of fireworks in the city must have
been set off already. But they will keep coming in wagon-loads.
And in the midst of all this tumultuous rejoicing the man who has
won for Yale the baseball championship of the season is not
forgotten.
“Long cheer for Merriwell!” shrieks an ’Umpty-sixer.
Then the whole vast crowd of Yale men pause to roar out the cheer
for a Yale man who to-night is more famous than all others.
No wonder that Merriwell himself felt a thrill. No wonder some of his
friends laughed while their eyes were dimmed with tears.
And on his arm was the pressure of a hand—the hand of the girl he
loved. And at his side was a radiantly beautiful girl, who felt that on
this day of his glory her joy must be even greater than his.
Hans Dunnerwurst was sobbing.
“Whut in thunder is the matter with yeou?” blurted Ephraim Gallup,
giving the Dutch youth a punch.
“I don’d knew vot id vos,” answered Hans, “but I veel like I vos peing
tickled a fedder by till I couldn’t stood him no longer alretty.”
“Begorra! Oi fale loike Oi’d nivver get over it!” said Barney Mulloy.
“Oi’ll drame av this fer a year.”
Elsie is there. She is saying nothing, but the joy in her blue eyes
speaks. She looks at Frank as that mighty cheer for him rolls up to
the rocket-riven sky. She sees Inza’s hand on Frank’s arm, and then
—then she turns to Hodge.
Bart, once called selfish, feels that he is far happier than he would be
were those men cheering for him. A good, true friend Bart had been,
and in this hour there is nothing of envy in his heart.
Why should there be? Elsie was beside him, and, somehow, he felt
that for all of Frank’s great glory, for all of bewildering, dark-eyed
Inza, he—Bart—had won the prize of prizes.
“Speech!” shouted an ’Umpty-sixer, as the cheering subsided.
“Speech! Speech!” roared the others.
“Speech by Billy Bilton, the only and original windmill of ’Umpty-six!”
cried an old grad. “Put him up—put him in the wagon with the
fireworks! Shoot off your face, Billy! Billy Bilton!”
“Billy Bilton! ’Umpty-six!” roared the crowd.
Billy Bilton was the Honorable William P. Bilton, representative in
Congress for the great and glorious Commonwealth of Maine. Billy
smiled, and that smile was something worth beholding! He removed
the cigar from his mouth and held it between his fingers.
“My contemporaries,” he began, pointing with the cigar toward the
fireworks in the wagon, “have been doing such good work that I feel
handicapped. But I want to say that the greatest thing in this great
university on this great night, next to the great class of ’Umpty-six, is
the great Frank Merriwell!”
Then they cheered again.
“Now,” said Billy, when he could again be heard, “I want to tell you
what Frank Merriwell has done for Yale. He has made for her the
proudest athletic record of any college in the country. Since the day
that he was placed in command not one important game has been
taken from us. It was he who arose in time to lift Yale from the slough
of despond into which she had fallen, and it was he who has led her
to the dazzling heights of glory where she now stands. That’s not all.
While he has uplifted Yale he has risen himself, until to-day he is
known from the broad Atlantic to the blue Pacific. Yea, wherever the
flag of our country floats, the glorious Stars and Stripes, there has
spread the name and fame and glory of Merriwell, of Yale.”
It was impossible for him to continue until they had cheered again.
“Even to foreign lands his glory has spread,” the speaker went on.
“Wherever the English language is spoken the name of Merriwell
may be heard. From the Klondike to Patagonia, from the Philippines
to South Africa, he is known and admired and reverenced as the
model American youth. Old men commend him to the young, the
young try to model after him, and even the child at its mother’s knee
lisps the name of Merriwell.”
“Oh, say!” muttered Frank; “he’s putting it on too thick! I can’t stand
this!”
But Billy was ready to switch now, although he had no thought of
stopping. He waved his hand, and sparks flew from his glowing cigar.
“Now,” he shouted, “I want to tell you what ’Umpty-six has done for
Yale. ’Umpty-six is the greatest class that ever graduated from Yale!”
he declared, with another wild gesture that caused him to drop his
cigar. “’Umpty-six is——”
Bang—barked a cannon cracker in the wagon.
“’Umpty-six——”
Bang! bang! bang!
A series of terrible explosions set William to dancing in a lively
manner, for his fallen cigar had ignited the fireworks in the wagon.
The horse attached to the wagon was frightened and broke away,
despite all efforts to hold him.
Immediately the Honorable William lost his footing and fell upon his
knees in the wagon, while away pranced the horse at a mad gallop.
The orator was kneeling in the midst of a pyrotechnic display of
hissing Roman candles, flaming red lights, bursting cannon crackers,
and screaming rockets. Jack Ready afterward declared that it was a
grand and awe-inspiring spectacle.
“There goes Windy Billy!” shouted the crowd, and every man, to the
last one, started after the blazing wagon and the most startling piece
of set fireworks ever seen in New Haven, which was long
remembered by the name of “The American Representative in All
His Glory.”
As the wagon disappeared Frank Merriwell, who was laughing at the
astonishing climax, felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned and saw
Oliver Packard.
“I have found you at last,” said Packard. “I’ve been hunting for you
more than two hours.”
“I have been right here all along,” said Frank. “What do you want,
Oliver?”
“I have brought it,” was the triumphant answer, as Packard put his
hand into his pocket and drew out the sealed oilskin envelope. “Here
it is, Merriwell.”
“Good!” exclaimed Merry, in great satisfaction, as he immediately
thrust it into his pocket. “I’ll take care it is not snatched from me
again. I’ll ask you no questions, Oliver, and I’ll not forget what you
have done.”
 CHAPTER VI.
ANTON MESCAL STRIKES.

Roland Packard had fancied he might be forced to destroy the

original oilskin envelope in removing the message from it, and for
that reason he had secured a duplicate. When he succeeded in
getting the message out without destroying the original envelope, he
decided that the best thing to do was to place the blank paper in that
same envelope, as the clean newness of the other might betray the
trick. Then he was seized by a desire to put the message in the other
envelope and copy as accurately as possible the writing upon it,
which he did.
The villainous student chuckled gleefully as he thought how his
brother had been deceived.
“I have the message safe in my pocket,” he muttered, “while Oll is
taking the fake to Merriwell. But must I give up this genuine article in
order to get the five hundred from Mescal?”
He was not at all pleased by the thought. In fact, he quickly decided
not to give up the message, if he could help it. He set to thinking the
matter over, and it was not long before he had decided on his course
of action. He left the club-room and skulked away to his own room,
taking care to attract as little attention as possible.
The following morning Roland secured another oilskin envelope.
Knowing Oliver would be off to the exercises of the day, he sought
his own room and prepared the envelope there.
When he came out the seniors, in caps and gowns, were assembling
at the chapel, into which a crowd of visitors was flowing.
“Merriwell will be there in all his glory!” muttered Packard to himself.
“He will be the cynosure of all eyes. Oh, he’ll feel proud and fine, but
little he’ll dream that it is my hand that will send him forth from Yale a
pauper.”
The chapel was thronged with visitors when the exercises began,
and Packard was right in thinking that Merriwell would be the center
of attraction.
In the meantime Packard had sought Anton Mescal, whom he finally
found in a room at the Tontine. Mescal had a bottle of wine on the
table at his elbow, and was smoking a Spanish cigarette. His face
was flushed and his eyes gleamed wolfishly when Roland entered.
He did not rise, but regarded the student grimly.
“I’ve come,” said Packard, with an air of triumph.
“I see you have,” said Mescal coldly, showing his white teeth after
the manner of a wolf.
“You do not appear glad to see me.”
“But I am glad—very glad,” said the man from the West, in a very
singular way.
Packard paused, and a shiver ran over him. There was something
deadly in the atmosphere.
“Sit down,” invited Mescal, in that same awesome manner, making a
slight gesture toward a chair.
“I had a hard time getting the message,” began Packard awkwardly.
“Then you did get it?” asked Mescal.
“Yes. When I set out to do a thing, I have a way of doing it. But you
do not seem much pleased.”
“I am pleased—very pleased. Go on. How did you get it?”
“I went straight to Merriwell’s room in the tracks of the man you bade
me follow.”
“To Merriwell’s room?”
“Yes. I could not get a chance to tackle the fellow and secure the
message. You know the streets were full.”
“Yes.”
“If I had tackled him on the street I must have failed, and I would
have been lodged in the jug.”
“Possibly. Go on.”
The manner of the Westerner had not changed in the least, and
Roland felt that those daggerlike eyes were piercing him through and
through.
“Merriwell’s room was packed with his friends, who were there to
congratulate him. I walked right in after the messenger.”
“Very bold of you!”
“The messenger took the message from his pocket and handed it
over to Merriwell.”
“And you?”
“I was near enough to spring forward and snatch it from Merriwell’s
hand.”
“But you did not?”
“I did! I snatched it and fled. I eluded the pursuers and got away with
it. Of course, they were searching for me last night, so I was
compelled to lay low. But I am here now.”
“And you have the message?”
“I have.”
Mescal rose to his feet, and the look on his face seemed to become
more dangerous than ever.
“Where is it?”
“Here,” said Packard, also rising.
From his pocket he took the fake envelope, which he held in his
hand.
“Give me the five hundred dollars,” he demanded. “It is yours the
moment you pay me the money.”
Mescal stepped clear of the table, and by a sudden spring placed
himself between Packard and the door. He was like a panther in his
movements.
“What’s the matter with you?” asked Roland, in alarm. “What are you
doing? Don’t think for a moment that you can take the message from
me without paying the money.”
“You fool!” said Mescal, in a low tone. “You liar! You traitor!”
Packard saw there was trouble in the air. He wondered if in any
manner this man could have discovered his trick.
“What do you mean by calling me such names?” he blustered.
“I mean just what I have said; you are a fool, a liar, and a traitor. You
came here to deceive me!”
“To deceive you?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“With that thing!” said the man, pointing at the oilskin envelope. “It
does not contain the message!”
Packard was astounded, but he resolved to make a good bluff.
“What are you saying?” he exclaimed, pretending to be much
astonished. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that I know your game to beat me out of five hundred
dollars! I mean that I was watching you last night! I mean that I saw
you when you went to Merriwell and gave the message to him with
your own hand!”
Roland gasped.
“Went to him—and gave him—the message?” he faltered. “Why,
man, you are——” Then he paused, uttering a little cry, as a sudden
light broke on him.
It was Oliver this fellow had watched! It was Oliver he had seen give
the fake envelope to Merriwell!
“You are mistaken,” he said swiftly, although he could not quite see
how he was going to make things clear. “I have a twin brother who
looks exactly like me. You saw him.”
For one moment Mescal seemed surprised, and then a dangerous
laugh came from his lips.
“And what was your twin brother doing with the message?” he
demanded.
Roland choked and hesitated. That hesitation seemed to fan the
man to a burst of fury.
“Fool!” he hissed, crouching. “You have tried to deceive the wrong
man! Had you known me better you would not have done so! In my
body flows the blood of the Spaniard, and I never forgive an injury!
You betrayed me, and I will settle with you as we settle such scores
in the West!”
Out flashed a slender dagger in his hand. Roland uttered a cry of
fear as Mescal leaped upon him. The student tried to defend himself,
but Mescal’s blade rose and fell.
“You devil!” gasped Packard. “You have stabbed me.”
Then, as Roland sank to his knees, Mescal broke away, flung the
blood-stained dagger on the floor, and bounded to the door. One
backward look he took as he disappeared, seeing the bleeding youth
upon the floor.
Then he fled from the hotel and from New Haven.
Packard was not fatally wounded. The dagger had pierced the
muscle of his arm, and the point had penetrated his side as far as a
rib. The wound in the arm was the most painful, and the other was
not dangerous. In the hospital Roland was skilfully treated, but he
persistently refused to tell how or by whom he had been wounded.
Nor would he stay in the hospital when he found that his wound was
not at all dangerous if properly cared for. He came out that afternoon
and returned to the college.
He found the afternoon exercises on the campus taking place. The
place was like an open arena, with temporary seats rising in tiers all
round it. Those seats were packed with human beings, spectators
and friends of the students. Already the classes had marched in, led
by the band, and assembled on the benches in the middle of the
arena, where they now sat sedately smoking long clay pipes and
wearing caps and gowns. They were listening to the historians of the
class, who were reading the class histories.
Packard looked on, feeling that something was occurring in which he
had no part and no interest. His arm was in a sling, and this last
enemy of Merriwell at Yale looked a forlorn and wretched figure.
The histories read by the different historians had been full of hits
upon the various members of the class. As a man’s name was called
his companions lifted him upon their shoulders, while his history was
given to the strained ears of the gathering. He was compelled to
submit gracefully, but some of those sharp hits caused the victims to
look like fresh-boiled lobsters.
The historian was reading when Packard reached a spot where he
could see and hear. Bruce Browning was held aloft upon the
shoulders of his fellows. When it was finished, Browning was
lowered, and up came Bart Hodge as his name was mentioned.
“Merriwell’s friends!” muttered Packard bitterly. “Everybody seems to
be Merriwell’s friend to-day. I’m the only one of the whole howling
pack who has remained his enemy. He has conquered them all, but
I’ll conquer him!”
Then Hodge was lowered. There was a stir. The name of Merriwell
came from the lips of the historian. Instantly something remarkable
took place. Merry was lifted and held aloft, but every man on these
benches rose to his feet. It was a tribute to Frank, and the great
crowd of watching spectators caught the feeling. Up rose that mass
of men and women and youths and girls in one great surge, standing
for the moment to do honor to the most famous college man in the
world. It was a spectacle never forgotten at Yale.
Then those students who were not holding Frank aloft sat down, and
the spectators followed their example.
The historian, his voice ringing out clear and strong, delivered a
blood-stirring eulogy on Merriwell.
“Bah!” muttered Packard, and, sick at heart, he slunk away, unwilling
to listen to those words of adulation for one he hated with undying
intensity.
Late that afternoon, when the exercises were all over, Oliver Packard
found Roland in the room they had occupied together. Oliver was
surprised when he saw his brother’s arm in a sling, and he asked
what had happened.
“None of your business!” answered Roland surlily.
“You are hurt?” exclaimed Oliver, forgetting that he had vowed he
would take no further interest in his wayward brother. “What is it,
Roll! Won’t you tell me how badly you are hurt?”
“Go to the devil!” snarled Roland.
Oliver sat down, a look of sadness on his face. For some time he sat
in silence; but he spoke at last.
“Where were you while the exercises were taking place to-day?” he
asked.
“That’s my business,” said Roland.
“You should have been there. If you had, it’s possible your arm would
not be in a sling now. Roland, I have returned the message to
Merriwell, and I feel that he will take no action against you. I did not
ask him not to do so, for I have been forced to ask him so many
times before that I was ashamed.”
“Then I owe you no thanks.”
“No; but you do owe him something. Is the last spark of honor and
the last particle of justice driven from your heart? Can’t you see
where you have placed yourself by your conduct toward this man,
who to-day has been honored as no Yale man ever before was
honored?”