Landsat-based multitemporal glacier inventory data of over four decades (1977-2019) for Ladakh region

This dataset contains Landsat based multitemporal glacier inventories of the four Upper Indus sub-basins (Shayok, Suru, Leh and Zanskar) and three internal drainage basins (Tsokar, Tsomoriri and Pangong) around the Ladakh region for 1977, 1993, 2009 and 2019. The inventory includes all the glaciers (2257) of the region larger than 0.5 km2, covering an area of ~7923 ±106 km2 (equivalent to ~90% of the total glacierised area in the region). The glacier area ranges between 0.5 to 862 km2, most of which belong to the smallest size category (0.5-1 km2). More than 70% of the glaciers are north-facing (NW-N-NE) and concentrated in higher elevation zones between 5000 and 6000m a.s.l. The dataset is a product of a semi-automated approach involving a band ratio approach, manual corrections and quality check.