MAPPING PERMAFROST DISTRIBUTION IN THE PARVATI VALLEY, KULLU USING LANDSAT 8 DERIVED LAND SURFACE TEMPERATURE

Abstract. Permafrost covers much of the Parvati valley, but mapping its distribution is difficult due to the scarcity of ground observed data sets and the region's high spatial heterogeneity. We show permafrost distribution maps for the Parvati valley from 2013 to 2021 based on the Mean Annual Air Temperature. We created maps of Mean Annual Air Temperatures (MAAT) using Landsat 8 Land Surface Temperature (LST) products in Google Earth Engine. Google Earth Engine (GEE) is a cloud-based platform that was utilised to quickly and efficiently obtain the spatial and temporal variations of permafrost distribution. Permafrost is defined as ground that maintains a temperature below zero degrees Celsius for at least two consecutive years. To justify the definition, we examined Mean Biennial Air Temperature (MBAT), Mean Triennial Air Temperature (MTAT), Mean Quadrennial Air Temperature (MQAT), Mean Quinquennial Air Temperature (MQnAT), Mean Septennial Air Temperature (MSpAT), Mean Octennial Air Temperature (MOAT), and Mean Novennial Air Temperature (MNOAT) (MNAT). Our findings demonstrate that the percentage of Permafrost distribution in the Parvati valley is about the same in all situations, accounting for 22 percent of the overall study area excluding glaciers. Our maps were divided into four categories: Continuous Permafrost Zone, Discontinuous Permafrost Zone, Sporadic Permafrost Zone, and No Permafrost Zone.