A Hydrometeorological Perspective on the Karakoram Anomaly Using Unique Valley‐Based Synoptic Weather Observations

Bashir, Furrukh; Zeng, Xubin; Gupta, H. V.; Hazenberg, P.

doi:10.1002/2017gl075284

Cited by 54 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 59 publications

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“…the "Karakoram anomaly") is consistent with many other studies (Gardelle et al, , 2013Rankl and Braun, 2016). This situation has persisted for at least ∼50 years (Bolch et al, 2017), and has been attributed to increased winter precipitation (Archer and Fowler, 2004) and decreased mean summer temperature (Fowler and Archer, 2006) since the 1960s (Bashir et al, 2017;Forsythe et al, 2017). Glaciers in the Western Kunlun Shan have also been near a balanced state since the 1970s despite an increasing trend in mean summer and annual temperatures (Wang et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A Systematic, Regional Assessment of High Mountain Asia Glacier Mass Balance

et al. 2020

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High-mountain Asia (HMA) constitutes the largest glacierized region outside of the Earth's polar regions. Although available observations are limited, long-term records indicate sustained HMA glacier mass loss since ∼1850, with accelerated loss in recent decades. Recent satellite data capture the spatial variability of this mass loss, but spatial resolution is coarse and some estimates for regional and HMA-wide mass loss disagree. To address these issues, we generated 5,797 high-resolution digital elevation models (DEMs) from available sub-meter commercial stereo imagery (DigitalGlobe WorldView-1/2/3 and GeoEye-1) acquired over HMA glaciers from 2007 to 2018 (primarily 2013-2017). We also reprocessed 28,278 ASTER DEMs over HMA from 2000 to 2018. We combined these observations to generate robust elevation change trend maps and geodetic mass balance estimates for 99% of HMA glaciers between 2000 and 2018. We estimate total HMA glacier mass change of −19.0 ± 2.5 Gt yr −1 (−0.19 ± 0.03 m w.e. yr −1 ). We document the spatial pattern of HMA glacier mass change with unprecedented detail, and present aggregated estimates for HMA glacierized sub-regions and hydrologic basins. Our results offer improved estimates for the HMA contribution to global sea level rise in recent decades with total cumulative sea-level rise contribution of ∼0.7 mm from exorheic basins between 2000 and 2018. We estimate that the range of excess glacier meltwater runoff due to negative glacier mass balance in each basin constitutes ∼12-53% of the total basin-specific glacier meltwater runoff. These results can be used for calibration and validation of glacier mass balance models, satellite gravimetry observations, and hydrologic models needed for present and future water resource management.

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Section: Introductionsupporting

confidence: 89%

A Systematic, Regional Assessment of High Mountain Asia Glacier Mass Balance

et al. 2020

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“…Fowler and Archer () reported a DTR trend of .36, .66 and .08 °C/decade at Gilgit, Skardu and Astore during 1961−1999 on annual basis, respectively. A recent study also reported an increasing regional DTR trend of .31 °C on annual basis (Bashir et al, ). Our study reported a statistically significant increasing DTR trend of .34 °C/decade for whole study area during 1986−2015 also on annual basis.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Observed diurnal temperature range variations and its association with observed cloud cover in northern Pakistan

Ahmad

Athar

2018

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Spatio‐temporal variability in the observed diurnal temperature range (DTR) for the recent 30‐year period (1986–2015) is examined from a total of 18 weather stations in Hindukush Karakoram Himalaya region of northern Pakistan (HKNP). The daily maximum and minimum temperature data are used to compute the regional DTR, whereas observed total cloud cover (TCC) is used to assess its possible relationship with regional DTR, both on seasonal and annual basis. The regional mean DTR is 13.27 °C on annual basis, with a maximum in autumn (14.63 °C) and minimum in winter (11.81 °C). On annual basis, the regional DTR has increased significantly at a rate of .34 °C/decade, during the 30‐year study period at p ≤ .05, based on Mann–Kendall test. On seasonal basis, the DTR displays an increasing trend in all four seasons with largest significant increase in the winter season at a rate of .32 °C/decade. The DTR is positively correlated with maximum temperature of the region on seasonal and annual basis. Strong negative correlation is found between the DTR and observed TCC in all seasons, indicating that variability in TCC has an impact on the variation of DTR in this region. The statistically significant increasing DTR trend along with statistically significant decreasing trend of TCC in spring season suggests an early melt of snow and ice covers in the region, consequently changing the hydrological cycle of the region that demands a better water resource management in the HKNP.

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“…This allowed the rate of mass cycling of the glacier to increase even as the mass balance remained neutral. • Bashir et al (2017) found an overall decreasing trend in annual accumulated discharge in the Indus river at Tarbela Dam. According to their study, the annual increase in precipitation and decrease in runoff suggested an overall increase in storage of water in the elevated regions of the watershed, mainly in the form of snow and glaciated ice.…”

Section: Riversmentioning

confidence: 89%