Understanding the interrelationships among mass balance, meteorology, discharge and surface velocity on Chhota Shigri Glacier over 2002–2019 using in situ measurements

Mandal, Arindan; Ramanathan, Alagappan; Azam, Mohd Farooq; Angchuk, Thupstan; Soheb, Mohd; Kumar, Naveen; Pottakkal, Jose George; Vatsal, Sarvagya; Mishra, Somdutta; Singh, Virendra Bahadur

doi:10.1017/jog.2020.42

Cited by 55 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 51 publications

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“…Furthermore, u attains a maximum (5.2 m s −1 ) in June, while minimum in March (1.1 m s −1 ). However, Mandal et al (2020) have reported that the higher u was observed in winter (DJFM), whereas lower in summer season (JJAS) for the period from 1 October 2009 to 28 September 2019 recorded at the AWS located in 4863 m a.s.l. over the Chhota Shigri glacier.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Estimation of mass and energy balance of glaciers using a distributed energy balance model over the Chandra river basin (Western Himalaya)

Patel

Goswami

Dharpure

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

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The ongoing glacier shrinking in the Himalayan region causes a significant threat to freshwater sustainability and associated future runoff. However, data on the spatial climatic contribution of glacier retreat is scanty in this region. To investigate the spatially distributed glacier surface energy and mass fluxes, a two-dimensional mass balance model was developed and applied to the selected glaciers of the Chandra basin, in the Upper Indus Basin, Western Himalaya. This model is driven by the remote sensing data and meteorological variables measured in the vicinity of the Chandra basin for six hydrological years (October 2013 to September 2019). The modelled variables were calibrated/validated with the in-situ observation from the Himansh station in the Chandra basin. We have derived air temperature (T a) spatially using the multivariate statistical approach, which indicates a relative error of 0.02-0.05 C with the observed data. Additionally, the relative error between the modelled and observed radiation fluxes was <10.0 W m −2. Our study revealed that the Chandra basin glaciers have been losing its mass with a mean annual mass balance of −0.59 ± 0.12 m w.e. a −1 for the six hydrological years. Results illustrated that the mean surface melt rate of the selected glaciers ranged from −5.1 to −2.5 m w.e. a −1 that lies between 4500 and 5000 m a.s.l. The study revealed that the net radiation (R N) contributes $75% in total energy (F M) during the melt season while sensible heat (H S), latent heat (H l), and ground heat (H G) fluxes shared 15%, 8%, and 2%, respectively. Sensitivity analysis of the energy balance components suggested that the mass balance is highly sensitive to albedo and surface radiations in the study area. Overall, the proposed model performed well for glacier-wide energy and mass balance estimation and confirms the utility of remote sensing data, which may help in reducing data scarcity in the upper reaches of the Himalayan region.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Estimation of mass and energy balance of glaciers using a distributed energy balance model over the Chandra river basin (Western Himalaya)

Patel

Goswami

Dharpure

et al. 2021

Hydrological Processes

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“…3) clearly indicates cold and dry climatic prevailed in the region. The records from Tso Moriri, Tso Kar 31 Triloknath 40 reflects a decreased in precipitation intensity in Westerlies and also evidence by other records 7,55,56 .This period corresponds to the fall of Harappa civilization and perhaps was responsible for deurbanization. Here, we interpret that during the time of the demise of Harappa civilization dust activity has increased northwestern India (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…The meteorological data, obtained from Chhota Shigri glacier, the nearest weather station (see Fig. 1) show that about 75-80% precipitation in the study area is contributed by the Westerlies 56 . A total of 27 sediment cores were retrieved using piston corer under GLACINDIA project (2015) 57 and a 235 cm long sediment core was selected for extracting porewater samples (at every 5 cm interval) using a syringe connected with 0.25 μm filter at glacier laboratory of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), New Delhi.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 94%

Disentangling source of moisture driving glacier dynamics and identification of 8.2 ka event: evidence from pore water isotopes, Western Himalaya

Kumar

Ramanathan

Bakke

et al. 2020

Sci Rep

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Two atmospheric circulation patterns, the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) and mid-latitude Westerlies control precipitation and thus glacier variability in the Himalaya. However, the role of the ISM and westerlies in controlling climate and thus past glacier variability in the Himalaya is poorly understood because of the paucity of the ice core records. In this article, we present a new Holocene paleorecord disentangling the presence of the ISM and mid-latitude westerlies and their effect on glacier fluctuations during the Holocene. Our new record is based on high-resolution multi-proxy analyses (δ18Oporewater, deuterium-excess, grain size analysis, permeability, and environmental magnetism) of lake sediments retrieved from Chandratal Lake, Western Himalaya. Our study provides new evidence that improves the current understanding of the forcing factor behind glacier advances and retreat in the Western Himalaya and identifies the 8.2 ka cold event using the aforementioned proxies. The results indicate that the ISM dominated precipitation ~ 21% of the time, whereas the mid-latitude westerlies dominated precipitation ~ 79% of the time during the last 11 ka cal BP. This is the first study that portrays the moisture sources by using the above proxies from the Himalayan region as an alternative of ice core records.

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“…(2014) during the 2000–2009 period and measured during the 2010–2019 period by Mandal et al. (2020). (Difference: 2010–2019 minus 2000–2009).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(2019) looked at Trambau Glacier, on a south‐facing slope in the central Himalaya and found significant correlation between annual mass balance and annual precipitation, but no discernible correlation between annual mass balance and summer mean air temperature, while Mandal et al. (2020) found that interannual variability for the mass balance of Chhota Shigri Glacier, on a south‐facing slope in the western Himalayas, was driven by variations in air temperature during the ablation season (June to September). These studies demonstrate that the climate variables that drive changes to glacier mass balance vary spatially across the Himalayas, possibly reflecting a different glacier response where the background climate is different (Sakai & Fujita, 2017; Zhu, Yao, Yang, Xu, Wu, & Wang, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Influence of Key Climate Variables on Mass Balance of Naimona'nyi Glacier on a North‐Facing Slope in the Western Himalayas

et al. 2021

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Glacier mass changes in the Himalayas impact on sustainable water resources and hazards in downstream regions. However, mass balance variation and its drivers on north‐facing slopes in the Himalayas are not well understood. This study presents the meteorological conditions, energy and mass balance characteristics for Naimona'nyi Glacier on a north‐facing slope in the western Himalayas, based on energy‐mass balance model and high‐altitude measurements from October 2010 to September 2018. The average annual mass balance measured for Naimona'nyi Glacier was −0.39 m water equivalent a−1 and point mass balances below 6,070 m above sea level were always negative. Simulations showed that melt during the ablation season dominated the annual mass balance and the interannual variability in the mass balance, and that variability in melt energy was controlled by albedo during the ablation season. The annual mass balance was found to be significantly correlated with annual precipitation during the 2011–2018 period, which is accounted for by the change in ablation‐season albedo and melt energy. The average mass balance for glaciers in the western Himalayas were higher during the 2010–2019 period than during the 2000–2009 period, partly because of higher annual precipitation during the 2010–2019 period. Over the last 20 years, the increased precipitation in the cold season was driven by a cyclonic circulation anomaly over the northwestern Indian Peninsula, which may be linked to the strengthened North Atlantic Oscillation, and the increased precipitation in the ablation season was driven by an anomaly in the cyclonic circulation over Central India, which may be related to enhanced deep convection over the Indian subcontinent and the enhanced Atlantic multidecadal oscillation.

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Understanding the interrelationships among mass balance, meteorology, discharge and surface velocity on Chhota Shigri Glacier over 2002–2019 using in situ measurements

Cited by 55 publications

References 51 publications

Estimation of mass and energy balance of glaciers using a distributed energy balance model over the Chandra river basin (Western Himalaya)

Estimation of mass and energy balance of glaciers using a distributed energy balance model over the Chandra river basin (Western Himalaya)

Disentangling source of moisture driving glacier dynamics and identification of 8.2 ka event: evidence from pore water isotopes, Western Himalaya

The Influence of Key Climate Variables on Mass Balance of Naimona'nyi Glacier on a North‐Facing Slope in the Western Himalayas

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