Humidity conditions in the Western Karakorum as indicated by climatic data and corresponding distribution patterns of the montane and alpine vegetation

Miehe, Sabine; Cramer, Thomas; Jacobsen, Jens-Peter; Winiger, Matthias

doi:10.3112/erdkunde.1996.03.03

Cited by 18 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…and include several locations in Yasin and Bagrot valley, and have been working throughout the period 1991-2000 (several gaps in the database have not been taken into account). The measurements indicate that more than 90% of the annual precipitation is deposited as snow at 5000 m a.s.l., whereas in the lowest parts of the valleys the snow contributes no more than 10% Miehe et al (1996) Eu-arid Eu-arid Sub-arid to the rainfall total. It is also evident that a barrier effect intensifies the southwest-northeast decrease of precipitation.…”

Section: Vertical Precipitation Gradients In the Northwest Karakorummentioning

confidence: 97%

Karakorum–Hindukush–western Himalaya: assessing high‐altitude water resources

Winiger

Gumpert

Yamout

2005

Hydrological Processes

264

168

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Abstract:The high mountains of Central and South Asia provide irrigation water for their adjacent lowlands. The Indus Irrigation Scheme depends on approximately 50% of its runoff originating from snowmelt and glacier melt from the eastern Hindukush, Karakorum and western Himalaya. The Atlas of Pakistan indicates that these mountains gain a total annual rainfall of between 200 and 500 mm, amounts that are generally derived from valley-based stations and not representative for elevated zones. High-altitude snowfall seems to be neglected and is obviously still rather unknown. Estimates derived from accumulation pits runoff above 4000 m range from 1000 mm to more than 3000 mm, depending on the site and time of investigation, as well as on the method applied.To assess the vertical spatio-temporal distribution of total annual precipitation, a combined approach is presented. This approach links in situ measurements of snow depth and water equivalent (10-year time series derived from automatic weather stations at elevations between 1500 and 4700 m a.s.l.), the spatial distribution and period of snow coverage (remotely sensed data and digital elevation models), and the runoff characteristics of streams originating from snow or snow/ice-covered watersheds (modified snowmelt runoff model, including intermediate snowfall and glacier runoff).Based on conservative assumptions, the vertically changing seasonal ratio between liquid and solid precipitation is calculated. Using a combined snow cover and ablation model, total annual amounts of precipitation are derived for different altitudinal zones. Amounts of modelled and measured runoff complement the investigation. Horizontal gradients along the Indus-Gilgit-Hunza transect indicate the varying dominance of seasonal precipitation regimes (monsoonal, Mediterranean and continental disturbances) south of Nanga Parbat, between Nanga Parbat and Batura Wall (DWest Karakorum rainfall regime: 1500-1800 mm year 1 at 5000 m) and areas north of Batura (DCentral Asian rainfall regime: ¾600 mm year 1 at 5000 m).

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Section: Vertical Precipitation Gradients In the Northwest Karakorummentioning

confidence: 97%

Karakorum–Hindukush–western Himalaya: assessing high‐altitude water resources

Winiger

Gumpert

Yamout

2005

Hydrological Processes

264

168

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“…html) and US Geological Survey (http://edcintl.cr.usgs.gov/ downloads/sciweb1/shared/afghan/downloads/documents/), while precipitation data of Indian and a couple of Chinese stations were downloaded from KNMI Climate Explorer (https://climexp.knmi.nl). In addition, we derived monthly precipitation data of many stations from Singh et al (1995), Miehe et al (1996), Singh and Kumar (1997), Miehe et al (2001), Winiger et al (2005), Arora et al (2006) and Eberhardt et al (2007).…”

Section: Precipitation Observationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Adjustment of measurement errors to reconcile precipitation distribution in the high‐altitude Indus basin

Dahri

Moors

Ludwig

et al. 2018

Intl Journal of Climatology

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Precipitation in the high-altitude Indus basin governs its renewable water resources affecting water, energy and food securities. However, reliable estimates of precipitation climatology and associated hydrological implications are seriously constrained by the quality of observed data. As such, quantitative and spatiotemporal distributions of precipitation estimated by previous studies in the study area are highly contrasting and uncertain. Generally, scarcity and biased distribution of observed data at the higher altitudes and measurement errors in precipitation observations are the primary causes of such uncertainties. In this study, we integrated precipitation data of 307 observatories with the net snow accumulations estimated through mass balance studies at 21 major glacier zones. Precipitation observations are adjusted for measurement errors using the guidelines and standard methods developed under the WMO's international precipitation measurement intercomparisons, while net snow accumulations are adjusted for ablation losses using standard ablation gradients. The results showed more significant increases in precipitation of individual stations located at higher altitudes during winter months, which are consistent with previous studies. Spatial interpolation of unadjusted precipitation observations and net snow accumulations at monthly scale indicated significant improvements in the quantitative and spatio-temporal distribution of precipitation over the unadjusted case and previous studies. Adjustment of river flows revealed only a marginal contribution of net glacier mass balance to river flows. The adjusted precipitation estimates are more consistent with the corresponding adjusted river flows. The study recognized that the higher river flows than the corresponding precipitation estimates by the previous studies are mainly due to underestimated precipitation. The results can be useful for water balance studies and bias correction of gridded precipitation products for the study area.

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“…The isolated forest remnants in central parts of the Mongolian Altai are an exception in that they are not registered on the topographic sources. Comparable information from the easternmost parts of the Tibetan Plateau and the Qilian Shan (Rongfu 1987;Xiangrui 1987), as well as detailed vegetation profiles from different parts of the Karakoram and the Himalaya (Schickhoff 1995;Miehe et al 1996) were also included.…”

Section: Data Basesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Environmental change modelling for Central and High Asia: Pleistocene, present and future scenarios

Böhner¹,

Lehmkuhl²

2008

Boreas

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2005 (May): Environmental change modelling for Central and High Asia: Pleistocene, present and future scenarios. Boreas, Vol. 34, pp. 220-231. Oslo. ISSN 0300-9483.A regional modelling concept was developed for late Quaternary climate reconstructions and future climate impact assessments. Based on estimates of different climate parameters covering the entire Central and High Asia in a grid-cell spacing of 1 km 2 , climatic determinants of the recent spatial distribution of climate-sensitive environments (glacial and periglacial environments, forest) were explored. Simple climatic threshold functions were established, defining critical climate values for modelling the spatial extension of environments considered. Using palaeogeomorphological indicators as a basis, late Quaternary climatic conditions were modelled in a Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) scenario consistent with palaeogeomorphological and palaeoclimatological data. The results enabled a validation of LGM palaeoclimate simulations performed by the ECHAM GCM. To assess the magnitude of possible future climatic impacts on the spatial distribution of glaciers, permafrost and potential forest stands, two GCM-based IPCC-SRES climate change scenarios (IPCC special report on emission scenarios) for the time period 2070-2099 were considered. Assuming future climates to be perturbed for long enough to affect the environments, a distinct loss of glaciated areas and permafrost must be expected.

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Humidity conditions in the Western Karakorum as indicated by climatic data and corresponding distribution patterns of the montane and alpine vegetation

Cited by 18 publications

References 1 publication

Karakorum–Hindukush–western Himalaya: assessing high‐altitude water resources

Karakorum–Hindukush–western Himalaya: assessing high‐altitude water resources

Adjustment of measurement errors to reconcile precipitation distribution in the high‐altitude Indus basin

Environmental change modelling for Central and High Asia: Pleistocene, present and future scenarios

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