Impact of inter- and intra-annual variation in weather parameters on mass balance and equilibrium line altitude of Naradu Glacier (Himachal Pradesh), NW Himalaya, India

Mass balance is an important metric to assess the growth or decline of water stored in a glacier. The Accumulation Area Ratio (AAR) method where mass balance is proportional to AAR has been used to estimate glacier mass balance by several studies in the past. Since field estimates of AAR are not feasible on every glacier, it is usually estimated by identifying the snowline at the end of ablation season as a proxy of Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) on satellite images. However, locating ELA on satellite images is challenging due to temporal gaps, cloud cover and fresh snowfall on glaciers. Hence, the highest observed snowline has been traditionally used to estimate AAR, which usually leads to an underestimate of mass loss. To rectify this problem we propose a method to estimate the position of ELA by combining satellite images with in situ meteorological observations and a snowmelt model. The main advantage of this method is that it can be used to estimate the mass balance of individual glaciers and basins. Application of the method to eight glaciers in the Chandra basin, Western Himalaya is found to reduce the bias in mass balance estimates compared to the traditional AAR technique and the modelled estimates are in good agreement with the geodetic method. When applied to 12 selected glaciers in the Chandra basin, the modelled cumulative mass balance is -1.67  0.72 Gt (-0.79  0.34 m w.e. a -1 ) during 1999/2000-2008/09. This method can also be used to estimate the future deviations in mass balance using climate change projections of temperature and precipitation.

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“…Field AAR of Naradu glacier for the years 2000/01-2002/03 (ref. 45) is used in eq. (4) to obtain modelled mass balance.…”

Section: Uncertainty Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimation of Glacier Mass Balance on a Basin Scale:An Approach Based on Satellite-Derived Snowlines and a Temperature Index Model

Tawde¹,

Kulkarni²,

Bala³

2016

Current Science

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“…Present studies on the climate sensitivity of western/Indian Himalayan glaciers either come from empirical analysis at decadal timescales (Azam et al, 2014) or are based on basic comparison between meteorological variables and the glacier mass balance (Koul and Ganjoo, 2010), emphasizing the lack of physical understanding of the glacier-climate relationship in this region. Therefore, a detailed analysis of the SEB yet remains underway for the western/Indian Himalayan glaciers.…”

Section: F Azam Et Al: Processes Governing the Mass Balance Of Cmentioning

confidence: 99%

Processes governing the mass balance of Chhota Shigri Glacier (western Himalaya, India) assessed by point-scale surface energy balance measurements

et al. 2014

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Abstract. Some recent studies revealed that Himalayan glaciers were shrinking at an accelerated rate since the beginning of the 21st century. However, the climatic causes for this shrinkage remain unclear given that surface energy balance studies are almost nonexistent in this region. In this study, a point-scale surface energy balance analysis was performed using in situ meteorological data from the ablation zone of Chhota Shigri Glacier over two separate periods (August 2012 to February 2013 and July to October 2013 in order to understand the response of mass balance to climatic variables. Energy balance numerical modelling provides quantification of the surface energy fluxes and identification of the factors affecting glacier mass balance. The model was validated by comparing the computed and observed ablation and surface temperature data. During the summer-monsoon period, net radiation was the primary component of the surface energy balance accounting for 80 % of the total heat flux followed by turbulent sensible (13 %), latent (5 %) and conductive (2 %) heat fluxes. A striking feature of the energy balance is the positive turbulent latent heat flux, suggesting re-sublimation of moist air at the glacier surface, during the summer-monsoon characterized by relatively high air temperature, high relative humidity and a continual melting surface. The impact of the Indian Summer Monsoon on Chhota Shigri Glacier mass balance has also been assessed. This analysis demonstrates that the intensity of snowfall events during the summer-monsoon plays a key role on surface albedo (melting is reduced in the case of strong snowfalls covering the glacier area), and thus is among the most important drivers controlling the annual mass balance of the glacier. The summer-monsoon air temperature, controlling the precipitation phase (rain versus snow and thus albedo), counts, indirectly, also among the most important drivers.

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“…To date, very few studies exist for the Indian part of the Himalayas ( Koul and Ganjoo, 2010;Azam and others, 2014a). Therefore, there is an urgent demand to increase knowledge about glacier changes in response to climatic changes in the Indian Himalayas ( Koldunov and others, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Modelling 60 years of glacier mass balance and runoff for Chhota Shigri Glacier, Western Himalaya, Northern India

et al. 2017

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ABSTRACT. Glacier mass balance and runoff are simulated from 1955 to 2014 for the catchment (46% glacier cover) containing Chhota Shigri Glacier (Western Himalaya) using gridded data from three regional climate models: (1) the Rossby Centre regional atmospheric climate model v.4 (RCA4); (2) the REgional atmosphere MOdel (REMO); and (3) with glacier melt contributing about one-third to the runoff. Monthly runoff increases are greatest in July, due to both increased snow and glacier melt, whereas slightly decreased snowmelt in August and September was more than compensated by increased glacier melt.

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Impact of inter- and intra-annual variation in weather parameters on mass balance and equilibrium line altitude of Naradu Glacier (Himachal Pradesh), NW Himalaya, India

Cited by 47 publications

References 20 publications

Estimation of Glacier Mass Balance on a Basin Scale:An Approach Based on Satellite-Derived Snowlines and a Temperature Index Model

Estimation of Glacier Mass Balance on a Basin Scale:An Approach Based on Satellite-Derived Snowlines and a Temperature Index Model

Processes governing the mass balance of Chhota Shigri Glacier (western Himalaya, India) assessed by point-scale surface energy balance measurements

Modelling 60 years of glacier mass balance and runoff for Chhota Shigri Glacier, Western Himalaya, Northern India

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