The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, India
<p>Recent studies have shown the cold and arid trans-Himalayan region comprises significant areas underlain by permafrost. While the information on the permafrost characteristics of this region started emerging, the governing energy regime is of particular interest. This paper presents the res...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2021-05-01
|
| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/2273/2021/tc-15-2273-2021.pdf |
| _version_ | 1819067546715815936 |
|---|---|
| author | J. M. Wani R. J. Thayyen C. S. P. Ojha S. Gruber |
| author_facet | J. M. Wani R. J. Thayyen C. S. P. Ojha S. Gruber |
| author_sort | J. M. Wani |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>Recent studies have shown the cold and arid trans-Himalayan region comprises
significant areas underlain by permafrost. While the information on the
permafrost characteristics of this region started emerging, the governing
energy regime is of particular interest. This paper presents the results of
a surface energy balance (SEB) study carried out in the upper Ganglass
catchment in the Ladakh region of India which feeds directly into the
Indus River. The point-scale SEB is estimated using the 1D mode of the
GEOtop model for the period of 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2017 at 4727 m a.s.l. elevation. The model is evaluated using field-monitored snow depth
variations (accumulation and melting), outgoing long-wave radiation and
near-surface ground temperatures and showed good agreement with the
respective simulated values. For the study period, the SEB characteristics
of the study site show that the net radiation (29.7 <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>) was the
major component, followed by sensible heat flux (<span class="inline-formula">−15.6</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>), latent
heat flux (<span class="inline-formula">−11.2</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>) and ground heat flux (<span class="inline-formula">−0.5</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>). During
both years, the latent heat flux was highest in summer and lowest in winter,
whereas the sensible heat flux was highest in post-winter and gradually
decreased towards the pre-winter season. During the study period, snow cover
builds up starting around the last week of December, facilitating ground
cooling during almost 3 months (October to December), with sub-zero
temperatures down to <span class="inline-formula">−20</span> <span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span>C providing a favourable environment
for permafrost. It is observed that the Ladakh region has a very low
relative humidity in the range of 43 % compared to e.g.
<span class="inline-formula">∼70</span> % in the European Alps, resulting in lower incoming
long-wave radiation and strongly negative net long-wave radiation averaging
<span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M11" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">90</mn></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="32pt" height="10pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="16379be035064ed4fba2657b63ad8839"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="tc-15-2273-2021-ie00001.svg" width="32pt" height="10pt" src="tc-15-2273-2021-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg></span></span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> compared to <span class="inline-formula">−40</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> in the European
Alps. Hence, land surfaces at high elevation in cold and arid regions could be
overall colder than the locations with higher relative humidity, such as the
European Alps. Further, it is found that high incoming short-wave
radiation during summer months in the region may be facilitating enhanced
cooling of wet valley bottom surfaces as a result of stronger evaporation.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:19:59Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a602bcfac9c4020976d6f7ac90913da |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-21T16:19:59Z |
| publishDate | 2021-05-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Cryosphere |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a602bcfac9c4020976d6f7ac90913da2022-12-21T18:57:35ZengCopernicus PublicationsThe Cryosphere1994-04161994-04242021-05-01152273229310.5194/tc-15-2273-2021The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, IndiaJ. M. Wani0R. J. Thayyen1C. S. P. Ojha2S. Gruber3Department of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, IndiaWater Resources System Division, National Institute of Hydrology, Roorkee, IndiaDepartment of Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, IndiaDepartment of Geography & Environmental Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada<p>Recent studies have shown the cold and arid trans-Himalayan region comprises significant areas underlain by permafrost. While the information on the permafrost characteristics of this region started emerging, the governing energy regime is of particular interest. This paper presents the results of a surface energy balance (SEB) study carried out in the upper Ganglass catchment in the Ladakh region of India which feeds directly into the Indus River. The point-scale SEB is estimated using the 1D mode of the GEOtop model for the period of 1 September 2015 to 31 August 2017 at 4727 m a.s.l. elevation. The model is evaluated using field-monitored snow depth variations (accumulation and melting), outgoing long-wave radiation and near-surface ground temperatures and showed good agreement with the respective simulated values. For the study period, the SEB characteristics of the study site show that the net radiation (29.7 <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>) was the major component, followed by sensible heat flux (<span class="inline-formula">−15.6</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>), latent heat flux (<span class="inline-formula">−11.2</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>) and ground heat flux (<span class="inline-formula">−0.5</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span>). During both years, the latent heat flux was highest in summer and lowest in winter, whereas the sensible heat flux was highest in post-winter and gradually decreased towards the pre-winter season. During the study period, snow cover builds up starting around the last week of December, facilitating ground cooling during almost 3 months (October to December), with sub-zero temperatures down to <span class="inline-formula">−20</span> <span class="inline-formula"><sup>∘</sup></span>C providing a favourable environment for permafrost. It is observed that the Ladakh region has a very low relative humidity in the range of 43 % compared to e.g. <span class="inline-formula">∼70</span> % in the European Alps, resulting in lower incoming long-wave radiation and strongly negative net long-wave radiation averaging <span class="inline-formula"><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M11" display="inline" overflow="scroll" dspmath="mathml"><mrow><mo>∼</mo><mo>-</mo><mn mathvariant="normal">90</mn></mrow></math><span><svg:svg xmlns:svg="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" width="32pt" height="10pt" class="svg-formula" dspmath="mathimg" md5hash="16379be035064ed4fba2657b63ad8839"><svg:image xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="tc-15-2273-2021-ie00001.svg" width="32pt" height="10pt" src="tc-15-2273-2021-ie00001.png"/></svg:svg></span></span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> compared to <span class="inline-formula">−40</span> <span class="inline-formula">W m<sup>−2</sup></span> in the European Alps. Hence, land surfaces at high elevation in cold and arid regions could be overall colder than the locations with higher relative humidity, such as the European Alps. Further, it is found that high incoming short-wave radiation during summer months in the region may be facilitating enhanced cooling of wet valley bottom surfaces as a result of stronger evaporation.</p>https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/2273/2021/tc-15-2273-2021.pdf |
| spellingShingle | J. M. Wani R. J. Thayyen C. S. P. Ojha S. Gruber The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, India The Cryosphere |
| title | The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, India |
| title_full | The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, India |
| title_fullStr | The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, India |
| title_full_unstemmed | The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, India |
| title_short | The surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment, Ladakh, Himalayas, India |
| title_sort | surface energy balance in a cold and arid permafrost environment ladakh himalayas india |
| url | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/2273/2021/tc-15-2273-2021.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jmwani thesurfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia AT rjthayyen thesurfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia AT cspojha thesurfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia AT sgruber thesurfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia AT jmwani surfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia AT rjthayyen surfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia AT cspojha surfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia AT sgruber surfaceenergybalanceinacoldandaridpermafrostenvironmentladakhhimalayasindia |