Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers
Avalanching is a prominent source of accumulation on glaciers that have high and steep valley-walls surrounding their accumulation zones. These glaciers are typically characterised by an extensive supraglacial debris cover and a low accumulation area ratio. Despite an abundance of such glaciers in t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2017-07-01
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| Series: | Annals of Glaciology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305517000271/type/journal_article |
| _version_ | 1827995982728527872 |
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| author | Sourav Laha Reshama Kumari Sunil Singh Aditya Mishra Tushar Sharma Argha Banerjee Harish Chandra Nainwal R. Shankar |
| author_facet | Sourav Laha Reshama Kumari Sunil Singh Aditya Mishra Tushar Sharma Argha Banerjee Harish Chandra Nainwal R. Shankar |
| author_sort | Sourav Laha |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Avalanching is a prominent source of accumulation on glaciers that have high and steep valley-walls surrounding their accumulation zones. These glaciers are typically characterised by an extensive supraglacial debris cover and a low accumulation area ratio. Despite an abundance of such glaciers in the rugged landscapes of the High Himalaya, attempts to quantify the net avalanche contribution to mass balance and its long-term variation are almost missing. We first discuss diagnostic criteria to identify strongly avalanche-fed glaciers. Second, we develop an approximate method to quantify the magnitude of the avalanche accumulation exploiting its expected control on the dynamics of these glaciers. The procedure is based on a simplified flowline model description of the glacier concerned and utilises the known glaciological mass-balance, velocity and surface-elevation profiles of the glacier. We apply the method to three Himalayan glaciers and show that the data on the recent dynamics of these glaciers are consistent with a dominant contribution of avalanches to the total accumulation. As a control experiment, we also simulate another Himalayan glacier where no significant avalanche contribution is expected, and reproduce the recent changes in that glacier without any additional avalanche contribution. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:05:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9c1c317358c54c9ba4fb5d557a77deed |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 0260-3055 1727-5644 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-10T05:05:01Z |
| publishDate | 2017-07-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Annals of Glaciology |
| spelling | doaj.art-9c1c317358c54c9ba4fb5d557a77deed2023-03-09T12:27:29ZengCambridge University PressAnnals of Glaciology0260-30551727-56442017-07-015811011810.1017/aog.2017.27Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciersSourav Laha0Reshama Kumari1Sunil Singh2Aditya Mishra3Tushar Sharma4Argha Banerjee5Harish Chandra Nainwal6R. Shankar7Earth and Climate Science, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India E-mail:Earth and Climate Science, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India E-mail:Department of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand 246174, IndiaDepartment of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand 246174, IndiaDepartment of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand 246174, IndiaEarth and Climate Science, Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune, India E-mail:Department of Geology, HNB Garhwal University, Srinagar Garhwal, Uttarakhand 246174, IndiaThe Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai 600113, IndiaAvalanching is a prominent source of accumulation on glaciers that have high and steep valley-walls surrounding their accumulation zones. These glaciers are typically characterised by an extensive supraglacial debris cover and a low accumulation area ratio. Despite an abundance of such glaciers in the rugged landscapes of the High Himalaya, attempts to quantify the net avalanche contribution to mass balance and its long-term variation are almost missing. We first discuss diagnostic criteria to identify strongly avalanche-fed glaciers. Second, we develop an approximate method to quantify the magnitude of the avalanche accumulation exploiting its expected control on the dynamics of these glaciers. The procedure is based on a simplified flowline model description of the glacier concerned and utilises the known glaciological mass-balance, velocity and surface-elevation profiles of the glacier. We apply the method to three Himalayan glaciers and show that the data on the recent dynamics of these glaciers are consistent with a dominant contribution of avalanches to the total accumulation. As a control experiment, we also simulate another Himalayan glacier where no significant avalanche contribution is expected, and reproduce the recent changes in that glacier without any additional avalanche contribution.https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305517000271/type/journal_articleAvalanchesdebris-covered glaciersglacier mass balanceglacier modelling |
| spellingShingle | Sourav Laha Reshama Kumari Sunil Singh Aditya Mishra Tushar Sharma Argha Banerjee Harish Chandra Nainwal R. Shankar Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers Annals of Glaciology Avalanches debris-covered glaciers glacier mass balance glacier modelling |
| title | Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers |
| title_full | Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers |
| title_short | Evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of Himalayan glaciers |
| title_sort | evaluating the contribution of avalanching to the mass balance of himalayan glaciers |
| topic | Avalanches debris-covered glaciers glacier mass balance glacier modelling |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S0260305517000271/type/journal_article |
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