Estimation of annual and seasonal glaciological-based mass balance of Ladakh range in cold-arid Himalayan region – Case studies of Phuche and Khardung glaciers in 2014–2017

IF 1.5 4区地球科学 Q3 ECOLOGY

Polar Science Pub Date : 2025-03-01 DOI:10.1016/j.polar.2024.101132

Jaydeo K. Dharpure , Ajanta Goswami , Akansha Patel , Sanjay K. Jain , Anil V. Kulkarni

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The continuous estimation of glacier surface mass balance (MB) in the cold-arid trans-Himalayan region is crucial for understanding glacier-atmospheric interactions and managing future water resources. Therefore, it is essential to investigate glacier mass variability and its sensitivity to climate drivers. This study uses the direct glaciological surface MB measurements for the Phuche and Khardung glaciers from 2014 to 2017. The mean annual surface MB was observed to be −0.17 for the Phuche glacier and −0.63 m w.e. for the Khardung glacier. The maximum mass loss occurred in 2015/16 for both glaciers. The Phuche glacier experienced positive surface MB in 2014/15 and 2016/17, while the Khardung glacier exhibited negative surface MB throughout the study period. No equilibrium line altitude (ELA) or accumulation area ratio (AAR) was observed either glacier in 2015/16 period. However, the two-year average (2014/15 and 2016/17) ELA and AAR of the Phuche glacier were approximately 5480 m above sea level (asl) and 92%, respectively, while the Khardung glacier they were 5500 m asl and 13%. Results demonstrated that the timing of snowpack melt during the ablation periods significantly influenced glacier mass balance. Overall, the Khardung glacier experienced 3.7 times more mass loss than the Phuche glacier. This higher glacier melt may be attributed to changes in climatic variables and topographical variations.

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喜马拉雅寒冷干旱地区拉达克山脉年度和季节性冰川学物质平衡估算——以2014-2017年普彻和卡东冰川为例

跨喜马拉雅寒冷干旱地区冰川表面物质平衡（MB）的连续估算对于理解冰川-大气相互作用和管理未来水资源至关重要。因此，研究冰川质量变率及其对气候驱动因子的敏感性是十分必要的。本研究使用2014年至2017年Phuche和Khardung冰川的直接冰川表面MB测量数据。Phuche冰川的年平均地表MB为- 0.17 m， Khardung冰川的年平均地表MB为- 0.63 m。两个冰川的最大质量损失都发生在2015/16年。普彻冰川在2014/15年和2016/17年经历了正地表MB，而哈当冰川在整个研究期间都经历了负地表MB。2015/16年未观测到平衡线高度（ELA）和累积面积比（AAR）。然而，普切冰川的2年平均（2014/15和2016/17）ELA和AAR分别约为海拔5480 m和92%，而哈东冰川的ELA和AAR分别为海拔5500 m和13%。结果表明，消融期积雪融化的时间对冰川物质平衡有显著影响。总的来说，喀当冰川的质量损失是普彻冰川的3.7倍。这种较高的冰川融化可能归因于气候变量和地形变化的变化。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Polar Science ECOLOGY-GEOSCIENCES, MULTIDISCIPLINARY

CiteScore

3.90

自引率

5.60%

发文量

期刊介绍： Polar Science is an international, peer-reviewed quarterly journal. It is dedicated to publishing original research articles for sciences relating to the polar regions of the Earth and other planets. Polar Science aims to cover 15 disciplines which are listed below; they cover most aspects of physical sciences, geosciences and life sciences, together with engineering and social sciences. Articles should attract the interest of broad polar science communities, and not be limited to the interests of those who work under specific research subjects. Polar Science also has an Open Archive whereby published articles are made freely available from ScienceDirect after an embargo period of 24 months from the date of publication. - Space and upper atmosphere physics - Atmospheric science/climatology - Glaciology - Oceanography/sea ice studies - Geology/petrology - Solid earth geophysics/seismology - Marine Earth science - Geomorphology/Cenozoic-Quaternary geology - Meteoritics - Terrestrial biology - Marine biology - Animal ecology - Environment - Polar Engineering - Humanities and social sciences.