Meteorological conditions, seasonal and annual mass balances of Chhota Shigri Glacier, western Himalaya, India

Mohd Farooq Azam,P Sharma,A Linda,J.G Pottakkal,V.B Singh,E Berthier,Al Ramanathan,A Mandal,T Angchuk,P Wagnon,C Vincent

doi:10.3189/2016aog71a570

Abstract

AbstractWe present the updated glaciological mass balance (MB) of Chhota Shigri Glacier, the longest continuous annual MB record in the Hindu-Kush Karakoram Himalaya (HKH) region. Additionally, 4 years of seasonal MBs are presented and analyzed using the data acquired at an automatic weather station (AWS-M) installed in 2009 on a lateral moraine (4863ma.s.l.). The glaciological MB series since 2002 is first recalculated using an updated glacier hypsometry and then validated against geodetic MB derived from satellite stereo-imagery between 2005 (SPOT5) and 2014 (Pléiades). Chhota Shigri Glacier lost mass between 2002 and 2014 with a cumulative glaciological MB of –6.72mw.e. corresponding to a mean annual glacier-wide MB (Ba) of –0.56mw.e. a–1. Equilibrium-line altitude (ELA0) for the steady-state condition is calculated as ~4950ma.s.l., corresponding to an accumulation–area ratio (AAR0) of ~61%. Analysis of seasonal MBs between 2009 and 2013 with air temperature from AWS-M and precipitation from the nearest meteorological station at Bhuntar (1050ma.s.l.) suggests that the summer monsoon is the key season driving the interannual variability of Ba for this glacier. The intensity of summer snowfall events controls the Ba evolution via controlling summer glacier-wide MB (Bs).

Highlights

The Hindu-Kush Karakoram Himalaya (HKH), covering a glacierized area of 40 000 km2 (Bolch and others, 2012), are the birthplace of some of the largest rivers in the world
We present the updated glaciological mass balance (MB) of Chhota Shigri Glacier, the longest continuous annual MB record in the Hindu-Kush Karakoram Himalaya (HKH) region
Annual mass balances This unique MB dataset in the HKH region shows that Chhota Shigri Glacier, previously found to be representative of the whole Lahaul and Spiti region (2110 km2; Vincent and others, 2013), has been losing mass since 2002 at a mean rate of –0.56 m w.e. a–1

Summary

Introduction

The Hindu-Kush Karakoram Himalaya (HKH), covering a glacierized area of 40 000 km (Bolch and others, 2012), are the birthplace of some of the largest rivers in the world. The role of HKH glaciers as an important source of fresh water for the population living in the adjacent lowlands has been highlighted by several studies (e.g. Immerzeel and others, 2010; Kaser and others, 2010; Thayyen and Gergan, 2010), but these glaciers have not been monitored on a long-term basis (Bolch and others, 2012; Vincent and others, 2013). Mass-balance observations are needed to study the impact of climate change, especially in high remote areas such as the HKH region where meteorological observations are difficult and, only recent and sparse A contrasting pattern of glacier change has been observed throughout the HKH range, mainly revealed by studies using remote-sensing data Ground-based observations are not possible for all glaciers in the HKH region, but they are necessary to validate/confirm the remotely sensed observations

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