Year-end Sale % OFF 
Abstract
Abstract In many of the world's high mountain systems, glacier recession in response to climate change is accompanied by a paraglacial response whereby glaciers are undergoing a transition to rock glaciers. We hypothesise that this transition has important implications for hydrological resources in high mountain systems and the surrounding lowlands given the insulating effects that debris cover can have on glacier ice. Despite this, however, little is known about how this transition occurs nor how quickly, which glaciers are liable to transition, the factors driving this process and the water supply implications that follow. This paper assesses the role of glacier and rock glacier textural properties from a deglaciating region of the Himalayas to begin to address some of these issues. We investigated six landsystems on the spectrum from glaciers-to-rock glaciers in the Khumbu Himal, Nepal, and sampled for clast shape and roundness during 2016 and 2017. Kite aerial photography was additionally used to capture aerial images of an ongoing glacier-to-rock glacier transitional landform (Chola Glacier) to elucidate the surface geomorphic features of a fully transitioned landform. This image data, processed using a structure-from-motion multi-view stereo photogrammetry approach, revealed the presence of a spatially coherent ridge-and-furrow surface morphology in the lower reaches of Chola Glacier, which is potentially indicative of an ongoing glacier-to-rock glacier transition. We show that glacier-derived and slope-derived clast roundness significantly statistically different (Kolmogorov–Smirnov two-sample test: Dmax = 0.62, two-tail p
Highlights
In deglacierizing mountains, the importance of paraglacial processes, e.g., large-scale rock slope failures and localised rockfalls, are increasingly recognised (Ballantyne, 2002; Harrison, 2009; McColl, 2012; Knight and Harrison, 2014; Beniston et al, 2018)
The picavet system uses a system of twine and pulleys that serve to stabilize the kite aerial photography (KAP) platform with the camera facing in the nadir position
Laminated sheets with unique identifiers were positioned alongside each ground control points (GCPs) to simplify maker identification within the images and the GCP position was measured with a GARMIN eTrex® 10 Handheld GPS
Summary
The importance of paraglacial (i.e. landscape relaxation) processes, e.g., large-scale rock slope failures and localised rockfalls, are increasingly recognised (Ballantyne, 2002; Harrison, 2009; McColl, 2012; Knight and Harrison, 2014; Beniston et al, 2018). Continuous and thick (i.e. decimetres to metres) supraglacial debris cover can suppress ablation of the underlying ice (Lambrecht et al, 2011; Pellicciotti et al, 2014) and influence glacier dynamics significantly. One consequence of this is an increased likelihood that debris-covered glaciers will transform to rock glaciers (Shroder et al, 2000; Jones et al, 2018b; Knight et al, 2019). The water supply implications associated with rock glacier hydrological contributions under climate change scenarios is yet to be established, with few existing studies investigating this issue (for reviews see: Duguay et al, 2015; Jones et al, 2019)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
