1. Snow and ice melt contributions in a highly glacierized catchment of Chhota Shigri Glacier (India) over the last five decades
- Author
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Al. Ramanathan, Pierre Chevallier, Smriti Srivastava, Naveen Kumar, Mohd Farooq Azam, Patrick Wagnon, Jose George Pottakkal, C. Vincent, Laboratoire d'étude des transferts en hydrologie et environnement (LTHE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble (INPG)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Grenoble (OSUG), Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble 1 (UJF)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Franche-Comté Électronique Mécanique, Thermique et Optique - Sciences et Technologies (UMR 6174) (FEMTO-ST), Université de Franche-Comté (UFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM), Department of Mathematics, Banaras Hindu University [Varanasi] (BHU), Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC (GREGH), Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC Paris)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IITI), Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes [2016-2019] (UGA [2016-2019]), Université de Technologie de Belfort-Montbeliard (UTBM)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques (ENSMM)-Université de Franche-Comté (UFC), Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Université Bourgogne Franche-Comté [COMUE] (UBFC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Hydrosciences Montpellier (HSM), and Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Université Montpellier 2 - Sciences et Techniques (UM2)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
- Subjects
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences ,0207 environmental engineering ,Drainage basin ,runoff ,02 engineering and technology ,Mass balance ,01 natural sciences ,Himalayan glaciers ,Hydrology (agriculture) ,Snow-melt ,Precipitation ,020701 environmental engineering ,Ice-melt runoff ,ComputingMilieux_MISCELLANEOUS ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Water Science and Technology ,Hydrology ,geography ,geography.geographical_feature_category ,Glacier ,Snow ,6. Clean water ,13. Climate action ,Moraine ,Snowmelt ,[SDE]Environmental Sciences ,Environmental science ,Surface runoff - Abstract
Glacier-wide mass balances and runoffs are reconstructed over 1969-2016 for Chhota Shigri Glacier catchment (India) applying a glacio-hydrological model. The model is forced using in-situ daily air-temperature and precipitation records from the meteorological stations at Bhuntar Observatory (1092 m a.s.l.), glacier base camp (3850 m a.s.l.) and glacier side moraine (4863 m a.s.l.). The modelled mean annual mass balance is -0.30 +/- 0.36m w.e.a(-1) (meter water equivalent per year), while the mean catchment-wide runoff is 1.56 +/- 0.23 m w.e.a(-1) over 1969-2016. Three periods are distinguished in the reconstructed mass balance and runoff series. Periods I (1969-1985) and III (2001-2016) show glacier mass wastage at rates of -0.36 and - 0.50 m w.e.a(-1), respectively, corresponding to catchment-wide runoffs of 1.51 and 1.65 m w.e.a(-1), respectively. Conversely, period II (1986-2000) exhibits steady-state conditions with average mass balances of -0.01 m w.e.a(-1), and corresponding runoff of 1.52m w.e.a(-1). The reduced ice melt (0.20m w.e.a(-1)) over period II, in agreement with steady-state conditions, is compensated by the increased snow melt (1.03 m w.e.a(-1)), providing almost similar catchment-wide runoffs for period I and II. The increased runoff after 2000 is mainly governed by increased ice melt (0.32m w.e.a(-1)) over period III. Snow accumulation in winter and summer seasons together control the glacier-wide mass balances as well as catchment-wide runoffs. Snow melt contributes the maximum to the total mean annual runoff with 63% share while glacier melt and rain contribute 17% and 20% respectively over the whole period.
- Published
- 2019
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