40-Year Pakistani Survey Shows 14 Small Glaciers Gone, "Stable" Glaciers Losing Thickness

[hatrack]

The ongoing research study, funded by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) since 2006, focuses on two river basins – Suru, a tributary of Indus in Zanskar mountain range in Ladakh, and Lidder, a tributary of Jhelum river that runs south to north in Kashmir valley. Along with the Chenab, the Indus and Jhelum form the western rivers of the Indus basin and provide for Pakistan's water requirements under the terms of the Indus Waters Treaty.
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"We have studied data of the last 40 years. Fourteen smaller glaciers in Suru valley have already vanished and the overall loss is about 16.43 percent," says Dr. Shakeel Romshoo, a System Analysis Expert and an Associate Professor at Geology and Geophysics Department who heads the ISRO funded project studying the effects of climate change in Jammu and Kashmir. Since 1969, the glacier cover in Suru Basin which has around 360 glaciers, has been reduced from 567 sq kilometers to 474 sq kilometers, Dr Romshoo says. "But different glaciers are responding differently to global climatic change. While the lengths of some glaciers have reduced, some have shown reduction in depth or thickness even if their snouts have remained in the same place as earlier," he explains.

The study shows that the length of Kangrez glacier near Parkhache village in Zanskar region has not changed. However, the glacier has shown almost 15 metre reduction in thickness. In other glaciers, named S1 and S3 in the study, the researchers noted a decrease of 1 km and 1.5 km in length respectively. The snouts of other glaciers, named S2 and S4, have shown no change in length but changes in thickness have been noted. "We have collaborated date from satellite imagery of past and present, data from metrology and hydrology and water discharge data besides collecting field data about these glaciers," says Romshoo.

In Lidder basin, the study found an increase in water discharge. Researchers link this increase to climate change that affects Kolhai Glacier that feeds the Lidder river. "Precipitation in Lidder basin is decreasing while the temperature is increasing. As a result, water discharge in Lidder is also increasing. It is a safe conclusion that water discharge is increasing due to excessive melting of glaciers. There are also drastic changes in snowfall patterns in this basin," says Romshoo.

The study revealed that water discharge in the river has increased by an average of 2000 cusecs pr year since 1979. The characteristic temperature curve in Lidder valley too shows a steep upward trend. "The temperature increase in the basin over the last 100 years was one degree centigrade. The increase is more rapid in last 30 years," says Romshoo.

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http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=245236

[pscot]

1. The thinning mirrors

what's going on with the arctic ice. I'll bet a case of Spaten Pils that the process accelerates.