Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India
Abstract The hydrological method is used to compute the mass balance of Siachen Glacier in the Nubra Valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India. The method was chosen because of its suitability in rugged terrain. Analysis of precipitation data from the glacier as a function of altitude shows a power-law rela...
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1999
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crcambridgeupr:10.1017/s0022143000003099 2024-06-23T07:54:14+00:00 Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India Bhutiyani, M. R. 1999 http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000003099 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000003099 en eng Cambridge University Press (CUP) https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 149, page 112-118 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 journal-article 1999 crcambridgeupr https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000003099 2024-06-12T04:04:07Z Abstract The hydrological method is used to compute the mass balance of Siachen Glacier in the Nubra Valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India. The method was chosen because of its suitability in rugged terrain. Analysis of precipitation data from the glacier as a function of altitude shows a power-law relationship. Accumulation estimates based on this relationship show good agreement with the recorded precipitation. The discharge data from the glacier show high runoff in the ablation seasons of 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90 and 1990–91. The mass-balance calculations for these years are negative, the lowest being in 1990–91 (–1084 mm). Positive mass balance in 1988–89 (+358 mm) is attributed to comparatively heavy winter snowfall amounts and comparatively low temperatures during the ablation season. Significantly lower runoff was measured during this season. Negative mass-balance values during 1989–90 and 1990–91 are a result of comparatively dry winters and comparatively warm ablation periods, with monthly mean air temperatures 1.4–5.1 ° C higher at the beginning of the ablation season (June and July) than the mean of the last 5 years. Article in Journal/Newspaper Journal of Glaciology Cambridge University Press Journal of Glaciology 45 149 112 118 |
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Open Polar |
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Cambridge University Press |
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English |
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Abstract The hydrological method is used to compute the mass balance of Siachen Glacier in the Nubra Valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India. The method was chosen because of its suitability in rugged terrain. Analysis of precipitation data from the glacier as a function of altitude shows a power-law relationship. Accumulation estimates based on this relationship show good agreement with the recorded precipitation. The discharge data from the glacier show high runoff in the ablation seasons of 1986–87, 1987–88, 1989–90 and 1990–91. The mass-balance calculations for these years are negative, the lowest being in 1990–91 (–1084 mm). Positive mass balance in 1988–89 (+358 mm) is attributed to comparatively heavy winter snowfall amounts and comparatively low temperatures during the ablation season. Significantly lower runoff was measured during this season. Negative mass-balance values during 1989–90 and 1990–91 are a result of comparatively dry winters and comparatively warm ablation periods, with monthly mean air temperatures 1.4–5.1 ° C higher at the beginning of the ablation season (June and July) than the mean of the last 5 years. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Bhutiyani, M. R. |
spellingShingle |
Bhutiyani, M. R. Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India |
author_facet |
Bhutiyani, M. R. |
author_sort |
Bhutiyani, M. R. |
title |
Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India |
title_short |
Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India |
title_full |
Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India |
title_fullStr |
Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mass-balance studies on Siachen Glacier in the Nubra valley, Karakoram Himalaya, India |
title_sort |
mass-balance studies on siachen glacier in the nubra valley, karakoram himalaya, india |
publisher |
Cambridge University Press (CUP) |
publishDate |
1999 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000003099 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S0022143000003099 |
genre |
Journal of Glaciology |
genre_facet |
Journal of Glaciology |
op_source |
Journal of Glaciology volume 45, issue 149, page 112-118 ISSN 0022-1430 1727-5652 |
op_rights |
https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/s0022143000003099 |
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Journal of Glaciology |
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45 |
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149 |
container_start_page |
112 |
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118 |
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1802646318391230464 |