Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion
The current article is an opinion on the sensitivity of high mountain regions which are the most fragile, sensitive and vulnerable to ongoing climate change. Its impacts are especially severe on the high mountain communities owing to their weak socio-economic profile, limited livelihood resources an...
Main Authors: | , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
BILINGUAL PUBLISHING GROUP
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://journals.bilpubgroup.com/index.php/jasr/article/view/5541 |
id |
ftbilinugalpubl:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/5541 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftbilinugalpubl:oai:ojs.pkp.sfu.ca:article/5541 2023-06-18T03:43:20+02:00 Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion Ali, Sheikh Nawaz Pandey, Pratima 2023-04-13 application/pdf https://journals.bilpubgroup.com/index.php/jasr/article/view/5541 eng eng BILINGUAL PUBLISHING GROUP https://journals.bilpubgroup.com/index.php/jasr/article/view/5541/4802 https://journals.bilpubgroup.com/index.php/jasr/article/view/5541 Copyright © 2023 Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 Journal of Atmospheric Science Research; Vol. 6 , Iss. 2 (April 2023); 33-41 2630-5119 Climate change Rock glaciers Evolving agricultural practices Systematic study Higher Himalayas info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2023 ftbilinugalpubl 2023-06-06T20:18:40Z The current article is an opinion on the sensitivity of high mountain regions which are the most fragile, sensitive and vulnerable to ongoing climate change. Its impacts are especially severe on the high mountain communities owing to their weak socio-economic profile, limited livelihood resources and agricultural land. The melting of glaciers and changes in the snow cover under the climate change scenario is leading to the scarcity of freshwater supplies, affecting both local and downstream communities. Changes in the precipitation patterns have been suggested to cause droughts, impact restricted agriculture, and limit the availability of water for domestic use. Additionally, the high mountain areas contain distinct flora and fauna, and climate change is not just altering them, but also has resulted in biodiversity loss as species are unable to adapt to the changing climate. Because of its higher altitudes and semi-arid to arid climate, the consequences of climate change are more evident in the higher Himalayas. Climate change is affecting the availability of key resources, such as freshwater and agriculture and pasture lands, resulting in food and water insecurity and their reliance on imports from other regions. As a result, high mountain communities in the Himalayas are progressively shifting to higher glacier valleys in search of suitable cultivable land with adequate irrigation. People are engaging in agro-pastoral activities around thermokarst lakes (Oasis) atop rock glaciers as part of this endeavour. Such actions underscore the crucial role of rock glaciers in dealing with and adjusting to the consequences of climate change. Despite its relevance, rock glacier research in the Himalayan region is still in its infancy. The purpose of this work is to emphasise the significance of these major climate-resilient water resources, as well as the methodology that must be adopted for their systematic and compressive investigations. Article in Journal/Newspaper Thermokarst Bilingual Publishing Co. (BPC): E-Journals Endeavour ENVELOPE(162.000,162.000,-76.550,-76.550) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Bilingual Publishing Co. (BPC): E-Journals |
op_collection_id |
ftbilinugalpubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Climate change Rock glaciers Evolving agricultural practices Systematic study Higher Himalayas |
spellingShingle |
Climate change Rock glaciers Evolving agricultural practices Systematic study Higher Himalayas Ali, Sheikh Nawaz Pandey, Pratima Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion |
topic_facet |
Climate change Rock glaciers Evolving agricultural practices Systematic study Higher Himalayas |
description |
The current article is an opinion on the sensitivity of high mountain regions which are the most fragile, sensitive and vulnerable to ongoing climate change. Its impacts are especially severe on the high mountain communities owing to their weak socio-economic profile, limited livelihood resources and agricultural land. The melting of glaciers and changes in the snow cover under the climate change scenario is leading to the scarcity of freshwater supplies, affecting both local and downstream communities. Changes in the precipitation patterns have been suggested to cause droughts, impact restricted agriculture, and limit the availability of water for domestic use. Additionally, the high mountain areas contain distinct flora and fauna, and climate change is not just altering them, but also has resulted in biodiversity loss as species are unable to adapt to the changing climate. Because of its higher altitudes and semi-arid to arid climate, the consequences of climate change are more evident in the higher Himalayas. Climate change is affecting the availability of key resources, such as freshwater and agriculture and pasture lands, resulting in food and water insecurity and their reliance on imports from other regions. As a result, high mountain communities in the Himalayas are progressively shifting to higher glacier valleys in search of suitable cultivable land with adequate irrigation. People are engaging in agro-pastoral activities around thermokarst lakes (Oasis) atop rock glaciers as part of this endeavour. Such actions underscore the crucial role of rock glaciers in dealing with and adjusting to the consequences of climate change. Despite its relevance, rock glacier research in the Himalayan region is still in its infancy. The purpose of this work is to emphasise the significance of these major climate-resilient water resources, as well as the methodology that must be adopted for their systematic and compressive investigations. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ali, Sheikh Nawaz Pandey, Pratima |
author_facet |
Ali, Sheikh Nawaz Pandey, Pratima |
author_sort |
Ali, Sheikh Nawaz |
title |
Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion |
title_short |
Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion |
title_full |
Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion |
title_fullStr |
Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion |
title_full_unstemmed |
Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion |
title_sort |
crucial, but not systematically investigated: rock glaciers, the concealed water reservoirs of the himalayas: an opinion |
publisher |
BILINGUAL PUBLISHING GROUP |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://journals.bilpubgroup.com/index.php/jasr/article/view/5541 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(162.000,162.000,-76.550,-76.550) |
geographic |
Endeavour |
geographic_facet |
Endeavour |
genre |
Thermokarst |
genre_facet |
Thermokarst |
op_source |
Journal of Atmospheric Science Research; Vol. 6 , Iss. 2 (April 2023); 33-41 2630-5119 |
op_relation |
https://journals.bilpubgroup.com/index.php/jasr/article/view/5541/4802 https://journals.bilpubgroup.com/index.php/jasr/article/view/5541 |
op_rights |
Copyright © 2023 Authors https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0 |
_version_ |
1769009681936678912 |