Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s
Tree-ring δ 18 O values are a sensitive proxy for regional physical climate, while their δ 13 C values are a strong predictor of local ecohydrology. Utilizing available ice-core and tree-ring δ 18 O records from the central Himalaya (CH), we found an increase in east–west climate heterogeneity since...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:c70377dfa822426bab1cd345c4d9c4b8 2023-05-15T16:39:13+02:00 Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s N. Singh M. Shekhar J. Singh A. K. Gupta A. Bräuning C. Mayr M. Singhal 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-95-2021 https://doaj.org/article/c70377dfa822426bab1cd345c4d9c4b8 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/95/2021/tc-15-95-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-15-95-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/c70377dfa822426bab1cd345c4d9c4b8 The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 95-112 (2021) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2021 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-95-2021 2022-12-31T15:51:02Z Tree-ring δ 18 O values are a sensitive proxy for regional physical climate, while their δ 13 C values are a strong predictor of local ecohydrology. Utilizing available ice-core and tree-ring δ 18 O records from the central Himalaya (CH), we found an increase in east–west climate heterogeneity since the 1960s. Further, δ 13 C records from transitional western glaciated valleys provide a robust basis for reconstructing about 3 centuries of glacier mass balance (GMB) dynamics. We reconstructed annually resolved GMB since 1743 CE based on regionally dominant tree species of diverse plant functional types. Three major phases became apparent: positive GMB up to the mid-19th century, the middle phase (1870–1960) of slightly negative but stable GMB, and an exponential ice mass loss since the 1960s. Reasons for accelerated mass loss are largely attributed to anthropogenic climate change, including concurrent alterations in atmospheric circulations (weakening of the westerlies and the Arabian Sea branch of the Indian summer monsoon). Multi-decadal isotopic and climate coherency analyses specify an eastward declining influence of the westerlies in the monsoon-dominated CH region. Besides, our study provides a long-term context for recent GMB variability, which is essential for its reliable projection and attribution. Article in Journal/Newspaper ice core The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Indian The Cryosphere 15 1 95 112 |
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Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
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ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
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Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 N. Singh M. Shekhar J. Singh A. K. Gupta A. Bräuning C. Mayr M. Singhal Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Tree-ring δ 18 O values are a sensitive proxy for regional physical climate, while their δ 13 C values are a strong predictor of local ecohydrology. Utilizing available ice-core and tree-ring δ 18 O records from the central Himalaya (CH), we found an increase in east–west climate heterogeneity since the 1960s. Further, δ 13 C records from transitional western glaciated valleys provide a robust basis for reconstructing about 3 centuries of glacier mass balance (GMB) dynamics. We reconstructed annually resolved GMB since 1743 CE based on regionally dominant tree species of diverse plant functional types. Three major phases became apparent: positive GMB up to the mid-19th century, the middle phase (1870–1960) of slightly negative but stable GMB, and an exponential ice mass loss since the 1960s. Reasons for accelerated mass loss are largely attributed to anthropogenic climate change, including concurrent alterations in atmospheric circulations (weakening of the westerlies and the Arabian Sea branch of the Indian summer monsoon). Multi-decadal isotopic and climate coherency analyses specify an eastward declining influence of the westerlies in the monsoon-dominated CH region. Besides, our study provides a long-term context for recent GMB variability, which is essential for its reliable projection and attribution. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
N. Singh M. Shekhar J. Singh A. K. Gupta A. Bräuning C. Mayr M. Singhal |
author_facet |
N. Singh M. Shekhar J. Singh A. K. Gupta A. Bräuning C. Mayr M. Singhal |
author_sort |
N. Singh |
title |
Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s |
title_short |
Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s |
title_full |
Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s |
title_fullStr |
Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s |
title_full_unstemmed |
Central Himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s |
title_sort |
central himalayan tree-ring isotopes reveal increasing regional heterogeneity and enhancement in ice mass loss since the 1960s |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-95-2021 https://doaj.org/article/c70377dfa822426bab1cd345c4d9c4b8 |
geographic |
Indian |
geographic_facet |
Indian |
genre |
ice core The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
ice core The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 15, Pp 95-112 (2021) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/15/95/2021/tc-15-95-2021.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-15-95-2021 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/c70377dfa822426bab1cd345c4d9c4b8 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-15-95-2021 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
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15 |
container_issue |
1 |
container_start_page |
95 |
op_container_end_page |
112 |
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