Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007
In the Everest region, Nepal, ground-based monitoring programmes were started on the debris-free Mera Glacier (27.7° N, 86.9° E; 5.1 km2, 6420 to 4940 m a.s.l.) in 2007 and on the small Pokalde Glacier (27.9° N, 86.8° E; 0.1 km2, 5690 to 5430 m a.s.l., ~ 25 km north of Mera Glacier) in 2009. These g...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
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Copernicus Publications
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Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1769/2013/tc-7-1769-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/808ba1bcc6e44c5a99dd8ba096e07895 |
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fttriple:oai:gotriple.eu:oai:doaj.org/article:808ba1bcc6e44c5a99dd8ba096e07895 2023-05-15T18:32:21+02:00 Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007 P. Wagnon C. Vincent Y. Arnaud E. Berthier E. Vuillermoz S. Gruber M. Ménégoz A. Gilbert M. Dumont J. M. Shea D. Stumm B. K. Pokhrel 2013-11-01 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1769/2013/tc-7-1769-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/808ba1bcc6e44c5a99dd8ba096e07895 en eng Copernicus Publications 1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1769/2013/tc-7-1769-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/808ba1bcc6e44c5a99dd8ba096e07895 undefined The Cryosphere, Vol 7, Iss 6, Pp 1769-1786 (2013) envir geo Journal Article https://vocabularies.coar-repositories.org/resource_types/c_6501/ 2013 fttriple https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013 2023-01-22T18:59:47Z In the Everest region, Nepal, ground-based monitoring programmes were started on the debris-free Mera Glacier (27.7° N, 86.9° E; 5.1 km2, 6420 to 4940 m a.s.l.) in 2007 and on the small Pokalde Glacier (27.9° N, 86.8° E; 0.1 km2, 5690 to 5430 m a.s.l., ~ 25 km north of Mera Glacier) in 2009. These glaciers lie on the southern flank of the central Himalaya under the direct influence of the Indian monsoon and receive more than 80% of their annual precipitation in summer (June to September). Despite a large inter-annual variability with glacier-wide mass balances ranging from −0.67 ± 0.28 m w.e. in 2011–2012 (Equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) at ~ 5800 m a.s.l.) to +0.46 ± 0.28 m w.e. in 2010–2011 (ELA at ~ 5340 m a.s.l.), Mera Glacier has been shrinking at a moderate mass balance rate of −0.08 ± 0.28 m w.e. yr−1 since 2007. Ice fluxes measured at two distinct transverse cross sections at ~ 5350 m a.s.l. and ~ 5520 m a.s.l. confirm that the mean state of this glacier over the last one or two decades corresponds to a limited mass loss, in agreement with remotely-sensed region-wide mass balances of the Everest area. Seasonal mass balance measurements show that ablation and accumulation are concomitant in summer which in turn is the key season controlling the annual glacier-wide mass balance. Unexpectedly, ablation occurs at all elevations in winter due to wind erosion and sublimation, with remobilised snow potentially being sublimated in the atmosphere. Between 2009 and 2012, the small Pokalde Glacier lost mass more rapidly than Mera Glacier with respective mean glacier-wide mass balances of −0.72 and −0.23 ± 0.28 m w.e. yr−1. Low-elevation glaciers, such as Pokalde Glacier, have been usually preferred for in-situ observations in Nepal and more generally in the Himalayas, which may explain why compilations of ground-based mass balances are biased toward negative values compared with the regional mean under the present-day climate. Article in Journal/Newspaper The Cryosphere Unknown Ela ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) Indian The Cryosphere 7 6 1769 1786 |
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Open Polar |
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fttriple |
language |
English |
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envir geo |
spellingShingle |
envir geo P. Wagnon C. Vincent Y. Arnaud E. Berthier E. Vuillermoz S. Gruber M. Ménégoz A. Gilbert M. Dumont J. M. Shea D. Stumm B. K. Pokhrel Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007 |
topic_facet |
envir geo |
description |
In the Everest region, Nepal, ground-based monitoring programmes were started on the debris-free Mera Glacier (27.7° N, 86.9° E; 5.1 km2, 6420 to 4940 m a.s.l.) in 2007 and on the small Pokalde Glacier (27.9° N, 86.8° E; 0.1 km2, 5690 to 5430 m a.s.l., ~ 25 km north of Mera Glacier) in 2009. These glaciers lie on the southern flank of the central Himalaya under the direct influence of the Indian monsoon and receive more than 80% of their annual precipitation in summer (June to September). Despite a large inter-annual variability with glacier-wide mass balances ranging from −0.67 ± 0.28 m w.e. in 2011–2012 (Equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) at ~ 5800 m a.s.l.) to +0.46 ± 0.28 m w.e. in 2010–2011 (ELA at ~ 5340 m a.s.l.), Mera Glacier has been shrinking at a moderate mass balance rate of −0.08 ± 0.28 m w.e. yr−1 since 2007. Ice fluxes measured at two distinct transverse cross sections at ~ 5350 m a.s.l. and ~ 5520 m a.s.l. confirm that the mean state of this glacier over the last one or two decades corresponds to a limited mass loss, in agreement with remotely-sensed region-wide mass balances of the Everest area. Seasonal mass balance measurements show that ablation and accumulation are concomitant in summer which in turn is the key season controlling the annual glacier-wide mass balance. Unexpectedly, ablation occurs at all elevations in winter due to wind erosion and sublimation, with remobilised snow potentially being sublimated in the atmosphere. Between 2009 and 2012, the small Pokalde Glacier lost mass more rapidly than Mera Glacier with respective mean glacier-wide mass balances of −0.72 and −0.23 ± 0.28 m w.e. yr−1. Low-elevation glaciers, such as Pokalde Glacier, have been usually preferred for in-situ observations in Nepal and more generally in the Himalayas, which may explain why compilations of ground-based mass balances are biased toward negative values compared with the regional mean under the present-day climate. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
P. Wagnon C. Vincent Y. Arnaud E. Berthier E. Vuillermoz S. Gruber M. Ménégoz A. Gilbert M. Dumont J. M. Shea D. Stumm B. K. Pokhrel |
author_facet |
P. Wagnon C. Vincent Y. Arnaud E. Berthier E. Vuillermoz S. Gruber M. Ménégoz A. Gilbert M. Dumont J. M. Shea D. Stumm B. K. Pokhrel |
author_sort |
P. Wagnon |
title |
Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007 |
title_short |
Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007 |
title_full |
Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007 |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007 |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal and annual mass balances of Mera and Pokalde glaciers (Nepal Himalaya) since 2007 |
title_sort |
seasonal and annual mass balances of mera and pokalde glaciers (nepal himalaya) since 2007 |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1769/2013/tc-7-1769-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/808ba1bcc6e44c5a99dd8ba096e07895 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(9.642,9.642,63.170,63.170) |
geographic |
Ela Indian |
geographic_facet |
Ela Indian |
genre |
The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 7, Iss 6, Pp 1769-1786 (2013) |
op_relation |
1994-0416 1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013 http://www.the-cryosphere.net/7/1769/2013/tc-7-1769-2013.pdf https://doaj.org/article/808ba1bcc6e44c5a99dd8ba096e07895 |
op_rights |
undefined |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
7 |
container_issue |
6 |
container_start_page |
1769 |
op_container_end_page |
1786 |
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1766216454790709248 |