2011 - Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences ...

Richard Armstrong
The Glaciers and Seasonal Snow Cover of the
Himalaya-Karakoram-Hindu Kush Region
FUNDING: NASA EARTH SCIENCE, WORLD BANK, USAID
Snow and ice constitute
a significant component of
the hydrologic regime of
the high alpine catchments
of the world such as the
Himalaya-Karakoram-
Hindu Kush (HKH) region.
The timing and spatial patterns
of snow- and ice-melt
play key roles in providing
water sources for irrigation,
hydropower generation
and general consumption.
Hydrologic processes in
the high-altitude regions of
the world are particularly
sensitive to climate change
because of the predominant
role of snow and glaciers.
The overall objective
of this study is to develop an accurate, comprehensive assessment
of the snow and glacier contribution to the water
resources originating across the greater HKH region. Approximately
one-third of the world’s human population depends
to some degree on fresh water availability within the HKH
hydrologic system, and planning for future changes is a high
priority. However, realistic, accurate and comprehensive assessments
of the current and future availability and vulnerability
of the water resources in these regions are not possible
until the existing hydrologic regime of these mountains is
better defined; the relationship between
snow, glaciers and streamflow is evaluated
in quantitative terms; and the contribution
from other sources of streamflow
is examined. To date, this comprehensive
goal has not been addressed in a coordinated
and systematic manner, and
conclusions reached by other investigations
have often been based on anecdotal
evidence that is typically not spatially
representative. Specifically, our project
objectives are being accomplished
through the application of a comprehensive
suite of satellite remote sensing and
ground-based data as input to appropriate
snow- and ice-melt models. A series of
distributed process models, in conjunction
with area-altitude relationships for
snow, ice and temperature data, is being
used to assess the general hydrometeorological
environment of these mountaincatchment
basins
Although often considered as a
single region, the HKH represents a
wide range of climate conditions where
precipitation and basin runoff decrease
24 CIRES Annual Report 2011
considerably from the east to west as a direct result of the
weakening influence of the summer monsoon. The glacier
accumulation and ablation patterns are distinctly different,
seasonally and spatially, across the region. In the east, the
summer season combines both accumulation at the highest
elevations with melt below, while in the west, there is a
clear pattern of summer melt and winter accumulation,
similar to North America and Europe. Earlier results have
indicated that only about 5 percent or less of the river flow
in the eastern Himalaya is the result of glacier melt (Alford
et al., 2010). Outside the monsoon-dominated eastern
Himalaya, the contribution from melting glacier ice has
been estimated to be as much as 30 percent or more, but
no accurate quantitative assessments have been undertaken.
Therefore, the current phase of our project focuses
on quantifying the contribution of melting glacier ice,
melting seasonal snow, rainfall and groundwater to total
streamflow in the western Himalaya, and extending into
the Pamir mountain range of Central Asia, based on melt
models and stream geochemistry.
Graduate student Adina Racoviteanu using a GPS to establish ground
control points in support of accurate glacier mapping from satellite
data, Khumbu region, Nepal.
Mountain ranges, river systems and glaciers of the Himalayan-Karakoram-Hindu Kush region.