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HAL - OMP | |
| HAL : insu-00377512, version 1 |
| DOI : 10.3189/002214307784409306 |
| Fiche détaillée |  Récupérer au format |
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| Journal of glaciology 53, 183 (2007) 603 à 611 |
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| Four years of mass balance on Chhota Shigri Glacier, Himachal Pradesh, India, a new benchmark glacier in the western Himalaya |
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| Patrick Wagnon 1Anurag Linda 2 |
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| (2007) |
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| Little is known about the Himalayan glaciers, although they are of particular interest in terms of future water supply, regional climate change and sea-level rise. In 2002, a long-term monitoring programme was started on Chhota Shigri Glacier (32.2°N, 77.5°E; 15.7 km2, 6263-4050 m a.s.l., 9 km long) located in Lahaul and Spiti Valley, Himachal Pradesh, India. This glacier lies in the monsoon-arid transition zone (western Himalaya) which is alternately influenced by Asian monsoon in summer and the mid-latitude westerlies in winter. Here we present the results of a 4 year study of mass balance and surface velocity. Overall specific mass balances are mostly negative during the study period and vary from a minimum value of -1.4 m w.e. in 2002/03 and 2005/06 (equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) ∼5180 m a.s.l.) to a maximum value of +0.1 m w.e. in 2004/05 (ELA 4855 m a.s.l.). Chhota Shigri Glacier seems similar to mid-latitude glaciers, with an ablation season limited to the summer months and a mean vertical gradient of mass balance in the ablation zone (debris-free part) of 0.7 m w.e. (100 m)-1, similar to those reported in the Alps. Mass balance is strongly dependent on debris cover, exposure and the shading effect of surrounding steep slopes. |
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| 1 : | GREAT ICE-LGGE |
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Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] |
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| 2 : | School of Environmental Sciences |
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Jawaharlal Nehru University |
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| 3 : | Birla Institute of Scientific Research (BISR) |
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B. M. Birla Science and Technology Center |
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| 4 : | Laboratoire de glaciologie et géophysique de l'environnement (LGGE) |
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CNRS : UMR5183 – OSUG – INSU – Université Joseph Fourier - Grenoble I |
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| 5 : | Laboratoire d'études en Géophysique et océanographie spatiales (LEGOS) |
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CNRS : UMR5566 – Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] – CNES – Observatoire Midi-Pyrénées – INSU – Université Paul Sabatier [UPS] - Toulouse III |
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| 6 : | High Ice India |
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Society For Himalayan Glaciology, Ice, Climate and Environment |
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| 7 : | Glaciers et ressources en eau d'altitude - Indicateurs climatiques et environnementaux (GREATICE) |
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Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] |
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| domaine | : | Planète et Univers/Sciences de la Terre/Glaciologie |
| insu-00377512, version 1 | |
| http://hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr/insu-00377512 | |
| oai:hal-insu.archives-ouvertes.fr:insu-00377512 | |
| Contributeur : Aurore Gayraud | |
| Soumis le : Mercredi 22 Avril 2009, 11:08:01 | |
| Dernière modification le : Mercredi 26 Août 2009, 09:00:15 | |
