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Surface Pond Energy Absorption Across Four Himalayan Glaciers Accounts for 1/8 of Total Catchment Ice Loss.

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Abstract

Glaciers in High Mountain Asia, many of which exhibit surface debris, contain the largest volume of ice outside of the polar regions. Many contain supraglacial pond networks that enhance melt rates locally, but no large-scale assessment of their impact on melt rates exists. Here we use surface energy balance modeling forced using locally measured meteorological data and monthly satellite-derived pond distributions to estimate the total melt enhancement for the four main glaciers within the 400-km2 Langtang catchment, Nepal, for a 6-month period in 2014. Ponds account for 0.20 ± 0.03 m/year of surface melt, representing a local melt enhancement of a factor of 14 ± 3 compared with the debris-covered area, and equivalent to 12.5 ± 2.0% of total catchment ice loss. Given the prevalence of supraglacial ponds across the region, our results suggest that effective incorporation of melt enhancement by ponds is essential for accurate predictions of future mass balance change in the region.

Description

Keywords

Himalayan glaciers, debris‐covered glaciers, energy balance, melt enhancement, supraglacial lakes

Journal Title

Geophys Res Lett

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0094-8276
1944-8007

Volume Title

45

Publisher

American Geophysical Union (AGU)
Sponsorship
Gates Cambridge Trust, Trinity College (Cambridge), Philip Lake and William Vaughn Lewis Fund (Cambridge). B.B. Roberts Fund (Cambridge). European Research Council under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement no. 676819). USAID (United States Agency for International Development) High Mountain Glacier Watershed Programs Climber-Scientist Grant (CCRDCS0010) Swiss National Science Foundation project UNCOMUN (SNF 200021L146761).