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1 May 2010 Analysis of Glacial Meltwater in Bagrot Valley, Karakoram
Christoph Mayer, Astrid Lambrecht, Claudia Mihalcea, Marco Belò, Guglielmina Diolaiuti, Claudio Smiraglia, Furrukh Bashir
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Abstract

People in the Karakoram use discharge from glaciers during summer for irrigation and other purposes. While the glacial meltwater supply during hot and dry periods will vary as a result of climate change, Karakoram glaciers so far have not shown a consistent reaction to climatic change, although climate scenarios indicate severe future impacts in the high-elevation regions of the Himalaya and Karakoram. Field measurements on Hinarche Glacier in Bagrot Valley are combined with remote sensing information and climate observations to investigate the meltwater production of the glacier and estimate the meltwater discharge in the valley. Special emphasis was placed on ice melt beneath supraglacial debris, which is the common process on the glacier tongues in the region. The calculated annual meltwater production of about 135 million m3 for Hinarche Glacier shows the order of magnitude for glacier runoff in such environments. Glacial meltwater production is about 300 million m3 per year for the entire valley under balanced conditions. This analysis serves as a basis for further investigations concerning temporal meltwater variability and potential water usage by the local population.

Christoph Mayer, Astrid Lambrecht, Claudia Mihalcea, Marco Belò, Guglielmina Diolaiuti, Claudio Smiraglia, and Furrukh Bashir "Analysis of Glacial Meltwater in Bagrot Valley, Karakoram," Mountain Research and Development 30(2), 169-177, (1 May 2010). https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-09-00043.1
Received: 1 January 2010; Accepted: 1 February 2010; Published: 1 May 2010
KEYWORDS
climate change
debris-covered glacier
glacierized mountain areas
ice and snow melt
Karakoram
monitoring strategies
Pakistan
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