Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion

Authors

  • Sheikh Nawaz Ali

    Birbal Sahni institute of Palaeosciences, Lucknow, 226007, India

  • Pratima Pandey

    Indian Institute of Remote Sensing, Dehradun, 248001, India

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jasr.v6i2.5541
Received: 14 March 2023 | Revised: 03 April 2023 | Accepted: 04 April 2023 | Published Online: 13 April 2023

Abstract

The current article is an opinion on the sensitivity of high mountain regions which are the most fragile, sensitive and vulnerable to ongoing climate change. Its impacts are especially severe on the high mountain communities owing to their weak socio-economic profile, limited livelihood resources and agricultural land. The melting of glaciers and changes in the snow cover under the climate change scenario is leading to the scarcity of freshwater supplies, affecting both local and downstream communities. Changes in the precipitation patterns have been suggested to cause droughts, impact restricted agriculture, and limit the availability of water for domestic use. Additionally, the high mountain areas contain distinct flora and fauna, and climate change is not just altering them, but also has resulted in biodiversity loss as species are unable to adapt to the changing climate. Because of its higher altitudes and semi-arid to arid climate, the consequences of climate change are more evident in the higher Himalayas. Climate change is affecting the availability of key resources, such as freshwater and agriculture and pasture lands, resulting in food and water insecurity and their reliance on imports from other regions. As a result, high mountain communities in the Himalayas are progressively shifting to higher glacier valleys in search of suitable cultivable land with adequate irrigation. People are engaging in agro-pastoral activities around thermokarst lakes (Oasis) atop rock glaciers as part of this endeavour. Such actions underscore the crucial role of rock glaciers in dealing with and adjusting to the consequences of climate change. Despite its relevance, rock glacier research in the Himalayan region is still in its infancy. The purpose of this work is to emphasise the significance of these major climate-resilient water resources, as well as the methodology that must be adopted for their systematic and compressive investigations.

Keywords:

Climate change; Rock glaciers; Evolving agricultural practices; Systematic study; Higher Himalayas

References

[1] Wagner, T., Kainz, S., Helfricht, K., et al., 2021. Assessment of liquid and solid water storage in rock glaciers versus glacier ice in the Austrian Alps. Science of the Total Environment. 800, 149593.

[2] Geiger, S.T., Daniels, J.M., Miller, S.N., et al., 2014. Influence of rock glaciers on stream hydrology in the La Sal Mountains, Utah. Arctic, Antarctic, and Alpine Research. 46(3), 645-658.

[3] Rogger, M., Chirico, G.B., Hausmann, H., et al., 2017. Impact of mountain permafrost on flow path and runoff response in a high alpine catchment. Water Resources Research. 53(2), 1288-1308.

[4] Shannon, S., Smith, R., Wiltshire, A., et al., 2019. Global glacier volume projections under high-end climate change scenarios. Cryosphere. 13, 325-350.

[5] Jones, D.B., Harrison, S., Anderson, K., et al., 2021. Rock glaciers represent hidden water stores in the Himalaya. Science of The Total Environment. 793, 145368.

[6] Ming, J., Wang, Y., Du, Z., et al., 2015. Widespread albedo decreasing and induced melting of Himalayan snow and ice in the early 21st century. PLoS One. 10(6), e0126235.

[7] Gurung, D.R., Maharjan, S.B., Shrestha, A.B., et al., 2017. Climate and topographic controls on snow cover dynamics in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. International Journal of Climatology. 37, 3873-3882.

[8] Smith, T., Bookhagen, B., 2018. Changes in seasonal snow water equivalent distribution in High Mountain Asia (1987 to 2009). Science Advances. 4, e1701550.

[9] Pandey, P., Ali, S.N., Allen, S., 2022. Rock glacier Oasis: An alternative for agro-pastoralism in a changing environment in the Himalayan cold desert. The Geographical Journal. 188(4), 585-590. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/geoj.12468

[10] Jones, D.B., Harrison, S., Anderson, K., et al., 2021. Rock glaciers represent hidden water stores in the Himalaya. Science of The Total Environment. 793, 145368.

[11] Baral, P., Haq, M.A., Yaragal, S., 2019. Assessment of rock glaciers and permafrost distribution in Uttarakhand, India. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. 31, 31-56.

[12] Pandey, P., 2019. Inventory of rock glaciers in Himachal Himalaya, India using high-resolution Google Earth imagery. Geomorphology. 340, 103-115.

[13] Majeed, Z., Mehta, M., Ahmad, M., et al., 2022. Active rock glaciers of Jhelum basin, Kashmir Himalaya, India. Indian Journal of Geosciences. 76(1), 107-124.

[14] Chakravarti, P., Jain, V., Mishra, V., 2022. The distribution and hydrological significance of intact rock glaciers in the north-west Himalaya. Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography. 104(3), 226-244.

[15] Barsch, D., 1996. Rock glaciers: Indicators for the present and former geoecology in high mountain environments. Springer-Verlag: Berlin. pp. 331.

[16] RGIK, 2021. IPA Action Group Rock Glacier Inventories and Kinematics [Internet]. Towards Standard Guidelines for Inventorying Rock glaciers: Baseline Concepts (version 4.2.1). Available from: https://bigweb.unifr.ch/Science/Geosciences/Geomorphology/Pub/Website/IPA/Guidelines/V4/210801_Baseline_Concepts_Inventorying_Rock_Glaciers_V4.2.1.pdf

[17] Martin, H.E., Whalley, W.B., 1987. Rock glaciers: Part 1: Rock glacier morphology: Classification and distribution. Progress in Physical Geography. 11, 260-282.

[18] Wahrhaftig, C., Cox, A., 1959. Rock glaciers in the Alaska Range. Geological Society of America Bulletin. 70, 383-436.

[19] Kääb, A., Kaufmann, V., Ladstadter, R., et al., 2003. Rock glacier dynamics: Implications from high-resolution measurements of surface velocity fields. Eighth International Conference on Permafrost. 1, 501-506.

[20] Berger, J., Krainer, K., Mostler, W., 2004. Dynamics of an active rock glacier (Otztal Alps, Austria). Quaternary Research. 62, 233-242.

[21] Necsoiu, M., Onaca, A., Wigginton, S., et al., 2016. Rock glacier dynamics in Southern Carpathian mountains from high resolution optical and multi-temporal SAR satelliteimagery. Remote Sensing of Environment. 177, 21-36.

[22] Haeberli, W., 1985. Creep of mountain permafrost: Internal structure and flow of Alpine rock glaciers. Mitteilungen der Versuchsanstalt fur Wasserbau. Hydrologie und Glaziologiean der ETH Zurich. 77, 5-142.

[23] Berthling, I., 2011. Beyond confusion: Rock glaciers as cryo-conditioned landforms. Geomorphology. 131(3-4), 98-106.

[24] Haeberli, W., Hallet, B., Arenson, L., et al., 2006. Permafrost creep and rock glacier dynamics. Permafrost and Periglacial Processes. 17(3), 189-214.

[25] Iribarren, P.A., Kinney, J., Schaefer, M., et al., 2018. Glacier protection laws: Potential conflicts in managing glacial hazards and adapting to climate change. Ambio. 47(8), 835-845.

[26] Ali, S.N., Pandey, P., Singh, P., et al., 2023. Intimidating evidences of climate change from the higher Himalaya: A case study from Lahaul, Himachal Pradesh, India. Journal of the Indian Society of Remote Sensing.

Downloads

How to Cite

Ali, S. N., & Pandey, P. (2023). Crucial, But Not Systematically Investigated: Rock Glaciers, the Concealed Water Reservoirs of the Himalayas: An Opinion. Journal of Atmospheric Science Research, 6(2), 33–41. https://doi.org/10.30564/jasr.v6i2.5541

Issue

Article Type

Article