Towards understanding various influences on mass balance of the Hoksar Glacier in the Upper Indus Basin using observations.

ABSTRACT: Mass balance is a good indicator of glacier health and sensitivity to climate change. The debris-covered Hoksar Glacier (HG) in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) was studied using direct and geodetic mass balances. During the 5-year period from 2013 to 2018, the glacier's mean in situ mass balance (MB) was - 0.95 ± 0.39 m w.e. a^-1. Similarly, the glacier's mean geodetic MB from 2000 to 2012 was - 1.20 ± 0.35 m w.e. a^-1. The continuously negative MB observations indicated that the HG is losing mass at a higher rate than several other Himalayan glaciers. The glacier showed increased mass loss with increasing altitude, in contrast to the typical decreasing MB with increasing elevation, due to the existence of thick debris cover in the ablation zone, which thins out regularly t

SUBMITTER: Romshoo SA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9485142 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature