Effect of global_warming_on_glaciers

TERM PAPER – GEOLOGY
Abstract
The effects of global warming are the environmental and social
changes caused (directly or indirectly) by human emissions
of greenhouse gases. There is a scientific consensus that climate
change is occurring, and that human activities are the primary
driver. Study of the phenomenon of glaciation and Glacier
dynamics in the Himalayas has, in recent years, attained
significant attention, on account of the general belief that global
warming and climate change is leading to faster degeneration of
glaciers in the Himalayas. It is argued that this would, in the long
run, not only have an adverse effect on the environment, climate
and the water resources but also on other concerned and
connected activities. This paper provides a summary of the
literature, as well as some fresh analysis of the issue. An
interesting point made in this paper is that while the glaciers are
the best barometers known to assess past climate, the same may
not be true for glacier fluctuations being an accurate guide of
future climatic changes.
I.INTRODUCTION
A glacier is a large mass of ice formed by compaction and re-
crystallization of snow, moving slowly by creep down slope,
due to the stress of its own weight, and surviving from year
to year.
The Himalayas have the largest concentration of glaciers
outside the polar region. These glaciers are a freshwater
reserve; they provide the headwaters for nine major river
systems in Asia – a lifeline for almost one-third of humanity.
There is clear evidence that Himalayan glaciers have been
melting at an unprecedented rate in recent decades; this
trend causes major changes in freshwater flow regimes and
is likely to have a dramatic impact on drinking water
supplies, biodiversity, hydropower, industry, agriculture and
others, with far-reaching implications for the people of the
region and the earth’s environment.
The distribution of the glaciers within these mountain ranges
is so vast and wide that no specific latitudinal or morpho-
climatic zones can be defined. The nature and number of the
glacier bearing basins in these ranges have fluctuated from a
much larger expanse during the Pleistocene to
comparatively limited expanse at present
One result of glacial retreat has been an increase in the
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number and size of glacial lakes forming at the new terminal
ends behind the exposed end moraines. These in turn give
rise to an increase in the potential threat of glacial lake
outburst floods occurring. Such disasters often cross
boundaries; the water from a lake in one country threatens
the lives and properties of people in another. Regional
cooperation is needed to formulate a coordinated strategy
to deal effectively both with the risk of outburst floods and
with water management issues. .
Snow that accumulates, over the glacier surface, During the
previous winter, if it is not removed the following summer,
will gradually undergo a change to glacier ice. The term firm
is generally applied to the snow that has survived a summer
melt season and has begun its transformation to ice. For a
layman, the simplest definition of Global Warming would be
that ‘increase in the average temperature of the earth.’ Over
the last century this increase was fiercely rapid and
extremely hazardous. Reason being, the effects of global
warming is starkly visible in the high-altitude areas of the
earth which is mainly the snow covered peaks.
Enjoying the title of the worlds largest mountain ranges,
homing the mighty K2 and the Kanchenjunga (world’s
highest peaks), the Himalayan ranges rightfully justify its
meaning an ‘abode of snow’. But the consequences of global
warming are quite apparent on this abode of snow. Rapid
industrialization has led to the release of greenhouse gases
such as carbon dioxide and methane in the air. These cases
hold the heat within the earth’s atmosphere, keeping it
warm.
Due to the constant rise in the earth’s temperature and
severe variety of climatic conditions The Himalayan Range
comes under vigorous scrutiny by scientists and
environmentalists from all over the world. Many believe that
the global warming continues with the same rate, soon the
Himalayan glaciers will decay declining from the existing
500000 km to 100000 km by the year 2030.
It is interesting to observe that water which is considered to
be the elixir of life will prove life threatening as it will create
an imbalance in the food chains and life styles. The melting
of snow from the Himalayas will prove to be extremely
perilous as it will attribute to the major part of the land
becoming improper for any kind of use.
PHYSICAL AND CLIMATOLOGICAL
CHARACTERISTICS
The Indian Himalayan glaciers are broadly divided into the
three-river basins of the Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra The
EFFECT OF GLOBAL WARMING ON GLACIERS
A. RIZUL VADHAN (11126), NIT HAMIRPUR
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Indus basin has the largest number of glaciers (3,538),
followed by the Ganga basin (1,020) and the Brahmaputra
(662). Researchers have estimated that about 17 percent of
the Himalayas and 37 percent of Karakorum is presently
under permanent ice cover. The principal glaciers of this
region are Siachen 72 km; Gangotri 26 km; Zemu 26 km;
Milam 19 km and Kedarnath 14.5 km.
A variety of climates are the beauty of the Himalayan region.
The extreme relief of the Himalayas produces marked
changes in air masses crossing the region and results in a
complex mosaic of “top-climates” determined by variations
in slope, aspect and relative altitude (Flohn 1974; Alford
1992). These range from the sub-tropical climates in the
southern plains, to the temperate climate of the middle hills
and Alpine (or polar) climates in the high mountains. The
main controls on climate are weather systems moving in
from the southeast during the summer and from the west in
winter. The summer monsoon normally commences in mid-
June and lasts until mid-September. The mountain ranges
block the northward advancement of the monsoon causing
widespread and intense rainfall on southern slopes, whereas
on the lee of the mountain ridges, drier conditions prevail.
Delayed onset of the monsoon decreases precipitation along
the Himalayan arc from east to north-west.
There is also a general decrease from south to north with
each successively higher mountain range, featuring
windward maxima and leeward rain-shadows, which
culminate in the high-altitude aridity of the Tibetan plateau.
The western Himalayas get more precipitation from the
westerly winds during November to April. There is a large
variation in the annual average precipitation in the
Himalayas. The southern slopes of the Eastern Himalayas
experience some of the highest annual rainfall totals on
Earth while other areas receive as low as 50 mm a year. The
mean daily air temperature is low in January and rises during
the pre-monsoon period (February to May) with maximum
daily temperature in late May or early June while post-
monsoon (October to January) mean daily air temperatures
generally decline.
GLACIAL FLUCTUATIONS IN THE HIMALAYAN REGION
Himalayan glaciers have been in a state of general retreat
since 1850 (Mayewski & Jeschke 1979) and recent
publications confirm that, for many, the rate of retreat is
accelerating. Jangpang and Vohra (1962), Kurien and Munshi
(1972), Srikanta and Pandi (1972), Vohra (1981), and many
others have made significant studies on the glacier snout
fluctuation of the Himalayan glaciers. But a dramatic
increase in the rate seems to have occurred in last three
decades. In 1998, researchers LA Owen and MC Sharma
showed, by studying the longitudinal profiles of the
River, that between 1971 and 1996, the Gangotri Glacier had
retreated by about 850 m. This would yield a post-1971
retreat rate of 34 m a year. In the post-1971 period, the 61-
year (19351996) data of GSI two shows that the retreat rate
is about 28 m/year, indicating a clear increase in the rate
after 1971. The 1996-1999 data of Naithani and associates
too matches this general trend of an increased rate.
Arial distribution of perennial ice and snow cover in the
Indian Himalayan region was compiled from various maps
and references by Fujii and Watanbe (1983) as shown in the
table below. Kaul et al. (1999) produced the inventory of
Himalayan glaciers from Jhelum and parts of Sutluj in the
Indus basin and for Bhagirathi, Tista and Arunachal Pradesh
in the Ganga-Brahmaputra basin. Retreats of the several
glaciers based on the various literatures are also compiled
for the quick referencing and are presented in the tables
that follow.
II. BACKGROUND
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There have been at least 17 major glacial advances
(glaciations) in the last 1.6 million years alone (Goudie 1983).
The most recent, the Last Glacial, reached its peak some
20,000 to 18,000 years ago and came to an end about 10,000
years ago (Goudie 1983). Glaciations are followed by
‘interglacial’ periods, during which the glacier ice retreats as
a result of global warming. The interglacial typically
continues for about 10,000 years before the cooling or the
next glaciation begins. This cyclical activity, which recurs at
intervals of approximately 100,000 years, is generally
accepted to be caused by gradual changes in the earth’s
rotation, tilt and orbit around the sun, which affects the
amount of solar radiation the earth receives (Milankovitch
1941 in Bradley 1985).
Glacial cycles are punctuated by relatively short periods of
localized cooling and warming, During which glaciers
advance and retreat. The most recent cooling episode of the
present interglacial commonly referred to as the ‘Little Ice
Age’ (LIA), affected parts of North America (Curry 1969), Asia
(Chu Ko-Chan 1973) and Europe from about 1300 AD
through to the latter half of the 19th century. During the LIA
(1550-1850 AD) glaciers were much longer than today
(Yamada et al. 1998). It may have been the result of volcanic
eruptions and the presence of volcanic ash in the
atmosphere that caused cooling by reducing the amount of
solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface (Lamb 1970).
Changes to ocean currents have also been suggested.
As has tectonic activity, the concentration of carbon dioxide
in the atmosphere, and sunspot activity (Goudie
1983).Glacier Monitoring in the Indian Himalayas started in
the early 20th century, when 20 odd glaciers in the
Himalayas, located across the Indian Himalayas, from Jammu
and Kashmir in the north-west to Sikkim in the northeast,
began to be monitored by the Geological Survey of India
(GSI), the organization that was entrusted with the task.
The GSI began making a repository of all the data generated.
The analysis showed that most glaciers were retreating or
showing degenerated conditions along the glacier front. The
average annual retreat was around 5m, although a few
glaciers were observed to have higher retreat, such as the
Pindari glacier in the Central Himalayas, which was observed
to have an annual retreat of 8-10m. Studies also revealed
that the fluctuation of the glacier snout is not a simple
phenomenon that can be attributed to climate change, but
in fact is the result of complex regional and local
phenomenon.
There was an enhanced focus on glacier snout monitoring in
the Himalayas beginning the mid-1950s, which led to an
improvement in the knowledge base of Himalayan ice cover
and better documentation of the perennial ice masses of the
Himalayas. This activity was extended - rather intermittently
- till the 1970s. The glaciers covered during this period were:
Siachen, Mamostang, Camden, Machoi in J&K, Barashigri,
Sonapanii, Guglu in Himachal Pradesh, Gangotri, Arwa,
pouting, Milam, Pindari, Shankalpa, Kalganga, Bamlas, Safed,
Bhilmagwar, Pachu, Burphu in Uttarakhand and Zemu in
Sikkim. All these glaciers exhibited continuous retreat as
compared to their earlier positions, as well as considerable
vertical shrinkage.
Glaciological studies received a considerable impetus and a
new direction with the advent of the International
Hydrological Decade (IHD) Program in India. A systematic
work plan that laid emphasis on all aspects of the glacier
study was evolved under the aegis of UNESCO and
International Commission on Snow and Ice (ICSI). Initially for
a period of two decades (mid-1970s to mid-1990s), most of
the work plan was executed by the GSI. From the mid-1980s,
on the initiation and funding support of the Department of
Science & Technology,Government of India, other scientific
institutes and universities joined in.
Almost a century ago, fears began to be expressed about the
possible impact of the rise in atmospheric temperature on
mountain glaciers. The fears led to the initiation of
concerted scientific efforts to identify and examine the
fluctuations along the front-snout of glaciers. It was believed
that such studies, over the next century or so, would enable
scientists to establish the relationship between the climate
change and the glacier fluctuations.
All the glaciers under observation, during the last three
decades of the 20th century have shown cumulative
negative mass balance2. Degeneration of the glacier mass
has been the highest in Jammu & Kashmir (single glacier, 10
year record), relatively lower in Himachal Pradesh (3
glaciers, 10 year record), even lower in Uttarakhand (one
glacier, 10 year record) and the lowest in Sikkim (one
glacier,10 year record), thus clearly showing a declining
trend from northwest to northeast.
Irrespective of latitudinal differences, glacier melts
contributes to about 25% to 30% of the total discharge of
glacier ice. Maximum discharge takes place from mid-July to
mid-August. On an average, the sediment load producing
capacity of glacier ice in the Himalayas has been found to be
in the order of 30 tonnes of ice per day per square km²
during the melt season in a granite / Genesis terrain.
Ice, forming a glacier in the Himalayas, in its vertical profile,
can exhibit the characteristics of a cold glacier at certain
levels and that of a temperate glacier at other levels.Smaller
glaciers in the Himalayas - less than 5km long - exhibit an ice
thickness of the order of 250m in the cirque region, and an
ice thickness of the order of 40-60m along the middle
regions, though some larger glaciers like Zemu exhibit an ice
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thickness of over 200m in the middle regions.
A thickness of about 2mm - has the maximum effect as far as
melting of glaciers is concerned. This impact is maximum on
north facing glaciers in the month of September. Additional
thickness of dust up to 4mm does not make any appreciable
change in melting. In fact thickness of dust beyond 6mm
serves more as an insulator rather than a conductor of solar
heat.
Glaciers in the Himalayas, over a period of the last 100 years,
behave in contrasting ways. As an example, Sonapani glacier
has retreated by about 500m during the last one hundred
years. On the other hand, Kangriz glacier has practically not
retreated even an inch in the same period. Siachen glacier is
believed to have shown an advance of about 700m between
1862 and 1909, followed by an equally rapid retreat of
around 400m between 1929 and 1958, and hardly any
retreat during the last 50 years.
Gangotri glacier, which had hitherto been showing a rather
rapid retreat, along its glacier front, at an average of around
20m per year till up to 2000 AD, has since slowed down
considerably, and between September 2007 and June 2009 is
practically at a standstill. The same is true of the
Bhagirathkharak and Zemu glaciers.
THE PRESENT SCENARIO
The 21st century has been a watershed is-à-this glacial
fluctuations on a global scale. This has been a period of
dramatic glacier retreat in almost all alpine regions of the
globe, with accelerated glacier and ice-fields melt in the last
two decades. The first phase of this glacier retreat was
associated with emergence from the Little Ice Age that
ended in the 19th century. It corresponded with a warming
of 0.3ºC in the first half of the 20th century in the northern
hemisphere (24o to 40°N). In the last 25 years, a second
0.3ºC warming pulse has caused in northern hemisphere
temperatures to rise to unprecedented levels compared to
the last 1,000 years. The 1990s were the warmest decade of
the millennium and 1998 the hottest year of the millennium.
In all, there was a temperature rise of close to 1ºC across the
continents.
IV. STUDIES
KEY FINDINGS OF RECENT GLACIAL STUDIES IN THE INDIAN
HIMALAYAS
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain
Development (ICIMOD) in partnership with UNEP and the
Asia Pacific Network and in close collaboration with national
partner organizations documented baseline information on
the Himalayan glaciers, glacial lakes, and GLOFs in an earlier
study which identified some 200 potentially dangerous
glacial lakes in the Himalayas. The study published here
builds upon these past initiatives and investigates the impact
of climate change on selected glaciers and glacial lakes. The
publication provides an account of glacier retreat and
growth of glacial lakes in two selected river sub-basins, one
in Nepal and one in Bhutan. It describes important
methodological aspects of assessing the vulnerability for
GLOF hazards based on empirical data and evidence.
It also investigates the possibility of devising a method for
regular temporal monitoring of glacial lakes in remote and
inaccessible mountain locations using satellite-based
techniques. The results provide a basis for the development
of monitoring and early warning systems and planning and
prioritization of disaster mitigation efforts that could save
many lives. The report also provides useful information for
those concerned with water resources and environmental
planning. The studies undertaken from mid 1970s till date
have revealed the following interesting findings related to
the glaciers in the Indian Himalayas:
• All the glaciers under observation, during the last three
decades of the 20th century have shown cumulative
negative mass balance. Degeneration of the glacier mass has
been the highest in Jammu & Kashmir (single glacier, 10 year
record), relatively lower in Himachal Pradesh (3 glaciers, 10
year record), even lower in Uttarakhand (one glacier, 10 year
record) and the lowest in Sikkim (one glacier, 10 year
record), thus clearly showing a declining trend from
northwest to northeast. Irrespective of latitudinal
differences, glacier melts contributes to about 25% to 30% of
the total discharge of glacier ice. Maximum discharge takes
place from mid-July to mid-August.
• On an average, the sediment load producing capacity of
glacier ice in the Himalayas has been found to be in the
order of 30 tonnes of ice per day per square km² during the
melt season in a granite / gneissic terrain.
• Ice, forming a glacier in the Himalayas, in its vertical
profile, can exhibit the characteristics of a cold glacier at
certain levels and that of a temperate glacier at other levels.
• Smaller glaciers in the Himalayas - less than 5km long -
exhibit an ice thickness of the order of 250m in the
cirqueregion, and an ice thickness of the order of 40-60m
along the middle regions, though some larger glaciers like
Zemu exhibit an ice thickness of over 200m in the middle
regions.
• An aerosol/ dust cover of 400gm/m2
– a thickness of about
2mm - has the maximum effect as far as melting of glaciers
is concerned. This impact is maximum on north facing
glaciers in the month of September. Additional thickness of
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dust up to 4mm does not make any appreciable change in
melting. In fact thickness of dust beyond 6mm serves more
as an insulator rather than a conductor of solar heat.
• Himalayan glaciers, although shrinking in volume and
constantly showing a retreating front, have not in any way
exhibited, especially in recent years, an abnormal annual
retreat, of the order that some glaciers in Alaska and
Greenland are reported4.
• Glaciers in the Himalayas, over a period of the last 100
years, behave in contrasting ways. As an example, Sonapani
glacier has retreated by about 500m during the last one
hundred years. On the other hand, Kangriz glacier has
practically not retreated even an inch in the same period.
Siachen glacier is believed to have shown an advance of
about 700m between 1862 and 1909, followed by an equally
rapid retreat of around 400m between 1929 and 1958, and
hardly any retreat during the last 50 years. Gangotri glacier,
which had hitherto been showing a rather rapid retreat,
along its glacier front, at an average of around 20m per year
till up to 2000 AD, has since slowed down considerably, and
between September 2007 and June 2009 is practically at a
standstill5. The same is true of the Bhagirathkharak and
Zemu glaciers.
• It is premature to make a statement that glaciers in the
Himalayas are retreating abnormally because of the global
warming. A glacier is affected by a range of physical features
and a complex interplay of climatic factors. It is therefore
unlikely that the snout movement of any glacier can be
claimed to be a result of periodic climate variation until
many centuries of observations become available. While
glacier movements are primarily due to climate and
snowfall, snout movements appear to be peculiar to each
particular glacier.
V. EFFECTS
Precipitation levels are another component of climate
change associated with the phenomenon of global warming.
Himalayan glaciers are more likely to be affected by changes
in the synoptic weather patterns that control the timing, the
progression and intensity of moisture carried by the summer
monsoon and the winter westerly than by changes in global
temperatures alone. Precipitation levels are another
component of climate change associated with the
phenomenon of global warming. Himalayan glaciers are
more likely to be affected by changes in the synoptic
weather patterns that control the timing, the progression
and intensity of moisture carried by the summer monsoon
and the winter westerly than by changes in global
temperatures alone. Precipitation levels are another
component of climate change associated with the
phenomenon of global warming. Himalayan glaciers are
more likely to be affected by changes in the synoptic
weather patterns that control the timing, the progression
and intensity of moisture carried by the summer monsoon
and the winter westerly than by changes in global
temperatures alone.
As global warming continues to increase the atmospheric
temperature, it will lead to a continuous shift of zero
temperature line (snow line) toward higher altitude. Thus
glaciers will receive more liquid precipitation and less
monsoonal solid precipitation. A shift in snowline will result
in lesser input to glacier mass balance during summer
periods. Therefore, the higher atmospheric temperature and
more liquid precipitation at higher altitude in the Himalayas
will lead to rapid retreat of glaciers and downstream
flooding in the coming future. The impact of global warming
has been perhaps already upon the Himalayas. The 30.2 km-
long Gangotri Glacier is receding rapidly: the rate of retreat
in the last three decades has been found to be more than
three times the rate during the earlier 200 years or so.
Dokriani glacier is one of the valley type glaciers of the
Gangotri group of glaciers in the Garhwal Himalaya,
Uttranchal. The origin of this glacier is at an elevation of
6000 m ASL from Draupadi ka Danda group of peaks and is
formed by two cirque glaciers. The glacier follows NNW
direction for about 2 km before it turns towards WSW and
terminates at an altitude of 3886 m. The length of the glacier
is 5.5 km with a width varying from 0.08 to 2.5 km. The total
catchment area is 15.7 km2 , with the glacier ice covering an
area of 7 km2.The melt-water stream emerging from the
glacier is known as Din Gad and joins river Bhagirathi at
Bhukki. The thickness of the glacier ice varies from 25 to 120
m between snout and accumulation zone and its average
thickness lies at 50m
VI. GLACIAL RETREAT
Himalayan glaciers form a unique reservoir that supports
mighty perennial rivers such as Indus, Ganga and
Brahmaputra, which are the lifelines of millions of people.
Recently the geologists of the Geological Survey of India
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(GSI) counted 5,218 glaciers in the Himalayas (Puri 1994). It
is
estimated that 33,200 km2 (Flint 1971) of the Himalaya is
glaciated and glaciers occupy about 17 percent of the total
mountainous area of the Himalaya (Vohra 1978) while an
additional area ranging from 30-40 percent has a seasonal
snow cover. Meltwater draining from these ice and
Snowfields is important in regulating the hydrology of the
Indian sub-continent. Though it contributes only to 5 percent
of total runoff, it releases water in the dry season (Upadhyay
1995). The gradual shift of the signaling due to the
progressive increase in atmospheric air temperature and the
release of the water from snow and ice melting makes the
water level constant in Himalayan rivers.
A reduction in water from the mountains would further
affect the economy of the region by limiting the energy from
hydropower plants and hampering industrial productivity
(Johannesson 1997). Power shortages in India are already at
about 10 percent of total electrical energy and 20 percent of
peak capacity requirements (World Bank 2000). At a time
when the Government of India is actively promoting the use
of renewable energy sources as a clean and sustainable way
of meeting the nation’s growing energy requirements
(MNES, 2001), the possibility that the energy potential of
hydropower may not be achieved has serious implications
for the development plans of the whole country. Industries
like food processing, mining, paper, chemical and steel
production, which require a reliable supply of water, both as
an input tothemanufacturing process and as a medium for
the dilution of effluent, would also be detrimentally
affected.
GLACIAL LAKE OUTBURST FLOODS (GLOFS)
The acronym GLOF is used for glacier floods caused by the
drainage of naturally dammed lakes in the glacier, on or at
the margin of glaciers. GLOFs are not a new phenomenon,
but with the worldwide recession of glaciers and rising
temperature the probability of their occurrences has risen in
many mountain ranges. “Glacier floods represent in general
the highest and farthest reaching glacial risk with the highest
potential of disaster and damages” (Richard et al. 2003).
A lake outburst can be triggered by several factors: ice or
rock avalanches, the collapse of the moraine dams due to
the melting of ice buried within, the washing out of fine
material by springs flowing through the dam (piping),
earthquakes or sudden inputs of water into the lake e.g.
through heavy rains or drainage from lakes further up-
glacier. Self-destruction is caused by the failure of the dam
slope and seepage from the natural drainage network of the
dam
VII. SUMMARISED RESULTS
In the Kashmir region, most of the glaciers were found to be
showing the recent retreat with some, where the previous
data were available, having retreated about 100 yards
(30metres) in the previous ten years. Some of the glaciers
like Minapain and Hassanabad were, however, found to have
advanced very rapidly.In Lahul, Himachal Pradesh two
glaciers, Bara Shigri and Sonapani, which were examined in
detail showed signs of retreat. Four glaciers, in Kumaon,
namely the Pindari, Milam, Shankalpa, and Poting, were
examined. In all cases, except perhaps the last, when
compared with the local information available, were found
to be retreating.
Pindari glacier appeared to have retreated by about 1400
yards (425m) in fifty seven years. The potting glacier was
found to be stationary. In 1909 two glaciers in Sikkim, the
Alukthang and Zemu, were examined. Neither of the glaciers
appeared to have retreated since I899; though from the
available evidence, Alukthang was thought may have
retreated half a mile since 1861.
The global mean temperature is expected to increase
between 1.4 to 5.8ºC over the next hundred years. The
consequences of this change in global climate are already
being witnessed in the Himalayas where glaciers and glacial
lakes are changing at alarming rates. Himalayan Glaciers are
retreating at rates ranging from 10 to 60m per year and
many small glaciers (<0.2 sq.km) have already disappeared.
Our study shows that the terminus of most of the high
altitude valley glaciers in Bhutan, China, and Nepal are
retreating very fast; vertical shifts as great as 100m have
been recorded during the last fifty years and retreat rates of
30m per year are common. As glaciers retreat, glacial lakes
grow, and many Himalayan basins are reporting very fast
growing lakes. A remarkable example is Lake Imja Tsho in
the Dudh Koshi sub-basin (Khumbu–Everest region); while
this lake was virtually nonexistent in 1960, it now covers
nearly 1 sq.km and the Imja glacier which feeds it is
retreating at an unprecedented 74m per year (between 2001
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and 2006). Similar observations were made in the Pho Chu
basin of the Bhutan
Himalaya, where the change in size of some glacial lakes has
been as high as 800 per cent over the past 40 years.
In 1912, six more glaciers in Kumaon-the Sona, Baling,
Naulphu, Nipchungkang, Kharsa, and Chingchingmauri were
examined and practically all appeared to be or were
retreating. The snout of the Gangotri glacier, Uttarakhand,
was first time mapped in detail in 1935 and it was postulated
from various Geo-morphological features that this glacier
had been constantly retreating. In addition to the glaciers
studied by the teams from the Geological Survey, a few
more glaciers namely: Siachen, Camden, Mamostang,
Kangriz (Gannri), Shafat, Thajwas and Kolhai in J&K;
Barashigri in Himachal Pradesh; Arwa, Satopanth,
Bhagirathkharak, poting, Milan and Pindari in Uttarakhand
and Zemu in Sikkim were examined by freelancers/travelers.
The data, on glacier studies, generated during this phase,
either by the Geological Survey of India or by the outsiders,
was, by and large, published in the Records of the Geological
Survey of India, The Geographical Journal of the Royal
Geographical Society, The Himalayan Journal of the
Himalayan Club and also in the Journals of the Asiatic Society
of Bengal.
REFRENCES
Auden, J.B. (1937): The snout of the Gangotri glacier, Tehri
Garhwal, Rec. Geol. Surv. Ind., 72(2),pp.135-140.
Bhandari N., Nijampurkar, V.N., Shukla, P.N. And Puri, V.M.K.
(1982): Deposition of Chinese Nuclear debris in
Change Khangpu glacier, Current Science, Vol. 51`, No. 8,
pp.416-418.
Bose, R.N., Dutta, N.P. And Lahri, S.M. (1971): Refraction
seismic investigation at Zemu glacier, Sikkim,
Jour. Glaciology. Vol. 10, pp.113-119.
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