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Reconstruction of specific mass balance for glaciers in Western Himalaya using seasonal sensitivity characteristic(s)

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Abstract

Seasonal sensitivity characteristics (SSCs) were developed for Naradu, Shaune Garang, Gor Garang and Gara glaciers, Western Himalaya to quantify the changes in mean specific mass balance using monthly temperature and precipitation perturbations. The temperature sensitivities were observed high during summer (April–October) and precipitation sensitivities during winter months (November–March), respectively. The reconstructed mass balance correlates well with the field and remote sensing measurements, available between 1980 and 2014. Further, SSCs were used with the monthly mean temperatures and precipitation estimates of ERA 20CM ensemble climate reanalysis datasets to reconstruct the specific mass balance for a period of 110 years, between 1900 and 2010. Mass balance estimates suggest that the Shaune Garang, Gor-Garang and Gara glaciers have experienced both positive and negative mass balance, whereas the Naradu glacier has experienced only negative mass balance since 1900 AD. Further, a cumulative loss of \(-133 \pm 21.5\) m.w.e was estimated for four glaciers during the observation period. This study is the first record from Indian Himalaya in evaluating the mass balance characteristics over a century scale.

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Acknowledgements

Authors would like to thank Dr Ravichandran, Director, Dr Thamban Meloth (Project Head) and all Cryosphere team members, NCAOR for valuable support during the study. A special thanks to Editor, two anonymous reviewers and Prof. Helgi Bjornsson, University of Iceland for valuable discussions and suggestions during the study. Acknowledgements are due to BBMB and ECMWF for providing meteorological datasets of Rakcham Observatory and ERA20CM datasets. This work is a part of the Ph.D programme registered under Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum. The NCAOR Contribution number is 08/2017.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cryosphere Science Division, National Center for Antarctica and Ocean Research, Goa, India

    Vinay Kumar Gaddam

  2. Divecha Center for Climate Change, CAOS, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560 012, India

    Anil V Kulkarni

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, Dr. Ambedkar Institute of Technology, Visvesvaraya Technological University-RC, Bangalore, India

    Anil Kumar Gupta

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  1. Vinay Kumar Gaddam
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  2. Anil V Kulkarni
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Correspondence to Vinay Kumar Gaddam.

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Corresponding editor: D Shankar

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Gaddam, V.K., Kulkarni, A.V. & Gupta, A.K. Reconstruction of specific mass balance for glaciers in Western Himalaya using seasonal sensitivity characteristic(s). J Earth Syst Sci 126, 55 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-017-0839-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-017-0839-6

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