Four glaciers of the Baspa basin may dry up due to global warming
To arrive at their conclusion, the researchers essentially calculated glacial mass balance -- the total loss/gain in glacial ice and snow at the end of a hydrological year. Glaciologists worldwide consider mass balance as the ideal yardstick of glacial retreat, which is a natural occurrence during most summer months. The melting, however, is no longer favourable for the environs, with global warming disturbing the equilibrium existing between the seasonal variations.
Kulkarni and his colleagues B P Rathore and Suja Alex found the balance is absolutely disturbed in the basin, and the glaciers are melting at a rate much more higher than their counterparts worldwide. The sac researchers found that the 19 glaciers had a mass balance value of -90 and -78 cm during 2001 and 2002 respectively. The glaciers had fared better during 2002 due to heavy snowfall. But the overall scenario was bleak, as a long-term high negative mass balance for glaciers such as those in Baspa is not considered a sign of good omen.
According to the researchers, four of the 19 glaciers are already doomed because they do not have any 'accumulation area', implying there is no formation of new glacial ice. Rather, 0.2347 cubic kilometre of glacial ice was lost during 2001-02 -- a fact clearly indicative of a future catastrophe. Glacial ice is the core of a glacier. The ice is formed during the snow transformation process. Since all the snow of these glaciers is melting due to more than normal temperatures, there is none available to metamorphose into glacial ice. "These four glaciers are so susceptible because they face the southern direction and receive more solar radiation than the northern facing ice-bodies," explains Kulkarni. Moreover, they are situated at lower altitudes. In an earlier study, the sac researchers had found that during 1962-2001, Baspa glaciers located at an altitude of around 5,000 metres have lost 24 per cent of their ice cover, while those at 5,400 metres and above have retreated by 14 per cent.
The latest findings, published in Current Science (Vol 86, No 1, January 10, 2004), have grave implications for the region's freshwater supply, the researchers assert. At present, the unnatural melting has increased the stream runoff of Baspa river. Past investigations showed that runoff had increased by 75 per cent on an average, that too in the month of December from 1967 to 1995. "But this is just a temporary reprieve. In the longrun, the runoff may be reduced to a trickle, leading to serious water shortage in the region," Kulkarni concludes.
See also: Satellite image
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