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Surface Pond Energy Absorption Across Four Himalayan Glaciers Accounts for 1/8 of Total Catchment Ice Loss
Author(s) -
Miles Evan S.,
Willis Ian,
Buri Pascal,
Steiner Jakob F.,
Arnold Neil S.,
Pellicciotti Francesca
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2018gl079678
Subject(s) - glacier , debris , drainage basin , physical geography , hydrology (agriculture) , glacier mass balance , ice caps , environmental science , geology , climate change , climatology , atmospheric sciences , geomorphology , geography , oceanography , cartography , geotechnical engineering
Glaciers in High Mountain Asia, many of which exhibit surface debris, contain the largest volume of ice outside of the polar regions. Many contain supraglacial pond networks that enhance melt rates locally, but no large‐scale assessment of their impact on melt rates exists. Here we use surface energy balance modeling forced using locally measured meteorological data and monthly satellite‐derived pond distributions to estimate the total melt enhancement for the four main glaciers within the 400‐km 2 Langtang catchment, Nepal, for a 6‐month period in 2014. Ponds account for 0.20 ± 0.03 m/year of surface melt, representing a local melt enhancement of a factor of 14 ± 3 compared with the debris‐covered area, and equivalent to 12.5 ± 2.0% of total catchment ice loss. Given the prevalence of supraglacial ponds across the region, our results suggest that effective incorporation of melt enhancement by ponds is essential for accurate predictions of future mass balance change in the region.