MG bags project on Himalayan glaciers
Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Monday, May 09, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/201105092011050902594051116d9eff7/MG-bags-project-on-Himalayan-glaciers.html)
A research project on monitoring of the Himalayan snow and glaciers has been given to the Department of Geology of M G Science Institute. The project with an outlay of Rs 20.35 lakh, will be carried out for a period of three years beginning April 2011.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which approved the project, handed it over to Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, which had earlier carried out phase I of the ‘Snow and Glacier Studies’ project. The SAC then forwarded the project to M G Science Institute.
According to R D Shah, professor at M G Science Institute, who will be looking into the phase II project, there are many pockets in the Himalayas where glaciers are not just melting but new glaciers are also forming. “A lot more changes have been going on in the Himalayan regions. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to monitor snow cover in order to understand the accumulation and ablation pattern during seasonal snow fall over the Himalayan region and also to assess the state of glaciers in view of changing global scenarios of climate and water security of the nation,” he added.
The project will look into components such as monitoring of snow cover (2010-14), estimation of glacial retreat/advance, estimation of mass balance of glaciers and research elements such as effect of carbon soot and contamination on snow and glacier ice, effect of debris cover on glacier ice-melt, and so on.
The method to be used for the project will include the use of Ground Penetrating Radar for ice thickness estimation, SAR interferometry and photogrammetry in glacier flow determination and glacier mass balance.
About Phase I
In phase I, the study was carried out in the Bhut and Warwan river basins which are part of the Chenab river basin in Himachal Pradesh. Approximately 400 glaciers were mapped using 1962 SOI topographical maps and satellite images of Indian and foreign data. The estimated loss in glacial area was 9 per cent and 19 per cent for Bhut and Warwan sub-basins respectively for the monitoring period of 1962 (SOI topographical maps) to 2001/02 (IRS LISS III data).
Specific mass balance of glaciers was also studied for these basins for the year of 2005, 2006 and 2007, out of which 38 belong to Bhut basin and 43 belong to Warwan sub-basin. The results show that the mean specific mass balance of the glaciers is continuously negative for these three years which means many glaciers of this region are in retreating phase. Though the retreat can not be attributed to major climate change due to various factors but at the same time the research is going on world wide to find the cause of ice meting.
Posted On Monday, May 09, 2011 (http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/3/201105092011050902594051116d9eff7/MG-bags-project-on-Himalayan-glaciers.html)
A research project on monitoring of the Himalayan snow and glaciers has been given to the Department of Geology of M G Science Institute. The project with an outlay of Rs 20.35 lakh, will be carried out for a period of three years beginning April 2011.
The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), which approved the project, handed it over to Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, which had earlier carried out phase I of the ‘Snow and Glacier Studies’ project. The SAC then forwarded the project to M G Science Institute.
According to R D Shah, professor at M G Science Institute, who will be looking into the phase II project, there are many pockets in the Himalayas where glaciers are not just melting but new glaciers are also forming. “A lot more changes have been going on in the Himalayan regions. Therefore, it is of paramount importance to monitor snow cover in order to understand the accumulation and ablation pattern during seasonal snow fall over the Himalayan region and also to assess the state of glaciers in view of changing global scenarios of climate and water security of the nation,” he added.
The project will look into components such as monitoring of snow cover (2010-14), estimation of glacial retreat/advance, estimation of mass balance of glaciers and research elements such as effect of carbon soot and contamination on snow and glacier ice, effect of debris cover on glacier ice-melt, and so on.
The method to be used for the project will include the use of Ground Penetrating Radar for ice thickness estimation, SAR interferometry and photogrammetry in glacier flow determination and glacier mass balance.
About Phase I
In phase I, the study was carried out in the Bhut and Warwan river basins which are part of the Chenab river basin in Himachal Pradesh. Approximately 400 glaciers were mapped using 1962 SOI topographical maps and satellite images of Indian and foreign data. The estimated loss in glacial area was 9 per cent and 19 per cent for Bhut and Warwan sub-basins respectively for the monitoring period of 1962 (SOI topographical maps) to 2001/02 (IRS LISS III data).
Specific mass balance of glaciers was also studied for these basins for the year of 2005, 2006 and 2007, out of which 38 belong to Bhut basin and 43 belong to Warwan sub-basin. The results show that the mean specific mass balance of the glaciers is continuously negative for these three years which means many glaciers of this region are in retreating phase. Though the retreat can not be attributed to major climate change due to various factors but at the same time the research is going on world wide to find the cause of ice meting.
