This site uses cookies, as explained in our terms of use. If you consent, please close this message and continue to use this site.
2 mins Read
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) is pleased to announce a ground-breaking journal article “Assessment of permafrost distribution maps in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region using rock glaciers mapped in Google Earth” published in the prestigious journal The Cryosphere. http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2089/2015/tc-9-2089-2015.html
Permafrost is rock or ground material below the surface, frozen for at least two consecutive years. The near-surface layer above the permafrost thaws during the warm season and is termed the ‘active layer’. The extent and distribution of permafrost in the mountainous parts of the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region are largely unknown, except for parts of the Tibetan Plateau.
To assess the permafrost distribution maps, rock glaciers were used as visual indicators for the lowest occurrence of permafrost in the mountains. Rock glaciers are creeping masses of ice-rich debris on mountain slopes and are identified using aerial photos or high resolution satellite images.
In this study, Google Earth was used to systematically assess 4,000 randomly distributed sample squares (30 km2) for the occurrence of rock glaciers. Rock glaciers were mapped together with their lowest elevation by two independent researchers. The methodology has been described in detail in the ‘Manual for Mapping Rock Glaciers with Google Earth’. Mapping rock glaciers with Google Earth was used as first-order evidence for permafrost in mountain areas with severely limited data from the ground. The minimum elevation of mapped rock glaciers varies between 3,500 and 5,500 m a.s.l. within the region. The ‘Circum-Arctic Map of Permafrost and Ground Ice Conditions’ does not reproduce mapped conditions in the HKH region adequately, whereas the ‘Global Permafrost Zonation Index’ does so with more success. http://www.the-cryosphere.net/6/221/2012/
Based on this study, the ‘Permafrost Zonation Index’ is inferred to be a reasonable first-order prediction of the occurrence of permafrost in the HKH. In the central part of the region a considerable deviation exists that needs further investigations. In-depth research is required to better understand permafrost processes and to improve the simulation of permafrost distribution.
One of the authors, Dorothea Stumm, Senior Glaciologist with ICIMOD, said rock glacier mapping is a systematic method for a preliminary first visual assessment of the permafrost distribution. Combined with the Global Permafrost Zonation Index — available as Google Earth file —we have now tools that allow us to get a first sense of the regional permafrost distribution for areas with sparse information on permafrost. Based on this, future research can be planned to fill current gaps in understanding more accurately where permafrost occurs and how much ice it contains.
Extra information
Citation paper: Schmid, MO; Baral, P; Gruber, S; Shahi, S; Shrestha, T; Stumm, D; Wester P (2015) ‘Assessment of permafrost distribution maps in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region using rock glaci-ers mapped in Google Earth.’ The Cryosphere 9: 2089-2099. doi:10.5194/ tc-9-2089-2015 available at http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2089/2015/tc-9-2089-2015.html with supplementary material (including the final draft of this manual) at http://www.the-cryosphere.net/9/2089/2015/tc-9-2089-2015-supplement.zip
Citation Manual: Stumm, D; Schmid, MO; Gruber, S; Baral, P; Shahi, S; Shrestha, T; Wester, P (2015)Manual for mapping rock glaciers in Google Earth. Kathmandu: ICIMOD http://lib.icimod.org/record/31653
Share
Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.
Related Content
The purpose of the workshop was to present a compiled report and to seek input from concerned institutions to further ...
A day-long long national level campaign to promote tourism in Bahundangi was held 13 April 2016 in Bahundangi, Jhapa. The ...
A three-day Nature Conservation Camp for greening the young minds was organised by ICIMOD (through REDD+ Initiative Programme) in collaboration ...
As we were schooling and grooming ourselves to become career women, the issues of ...
The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) in collaboration with theAdvanced Centre on Water Resources Development and Management (ACWADAM), ...
As part of its mission to reduce poverty in the world through development cooperation, the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency ...
The Indus is one of the most meltwater-dependent rivers on earth. It hosts a large, rapidly growing population, and the ...
Adaptation Solution Brief: Strengthening women’s roles as risk and resource managers at the frontline of climate change Launched by Nand Kishor ...