College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK.
Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn Campus, Penryn, Cornwall TR10 9EZ, UK.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Nov 1;793:145368. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145368. Epub 2021 Feb 3.
In the high mountains of Asia, ongoing glacier retreat threatens human and ecological systems through reduced water availability. Rock glaciers are climatically more resistant than glaciers and contain valuable water volume equivalents (WVEQ). Across High Mountain Asia (HMA) the WVEQ of rock glaciers is poorly quantified, and thus their hydrological significance versus glaciers is unknown. Here we present the first systematic assessment of Himalayan rock glaciers, totalling ~25,000 landforms with an areal coverage of ~3747 km. We calculate the WVEQ of Himalayan rock glaciers to be 51.80 ± 10.36 km. Their comparative importance versus glaciers (rock glacier: glacier WVEQ ratio) is 1:25, which means that they constitute hydrologically valuable long-term water stores. In the context of climate-driven glacier recession, their relative hydrological value will likely increase. These cryospheric stores should be included in future scenario modelling to understand their role in sustainable water management for HMA.
在亚洲的高山地区，冰川持续退缩通过减少水资源的可利用性来威胁人类和生态系统。与冰川相比，岩质冰川在气候方面更具抵抗力，并且含有有价值的体积当量水量（WVEQ）。在整个高亚洲（HMA），岩质冰川的 WVEQ 都没有得到很好的量化，因此它们与冰川的水文意义尚不清楚。在这里，我们首次对喜马拉雅山岩质冰川进行了系统评估，总共涉及约 25000 个地貌，面积约为 3747 公里。我们计算出喜马拉雅山岩质冰川的 WVEQ 为 51.80 ± 10.36 公里。它们与冰川（岩质冰川：冰川 WVEQ 比）的相对重要性为 1:25，这意味着它们构成了具有水文价值的长期水资源储存。在气候驱动的冰川退缩背景下，它们的相对水文价值可能会增加。这些冰冻圈储层应纳入未来情景模型，以了解它们在 HMA 可持续水资源管理中的作用。
