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Moisture Sources for Precipitation and Hydrograph Components of the Sutri Dhaka Glacier Basin, Western Himalayas. WATER 2019. [DOI: 10.3390/w11112242] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Himalayan glaciers are the major source of fresh water supply to the Himalayan Rivers, which support the livelihoods of more than a billion people living in the downstream region. However, in the face of recent climate change, these glaciers might be vulnerable, and thereby become a serious threat to the future fresh water reserve. Therefore, special attention is required in terms of understanding moisture sources for precipitation over the Himalayan glaciers and the hydrograph components of streams and rivers flowing from the glacierized region. We have carried out a systematic study in one of the benchmark glaciers, “Sutri Dhaka” of the Chandra Basin, in the western Himalayas, to understand its hydrograph components, based on stable water isotopes (δ18O and δ2H) and field-based ablation measurements. Further, to decipher moisture sources for precipitation and its variability in the study region, we have studied stable water isotopes in precipitation samples (rain and snow), and performed a back-trajectory analysis of the air parcel that brings moisture to this region. Our results show that the moisture source for precipitation over the study region is mainly derived from the Mediterranean regions (>70%) by Western Disturbances (WDs) during winter (October–May) and a minor contribution (<20%) from the Indian Summer Monsoon (ISM) during summer season (June–September). A three-component hydrograph separation based on δ18O and d-excess provides estimates of ice (65 ± 14%), snowpack (15 ± 9%) and fresh snow (20 ± 5%) contributions, respectively. Our field-based specific ablation measurements show that ice and snow melt contributions are 80 ± 16% and 20 ± 4%, respectively. The differences in hydrograph component estimates are apparently due to an unaccounted snow contribution ‘missing component’ from the valley slopes in field-based ablation measurements, whereas the isotope-based hydrograph separation method accounts for all the components, and provides a basin integrated estimate. Therefore, we suggest that for similar types of basins where contributions of rainfall and groundwater are minimal, and glaciers are often inaccessible for frequent field measurements/observations, the stable isotope-based method could significantly add to our ability to decipher moisture sources and estimate hydrograph components.
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Kurita N, Noone D, Risi C, Schmidt GA, Yamada H, Yoneyama K. Intraseasonal isotopic variation associated with the Madden-Julian Oscillation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011. [DOI: 10.1029/2010jd015209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 96] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Naoyuki Kurita
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC); Yokosuka Japan
| | - David Noone
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences; University of Colorado at Boulder; Boulder Colorado USA
| | - Camille Risi
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science and Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences; University of Colorado at Boulder; Boulder Colorado USA
| | | | - Hiroyuki Yamada
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC); Yokosuka Japan
| | - Kunio Yoneyama
- Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC); Yokosuka Japan
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Yang X, Xu B, Yang W, Qu D, Lin PN. Study of altitudinal lapse rates of δ18O in precipitation/river water with seasons on the southeast Tibetan Plateau. Sci Bull (Beijing) 2009. [DOI: 10.1007/s11434-009-0496-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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ICHIYANAGI K. Review: Studies and Applications of Stable Isotopes in Precipitation. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2007. [DOI: 10.4145/jahs.37.165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
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