 |
| The Himalayan glacier AX010 in Shorong, Nepal. Photograph: Koji Fujita/Nagoya University |
Japanese researchers today said three glaciers of Nepal would vanish soon if the present ice melting rate continues.
Two researchers—Koji Fujita and Takayuki Nuimura from Nagoya University of Japan revealed that the two glaciers Yala in central Nepal and AX010 in eastern Nepal have been receding at a very fast rate. The Rikha Samba glacier in the drier region of west Nepal has also been getting smaller since the 1970s, but its rate of shrinking slowed to 0.48m per year in the past 10 years compared to 0.57m per year in the 1970s and 1980s.
The glaciers were surveyed between 2008 to 2010 using a single frequency carrier-phase differential Global Positioning System (GPS). One GPS receiver was set on the ground as base station and the others were used as mobile stations.
“Yala’s mass shrank by 0.8 (2.6 feet) and AX010 by 0.81 metres per year in the 2000s, up from 0.68 and 0.72 metres per year between 1970 and 1990, said Koji Fujita at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies in Nagoya University in Japan, quoted Reuters.
The debate on the melting of glaciers on the Himalayas, which has been a hot topic after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — a UN scientific body that oversees issues of climate change — mentioned in its fourth assessment report that all the glaciers in the Himalayan region would disappear by 2035.
After the dispute that lasted over three years, IPCC, in 2010 admitted the statement had overestimated the effect, but said the melting rate has undoubtedly increased.
The Himalayan region is said to be a very less studied area regarding glaciers and is still on the data gap region.
... ... ... nepalawazTwo researchers—Koji Fujita and Takayuki Nuimura from Nagoya University of Japan revealed that the two glaciers Yala in central Nepal and AX010 in eastern Nepal have been receding at a very fast rate. The Rikha Samba glacier in the drier region of west Nepal has also been getting smaller since the 1970s, but its rate of shrinking slowed to 0.48m per year in the past 10 years compared to 0.57m per year in the 1970s and 1980s.
The glaciers were surveyed between 2008 to 2010 using a single frequency carrier-phase differential Global Positioning System (GPS). One GPS receiver was set on the ground as base station and the others were used as mobile stations.
“Yala’s mass shrank by 0.8 (2.6 feet) and AX010 by 0.81 metres per year in the 2000s, up from 0.68 and 0.72 metres per year between 1970 and 1990, said Koji Fujita at the Graduate School of Environmental Studies in Nagoya University in Japan, quoted Reuters.
The debate on the melting of glaciers on the Himalayas, which has been a hot topic after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) — a UN scientific body that oversees issues of climate change — mentioned in its fourth assessment report that all the glaciers in the Himalayan region would disappear by 2035.
After the dispute that lasted over three years, IPCC, in 2010 admitted the statement had overestimated the effect, but said the melting rate has undoubtedly increased.
The Himalayan region is said to be a very less studied area regarding glaciers and is still on the data gap region.
0 comments:
Speak up your mind
Tell us what you're thinking... !