Melting of the Chhota Shigri Glacier, Western Himalaya, Insensitive to Anthropogenic Emission Residues: Insights From Geochemical Evidence

Nizam, Sarwar; Sen, Indra S.; Shukla, Tanuj; Selby, David

doi:10.1029/2021gl092801

Melting of the Chhota Shigri Glacier, Western Himalaya, Insensitive to Anthropogenic Emission Residues: Insights From Geochemical Evidence

Nizam, Sarwar; Sen, Indra S.; Shukla, Tanuj; Selby, David

Authors

Sarwar Nizam

Indra S. Sen

Tanuj Shukla

Professor David Selby
Professor

Abstract

Himalayan glaciers are invariably covered by supra-glacial debris. Of these glaciers, the Chhota Shigri Glacier (CSG) in the western Himalaya has minimal debris cover (3.4%), yet has a comparable melt rate to other Himalayan glaciers. Utilizing osmium isotopic composition, and major and trace element geochemistry of cryoconite, a dark colored aggregate of mineral and organic materials on the surface of the ablation zone of the CSG, we show that the surface of CSG is essentially free of anthropogenically emitted particles, contrary to many previous findings. Given this and the overall lack of debris, we conclude that the high melt rate of CSG is primarily related to the increase of the Earth's near-surface temperature linked directly to global warming. Therefore, the future meltwater supply for glacial-fed rivers originating from Lahaul and Spiti region would be most vulnerable for >50 million population living downstream and requires immediate attention.

Citation

Nizam, S., Sen, I. S., Shukla, T., & Selby, D. (2021). Melting of the Chhota Shigri Glacier, Western Himalaya, Insensitive to Anthropogenic Emission Residues: Insights From Geochemical Evidence. Geophysical Research Letters, 48(19), Article e2021GL092801. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl092801

Journal Article Type	Article
Acceptance Date	Sep 10, 2021
Online Publication Date	Sep 29, 2021
Publication Date	Oct 16, 2021
Deposit Date	Jan 6, 2022
Publicly Available Date	Mar 29, 2022
Journal	Geophysical Research Letters
Print ISSN	0094-8276
Electronic ISSN	1944-8007
Publisher	Wiley
Peer Reviewed	Peer Reviewed
Volume	48
Issue	19
Article Number	e2021GL092801
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1029/2021gl092801

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Copyright Statement
Nizam, Sarwar, Sen, Indra S., Shukla, Tanuj & Selby, David (2021). Melting of the Chhota Shigri Glacier, Western Himalaya, Insensitive to Anthropogenic Emission Residues: Insights From Geochemical Evidence. Geophysical Research Letters 48(19): e2021GL092801. 10.1029/2021GL092801. To view the published open abstract, go to https://doi.org/ and enter the DOI.