Understanding monsoon controls on the energy and mass balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya

Fugger, Stefan; Fyffe, Catriona L.; Fatichi, Simone; Miles, Evan; McCarthy, Michael; Shaw, Thomas E.; Ding, Baohong; Yang, Wei; Wagnon, Patrick; Immerzeel, Walter; Liu, Qiao; Pellicciotti, Francesca

doi:https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022

Articles | Volume 16, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022

© Author(s) 2022. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 16, issue 5

Research article

|

05 May 2022

Research article |

| 05 May 2022

Understanding monsoon controls on the energy and mass balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya

Stefan Fugger, Catriona L. Fyffe, Simone Fatichi, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Thomas E. Shaw, Baohong Ding, Wei Yang, Patrick Wagnon, Walter Immerzeel, Qiao Liu, and Francesca Pellicciotti

Supplement

https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022-supplement

Data sets

Understanding monsoon controls on the energy and mass balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya (Data Sets and Codes) Stefan Fugger, Catriona Fyffe, Simone Fatichi, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Thomas E. Shaw, Baohong Ding, Wei Yang, Patrick Wagnon, Walter Immerzee, and Qiao Liu https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6280985

Model code and software

Understanding monsoon controls on the energy and mass balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya (Data Sets and Codes) Stefan Fugger, Catriona Fyffe, Simone Fatichi, Evan Miles, Michael McCarthy, Thomas E. Shaw, Baohong Ding, Wei Yang, Patrick Wagnon, Walter Immerzee, and Qiao Liu https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6280985

Short summary

The monsoon is important for the shrinking and growing of glaciers in the Himalaya during summer. We calculate the melt of seven glaciers in the region using a complex glacier melt model and weather data. We find that monsoonal weather affects glaciers that are covered with a layer of rocky debris and glaciers without such a layer in different ways. It is important to take so-called turbulent fluxes into account. This knowledge is vital for predicting the future of the Himalayan glaciers.