Manifestations and mechanisms of the Karakoram glacier Anomaly.
- Farinotti D Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Immerzeel WW Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- de Kok R Department of Physical Geography, Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Quincey DJ School of Geography, University of Leeds, Leeds,United Kingdom.
- Dehecq A Laboratory of Hydraulics, Hydrology and Glaciology (VAW), ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
- 2020-01-10
Published in:
- Nature geoscience. - 2020
English
Global-scale glacier shrinkage is one of the most prominent signs of ongoing climatic change. However, important differences in glacier response exist at the regional scale, and evidence has accumulated that one particular region stands out: the Karakoram. In the past two decades, the region has shown balanced to slightly positive glacier budgets, an increase in glacier ice-flow speeds, stable to partially advancing glacier termini, and widespread glacier surge activity. This is in stark contrast to the rest of High Mountain Asia, where glacier retreat and slowdown dominate, and glacier surging is largely absent. Termed the Karakoram Anomaly, recent observations show that the anomalous glacier behaviour partially extends to the nearby Western Kun Lun and Pamir. Several complementary explanations have now been presented for explaining the Anomaly's deeper causes, but the understanding is far from being complete. Whether the Anomaly will continue to exist in the coming decades remains unclear, but its long-term persistence seems unlikely in light of the considerable warming anticipated by current projections of future climate.
- Language
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- English
- Open access status
- green
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- DOI 10.1038/s41561-019-0513-5
- PMID 31915463
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/238620
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