Indian Himalayan Glaciers (19 In Himachal Pradesh Alone) Declining Rapidly

[hatrack]

"Fears of global warming threatening the Himalayan glaciers have come true. For the first time, Indian space scientists have gathered concrete evidence that four glaciers in the Baspa basin in Himachal Pradesh are facing "terminal retreat." Put simply, they are disappearing.

Fifteen more glaciers in the same basin also face extinction. All of them are showing negative mass balance. That means glaciers are losing more mass of ice due to melting in summers than accumulation of snow in winters.

Baspa glaciers have lost 0.2347 cubic kilometer of glacial ice between 2000 and 2002. Glacial ice forms the core of a glacier. What gets melted away in summers is snow cover with most of the glacial ice beneath it remaining intact. Loss of glacial ice indicates threat to the glacier itself. Warmer winters are causing melting and retreat of snow cover in higher altitude regions — like the Beas and Baspa basins — even in December and January.

Satellite pictures suggest four glaciers are getting covered with debris because of which they are likely to experience relatively less melting. The debris is preventing the formation of new ice, leading to a slow death of these glaciers. "If climatic conditions remain same as in 2000, then our models show that the four glaciers will disappear completely by 2040. But since we know that temperatures are rising, this process will be much faster," said Dr Anil V Kulkarni, principal investigator of glaciology projects at the Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad."

EDIT

http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_591521,0008.htm

[kanrok]

1. This is beginning to scare the bejeebers out of me

I know absolutely zero about the science behind global warming. In light of this and the recent Pentagon paper, should I worry? What can be done? Any suggestions about where to learn more?

[rfkrocks]

2. Global Warming

is a fiction don't you realize-now if we can only get rid of this trouble maker Galileo