Supraglacial Lake Classification in the Everest Re

Authors: Prajjwal K Panday Henry Bulley Umesh Haritashya Bardan Ghimire

Publish Date: 2011

Volume: , Issue: , Pages: 86-99

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Abstract

Climate change has been linked to widespread retreats and recent disappearances of small glaciers in mountainous regions such as the Patagonia Andes Alps and Himalaya Dyurgerov and Meier 2000 Fujita et al 2006 Kargel et al 2005 Oerlemans 2005 Paul Kaab et al 2004 Racoviteanu et al 2008 Thakur 2010 Alpine glaciers are particularly sensitive to changes in climate due to their proximity to melting conditions wide altitude range and variability in debris cover Haeberli et al 2007 Racoviteanu et al 2008 Alpine glacial retreat in response to climate change and recent warming trends may have severe hydroecological consequences to surrounding communities Kehrwald et al 2008 Milner et al 2009 The recession of glaciers has been further linked to increases in glacierrelated hazards in high mountainous areas such as avalanches glacial lake outburst floods and debris flows which can increasingly threaten human lives settlements and infrastructure Huggel et al 2002 Quincey et al 2005 This has necessitated the assessment and monitoring of potentially hazardous glacial lakes through the use of remote sensing especially in high mountainous areas due to inaccessibility and lack of field surveys Quincey et al 2005

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