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Establishing a Collaborative Effort to Assess the Role of Glaciers and Seasonal Snow Cover in the Hydrology of the Mountains of High Asia
R. Armstrong (1), A. Barrett (1), M.J. Brodzik (1), F. Fetterer (1), S.J.S. Khalsa (1), A. Racoviteanu (2), B. Raup (1), M. Williams (2)
(1) CIRES
(2) INSTAAR
This collaborative project, funded by USAID, will improve our understanding of the water resources of High Asia. While it is generally accepted that a significant component of these water resources comes from the melting of glacier ice and seasonal snow, the actual volume of water available from these two individual sources remains uncertain. The amount, timing, and spatial patterns of snow and ice melt play key roles in providing water for downstream irrigation, hydropower generation, and general consumption.
The overall objective of this study is to develop a thorough and systematic assessment of the snow and glacier contribution to the water resources originating across the Himalaya-Karakoram-Hindu Kush, and the Pamir and Tien Shan mountain ranges of Central Asia. Specific project objectives are being accomplished using a suite of satellite remote sensing, reanalysis, and ground-based data as input to specific snow and ice melt models. In addition, we will evaluate the accuracy of the melt model results using innovative isotopic and geochemical analyses to identify and quantify the sources of water (glacier ice melt, seasonal snow melt, rainfall, and ground water) flowing into selected rivers representing the major hydro-climates of the study area. This project will interact with key Asian research groups currently operating across the study region. This will include capacity building to enhance the scientific understanding of the hydrology of the study region among our Asian partners through collaborative field research and technical training. The mountain ranges included in this study are located within the countries of Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and approximately one-third of the USAID award will be devoted to supporting scientists within these nine partner countries to perform collaborative research with University of Colorado scientists (CIRES and INSTAAR).
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