LONDON: The flow of water that supports hydro-electric and irrigation projects in the mountain regions of India and Nepal is regulated by hundreds of large icy ponds on some of the world’s highest glaciers, a study has found.
Researchers at Aberystwyth University in the UK have shown that the ponds, which form on debris-covered glaciers in the Himalaya, control the rate at which water from melting ice flows downstream.
With many covering an area of up to five times the size of an Olympic swimming pool, their hydrological role, specifically to the extent which they can store water on the glacier surface, has remained unknown until now.
According to Tristram Irvine-Fynn from Aberystwyth, the role of these ponds could become increasingly important as the region’s climate changes.
“The hydrological role of ponds and debris may become more significant in the future. By understanding these processes we can become more confident in our predictions of water security and ecosystem response in the Himalaya,” said Irvine-Fynn, who led the study published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
“Runoff from glaciers in the local region is an important freshwater supply and is used for agriculture and hydro- electric power,” said Neil Glasser from Aberystwyth University.
“Water flowing from glacierised catchments in the Himalaya is a critical water resource for mountain dwellers in particular, and impacts on flows reaching the lowlands too,” said Glasser. (AGENCIES)
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