Glacier shrinkage in the Himalayas under the monsoon climate with the abundance of debris and dirt NAKAWO, Masayoshi National Institutes for the Humanities

Rikha Samba Glacier, Mukut Himal, Nepal AX010 Glacier, Shorong Himal, Nepal

Mass balance of world glaciers Rikha Samba Glacier AX010 Glacier Yala Glacier Glacier surface lowering, m Why the rate of shrinkage is so large in the Himalayas? ① The warming rate is large? ② Other reason? By Fujita

Tree Ring Ice Core The warming can be identified in the Himalayas, but the rate is not as pronounced, when compared with the rate at the other part of the world (roughly 0.7 to 0.8 degree/century), although the rate of glacier shrinkage is significantly large. By Sano et al. By Thompson et al.

Daily Temperature, deg C Daily Precipitation, mm ONDJFMAMJJAS Observation of temperature and precipitation made at the Rikha Samba Glacier, Mukut Himal, Nepal Nepal Tibet Air Temperature, Deg C Snow Fall probability, % By Fujita et al.

Monthly Precipitation, mm Comparison between glaciers fed during summer and winter, with the help of a glacier mass balance model, which takes into account the surface albedo. Summer accumulation Winter accumulation By Fujita et al.

Mass Balance, mm Elevation, m Summer Type Winter Type Observation If snow accumulates in winter, with completely the same total amount, the equilibrium line altitude becomes significantly higher, than glaciers fed during summer. By Fujita et al.

Surface Level, m Albedo Summer type Winter type Observation ONDJFMAMJJAS Summer snow keeps the surface albedo high so that the melting is hindered. This albedo effect is the major advantage of summer accumulation type glaciers located in the Himalayas. By Fujita et al.

Summary The rapid shrinkage of glaciers in the Himalayas is not caused by a higher rate of warming but by 1) Precipitation: Snow → Rain ２） Albedo effect: high(snow) → low(ice) 3) Warming effect: → higher rate of ablation Therefore, the rapid shrinkage is caused by the fact that glaciers are fed during summer owing to the monsoon climate. Monsoon

Yala Glacier, Langtang Himal, Nepal Another possible cause for the rapid shrinkage of Himalayan Glaciers : Biological activities Yala Glacier, Lantang Himal

Cryoconite hole Formation of Cryoconite ： Wisdom of the creatures who decide to live on glaciers

TibetHimalayaPatagoniaAlaska Arctic Amount of dirt materials, dry weight, g/m 2 Great abundance of Cyanobacteria over Himalayan glaciers could have caused the rapid shrinkage. Third Pole region By Takeuchi

Khumbu Himal, Nepal

Distance from the terminus, m Melt rate, m/a Melting of debris-covered ablation area, Khumbu Glacier Glacier ice, even under a thick debris cover, has melted at a rate of about 1 m/a as an average. Thick debris cover of 0.5 to 2 m or more

Mass balance of world glaciers Rikha Samba Glacier AX010 Glacier Yala Glacier Glacier surface lowering, m Debris-covered glacier (Khumbu) Debris covered large glaciers have also shrunk at a high rate in the Himalayas. Rapid deterioration of debris covered glaciers has lead to the formation of glacier lakes, and Glacier Outburst Flood with the failure of the dam bank.

Annual Precipitation, mm Change in annual balance, m Winter type Summer type Dongkemadi Glacier Oerlemans’s estimation Glaciers of summer accumulation type is more vulnerable to a warming climate than those of winter accumulation type. This is considered the main cause for the rapid shrinkage of Himalayan glaciers during the recent warming climate. With a warming experiment, By Fujita et al.

Distance along the flow direction, m Elevation, m With further warming, glacier lake could form near the terminus of debris-covered glaciers. By Naito et al.

Acceleration of glacier melt → Disappearance of glaciers Formation of cryoconite is one of the styles of the adaptation of the living creatures on glaciers Their wisdom, in association with the warming, They would lose their home → extinction ！ Human beings decided to live on earth and acclimatized with the environment. We have triggered a rapid warming of global scale. Warming proceeds, → deterioration of environment Should we not be able to adapt, → extinction ！