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Status of Glaciological Studies in Nepal k | ltlaDa
1 . Background
As the development of water resources has been expanding gradually up to the Himalayan regions , Nepal has encountered severe disasters caused by Glacial Lake Outburst Flood ( GLOF ). When a GLOF occurred at Dig Tsho Glacial Lake on 4 August 1985 in the Khumbu region , which destroyed Namche Hydropower Plant completely , the destructive impact of GLOF was first recognized by the concerned officials of then His Majesty ’ s Government of Nepal ( HMG / N ). After this catastrophic GLOF event , then HMG / N initiated glacial lake studies through the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat ( WECS ). Also , the government realized the importance of the study of snow , glacier , and glacial lake for proper utilization of water resources . The regular monitoring of snow and glacier is very important for assessing the potential of the water resource and very useful to examine the effect of global warming and possible changes that may occur due to the changing climate in the future . Glacier monitoring also helps to know the development of glacial lake which is essential to assess the vulnerability of outbursts of the glacial lake . Based on these facts a fruitful cooperation of then HMG / N and the Federal Republic of Germany from 1987 to 1997 resulted in a strong “ Snow and Glacier Hydrology Unit ( SGHU )” a sub-division in the Department of Hydrology and Meteorology ( DHM ) of then HMG / N . At present , almost all snow and glacier hydrology studies in Nepal is channelized through the DHM .
2 . Snow Monitoring in Nepal
The first systematic snow monitoring started in Nepal by the Snow and Glacier Hydrology Unit ( SGHU ), Department of Hydrology and Meteorology , Government of Nepal . With the technical and financial support from the Government of Germany , the DHM established six hydro-meteorological stations from east to west in Nepal between 1987 to 1992 . Those stations were at Khumbu ( 4500 m ), Makalu ( 4200 m ), Langtang ( 4000 m ), Annapurna ( 3700 m ), Kanjirowa ( 4200 m ), and Humla ( 4200 m ). Along with other hydro-meteorological parameters , a snow survey was also carried out at least once in a year in those stations . Snow gauge for measuring snow depth was also installed in most of those stations . During the snow survey snow depth , snow density , snow water equivalent , and snow properties were measured . At present only a few snow monitoring stations at high altitudes are working .
3 . Glacier Studies in Nepal
The first systematic study of glaciers in Nepal has been carried out by Japanese scientists since 1973 under the Glaciological Expedition to Nepal ( GEN ) together with the Government of Nepal . Before that European in the 1950s and Japanese scientists in the 1960s had studied Nepalese glacier by joining mountaineering expedition teams . From 1973 to 1992 Japanese have studied glaciology , meteorology , hydrology , and geomorphology of the Nepalese
Himalayas almost continuously and after that intermittently till now . They have published more than 150 papers till now . The major researches carried by national and international scientists in different regions of Nepal as shown in figure 1 are described briefly in the following sections .
3.1 Kanchanjunga Region
Asahi et al . ( 2000 ) studied glacier fluctuation in the Gunsa Khola basin of the Kanchanjunga area using aerial
Figure 1 . Map of Nepal showing different regions where most of the Nepalese glaciers have been studied ( blue parts are glaciers ).
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