An astonishing spectacle has emerged in the mighty Himalayas that might slow down the impact of the global climate crisis. Researchers have noted that when high temperatures reach high-altitude ice masses, ‘katabatic’ winds are generated that blow cold air to lower-altitude ranges.
The study, issued in the journal Nature Geoscience, was showed using data from the Pyramid International Laboratory/Observatory weather station on Mount Everest, the world’s highest summit.
According to Francesca Pellicciotti, lecturer of glaciology at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria and principal author of the study, a temperature breach is formed between the air flowing overhead the mountains and the cooler air directly in connection with ice masses.
This leads to an upsurge in turbulent heat interchange at the glacier’s surface and stronger cooling of the surface air mass, she explained.
As the warm air becomes cooler and denser, it descends, triggering the katabatic winds in adjacent areas down the slope.
While this wonder may slow down the effects of global warming in some parts, its sustainability is not certain over the approaching decades.
Nevertheless, studying the influence of this phenomenon becomes important and substantial as the Himalayan Mountain range feeds into 12 rivers that deliver fresh water to approximately 2 billion people in 16 countries.
Researchers distinguished that this phenomenon doesn’t halt the melting of the glaciers due to climate change.
A report formerly covered by CNN, exhibited that glaciers in the Himalayas melted 65 per cent quicker in the 2010s compared with the preceding decade, a trend extremely doubtful to change its course.
The main influence of rising temperature on glaciers is an upsurge of ice losses, due to melt increase, said Fanny Brun, a investigate scientist at the Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement in Grenoble, France. She was not involved in the study.
Thomas Shaw, who is part of the ISTA explore group with Pellicciotti, informed, there are numerous complications involved behind the reasons for ice melting.
The cooling is local, but possibly still not adequate to overcome the larger effect of climatic warming and fully preserve the glaciers, Shaw observes.
