Climatic effects and bedrock control on rapid fluctuations of Chhota Shigri glacier, northwest Himalaya, India

Abstract

Abstract Active tectonism in the Himalaya, and the long-fault lineament controlling the east–west river valleys, play an important role in melt at the snouts of glaciers, or their fluctuations during the year. Lower glacier limits are controlled by high winds from the Indian plains flowing along the valleys. Fluctuations of the Chhota Shigri glacier depend on temperature variations at the junction with the Chandra River valley and in the unconsolidated morainic debris below the glacier ice. High flow rates in the ablation zone indicate that basal sliding is the main movement mechanism. Melt takes place mainly from advection, and this process of melting during the summer season occurs both day and night.