Misplaced Pages

#817182

24-437: In 1974 A team from kolkata climbed Chaturangi on September 27.The team comprising Jahar Guha Thakurta, Debu P. Bhattacharjee, B.S. Negi and Sherpa Kami. In 1980 Toyo University Alpine Club, from Japan led by Kenshiro Ohtaki. The other members in the team Kimimasa Miwa, Mutsuo Ominato, Fumihide Saito, Yoshiharu Ohta and Junichi Endo. On October 18 camp I set up at 15,425 feet. On October 20 They set up Camp II at 16,075 feet below

48-566: A cirque below Chaukhamba , the highest peak of the group. The terminus of the Gangotri Glacier is said to resemble a cow's mouth, and the place is called Gomukh or Gaumukh ( gou , cow + mukh , face). Gomukh, which is about 19 km (11.8 mi) from the town of Gangotri , is the precise source of the Bhagirathi river, an important tributary of the Ganges . Gomukh is situated near

72-449: A time, but can empty in the course of hours. Lakes may be created by surface melting during summer months, or over the period of years by rainfall, such as monsoons. They may dissipate by overflowing their banks, or creating a moulin . Lakes of a diameter greater than ~300 m are capable of driving a fluid-filled crevasse to the glacier/bed interface, through the process of hydrofracture . A surface-to-bed connection made in this way

96-455: Is available only at Bhojwasa, although forest check posts are present at both Chirbhasa and Bhowasa. The 2013 North Indian Floods destroyed much of this trail, and access is now a little difficult beyond Chirbhasa due to trail deterioration and a 2 km wide rockfall site. It is a valley-type glacier, situated in the Uttarkashi district of Garhwal Himalaya , Uttarakhand and it flows to

120-461: Is referred to as a moulin . When these crevasses form, it can take a mere 2–18 hours to empty a lake, supplying warm water to the base of the glacier - lubricating the bed and causing the glacier to surge . The rate of emptying such a lake is equivalent to the rate of flow of the Niagara Falls . Such crevasses, when forming on ice shelves , may penetrate to the underlying ocean and contribute to

144-575: The National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC), is developing a global inventory of all the world's glaciers to help researchers track each glacier's history. According to them, the Gangotri glacier, currently 30.2 km long and between 0.5 and 2.5 km wide, is one of the largest in the Himalayas. This glacier has been constantly receding since measurements began in 1780. Data for 61 years (1936–96) showed

168-532: The 1950s; the glaciers have been retreating constantly since then. A proliferation of supraglacial lakes preceded the collapse of the Antarctic Larsen B ice shelf in 2001, and may have been connected. Such lakes are also prominent in Greenland, where they have recently been understood to contribute somewhat to ice movement. Sedimentary particles often accumulate in supraglacial lakes; they are washed in by

192-405: The 1970s, when satellite measurements began, supraglacial lakes have been forming at steadily higher elevations on the ice sheet as warmer air temperatures have caused melting to occur at steadily higher elevations. However, satellite imagery and remote sensing data also reveal that high-elevation lakes rarely form new moulins there. Thus, the role of supraglacial lakes in the basal hydrology of

216-478: The Gangotri glacier, several longitudinal and transverse crevasses are formed along which ice blocks have broken down. The ablation zone of the Gangotri glacier is covered by a thick pile of supraglacial moraines and is characterized by several ice sections, melting into pools of supraglacial lakes . Because of subsidence and the fast degenerating nature of the glacier, its centre is full of supraglacial lakes. In this part of higher Himalaya, glacial melt-water dominates

240-790: The NW direction. This glacier is bound between 30°43'22"–30°55'49" (lat.) and 79°4'41"–79°16'34" (long.), extending in height from 4120 to 7000 m.a.s.l. This area is situated north of the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and is made up of bedrocks of granites, garnet mica schist, quartz biotite schist, kyanite schist, augen gneiss and banded augen gneiss. The glacier is composed of a variety of depositional features such as talus cones, snow-avalanche fans, snow-bridges , and dead ice mounds, and erosional features like pyramidal and conical peaks, serrated ridge crests, glacial troughs, smooth rock walls and tails, waterfalls, rock basins, gullies and glacial lakes. All along

264-572: The Seeta, Suralaya and Vasuki are the major tributaries which make up the Chaturangi system, while the Kirti system is made up of only three tributary glaciers. Besides these three major tributary systems, some other tributary glaciers of this area drain directly into the Gangotri glacier; among them Swachand, Miandi, Sumeru and Ghanohim are important. Four other glaciers, Maitri, Meru, Bhrigupanth and Manda drain into

SECTION 10

#1733085778818

288-532: The accumulation rate can be immense: up to 1 metre per year near the shores of larger lakes. Upon melting of the glacier, deposits may be preserved as superglacial till ( alias supraglacial moraine). It was once unclear whether global warming is increasing the abundance of supraglacial lakes on the Greenland Ice Sheet. However, recent research has shown that supraglacial lakes have been forming in new areas. In fact, satellite photos show that since

312-452: The base of Shivling; in between lies the Tapovan meadow. The Gangotri glacier is a traditional Hindu pilgrimage site. Devout Hindus consider bathing in the icy waters near Gangotri town to be a holy ritual, and many made the trek to Gomukh, with a few continuing on to Tapovan. One needs to trek from Gangotri till Gaumukh, passing Devgadh, Chirbhasa, Bhojwasa en route. Currently accommodation

336-578: The breakup of the ice shelf. Supraglacial lakes also have a warming effect on the glaciers; having a lower albedo than ice, the water absorbs more of the sun's energy, causing warming and (potentially) further melting. Supraglacial lakes can occur in all glaciated areas. The retreating glaciers of the Himalaya produce vast and long lived lakes, many kilometres in diameter and scores of metres deep. These may be bounded by moraines ; some are deep enough to be density stratified. Most have been growing since

360-442: The fluvial system. The total ice cover is approximately 200 km and has about 20 km of ice in volume. This glacier has three main tributaries, namely Raktvarn (15.90 km), Chaturangi (including Kalindi bamak) (22.45 km) and Kirti (11.05 km) and more than 18 smaller tributary glaciers. The Raktvarn system contains 7 tributary glaciers; among them Thelu, Swetvarn, Nilambar and Pilapani are important. Similarly

384-458: The ice sheet is unlikely to change in the near future: they will continue to bring water to the bed by forming moulins within a few tens of kilometers of the coast. Climate change is having a more severe effect on supraglacial lakes on mountain glaciers. In the Himalaya, many glaciers are covered by a thick layer of rocks, dirt, and other debris; this debris layer insulates the ice from the warmth of

408-513: The internal plumbing structure of the glacier. Natural events such as landslides or the slow melting of a frozen moraine can incite drainage of a supraglacial lake, creating a glacial lake outburst flood . In such a flood, the lake water releases rushes down a valley. These events are sudden and catastrophic and thus provide little warning to people who live downstream, in the path of the water. In Himalayan regions, villages cluster around water sources, such as proglacial streams; these streams are

432-444: The meltwater or rainwater that supplies the lakes. The character of the sediment depends upon this water source, as well as the proximity of a sampled area to both the edge of the glacier and the edge of the lake. The amount of debris atop the glacier also has a large effect. Naturally, long lived lakes have a different sedimentary record to shorter lived pools. Sediments are dominated by coarser (coarse sand/gravel) fragments, and

456-466: The primary sources of the Ganges , has a volume of over 27 cubic kilometers. The glacier is about 30 kilometres (19 miles) long and 2 to 4 km (1 to 2 mi) wide. Around the glacier are the peaks of the Gangotri Group , including several peaks notable for extremely challenging climbing routes, such as Shivling , Thalay Sagar , Meru, and Bhagirathi III. It flows roughly northwest, originating in

480-476: The river Bhagirathi. The total glacierized area of the catchment is 258.56 km , out of which the Gangotri system comprises 109.03 km , followed by Chaturangi (72.91 km ), Raktvarn (45.34 km ) and Kirti (31.28 km ). The remaining four glaciers contain 29.41 km of glacierized area; among them maximum contribution is Bhirgupanth glacier (14.95 km ). NASA , in conjunction with scientists from United States Geological Survey (USGS) and

504-494: The snout of Gangotri Glacier emerges Bhagirathi River one of the main tributaries of river Ganga . At Dev Prayag it merges with Alaknanda River the other main tributaries of river Ganga .and called Ganga there after. Gangotri Glacier Gangotri glacier ( Sanskrit and Hindi : गंगोत्री ) is located in Uttarkashi District , Uttarakhand , India in a region bordering Tibet . This glacier, one of

SECTION 20

#1733085778818

528-422: The south ridge of Chaturangi. On October 22 Camp III at 19,000 feet. On October 27 Miwa, Ominato and Ohta starting at seven A.M. in the morning and reached to the summit at three P.M. On October 29, Ohtaki, Saito and Junichi Endo also reached the summit at 1:35 in the afternoon. Neighboring or subsidiary peaks of Chaturangi: On the southern side lies Chaturangi Glacier which later joins Gangotri Glacier . From

552-556: The sun, allowing more ice to stay solid when air temperatures rise above the melting point. Water collecting on the ice surface has the opposite effect, due to its high albedo as described in a previous section. Thus, more supraglacial lakes lead to a vicious cycle of more melting and more supraglacial lakes. A good example is the Ngozumpa glacier , the longest glacier in the Himalayas, which counts numerous supraglacial lakes. The drainage of supraglacial lakes on mountain glaciers can disrupt

576-519: The total recession of Gangotri glacier as 1147 m, with an average rate of 19 m per year. However over the last 25 years into the 21st century it has retreated more than 850 meters (34 meters per year), and 76 meters between 1996 and 1999 (25 meters per year) Supraglacial lake A supraglacial lake is any pond of liquid water on the top of a glacier . Although these pools are ephemeral , they may reach kilometers in diameter and be several meters deep. They may last for months or even decades at

#817182