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| Titel |
Reconciling high-altitude precipitation in the upper Indus basin with glacier mass balances and runoff |
| VerfasserIn |
W. W. Immerzeel, N. Wanders, A. F. Lutz, J. M. Shea, M. F. P. Bierkens |
| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| ISSN |
1027-5606
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| Digitales Dokument |
URL |
| Erschienen |
In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences ; 19, no. 11 ; Nr. 19, no. 11 (2015-11-26), S.4673-4687 |
| Datensatznummer |
250120857
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 copernicus.org/hess-19-4673-2015.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Mountain ranges in Asia are important water suppliers, especially if
downstream climates are arid, water demands are high and glaciers are
abundant. In such basins, the hydrological cycle depends heavily on high-altitude precipitation. Yet direct observations of high-altitude
precipitation are lacking and satellite derived products are of insufficient
resolution and quality to capture spatial variation and magnitude of
mountain precipitation. Here we use glacier mass balances to inversely infer
the high-altitude precipitation in the upper Indus basin and show that the
amount of precipitation required to sustain the observed mass balances of
large glacier systems is far beyond what is observed at valley stations or
estimated by gridded precipitation products. An independent validation with
observed river flow confirms that the water balance can indeed only be
closed when the high-altitude precipitation on average is more than twice as
high and in extreme cases up to a factor of 10 higher than previously thought.
We conclude that these findings alter the present understanding of high-altitude hydrology and will have an important bearing on climate change
impact studies, planning and design of hydropower plants and irrigation
reservoirs as well as the regional geopolitical situation in general. |
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