Scientists are worried about the increasing size of a glacier in Chamoli, it is increasing by 163 meters in a year instead of 7, research being done for 5 years revealed this

A new glacier has been found near two glaciers in the Dhauliganga valley of Chamoli district of Uttarakhand, which is growing rapidly. It is close to the border of India and Tibet i.e. LAC. The size of this glacier is 48 square kilometers. This new glacier is near the Randolph and Rekana glaciers in the Niti Valley.

This unnamed glacier is spread over a length of 10 kilometers between 7354 meter high Abi Gami and 6535 meter high Ganesh mountain. It has been studied by glaciologist and Himalayan expert Dr. Manish Mehta, Vineet Kumar, Ajay Rana and Gautam Rawat. It has become clear in their study that this glacier has spread rapidly. It has grown.

The name of the study of these four is – Manifestations of a glacier surge in central Himalaya using multi‑temporal satellite data. In which glacier surge has been talked about. Talking to aajtak.in, Dr. Manish Mehta told that glacier surge means increase in its size.

The size of the glacier can increase due to three reasons

When asked how this happened, he said that it is not possible to go to the place where it is present. The study has been done on the basis of satellite data. There can be three reasons for this – first hydrological imbalance. That is, the porosity of water creates layering of ice. This reduces cohesion. That is, the stability of the ice layer. Due to this it keeps sliding downwards.

Dr. Mehta said that the second reason could be thermal contrast, that is, the surface below the glacier becomes slippery. That is, the lubrication between the upper and lower layers increases. The third reason is the water becoming sticky in the sedimentary track. That is, it becomes smooth. Due to this the upper layer slides down. If we get a chance to do glaciological study, then we can get better results with better data.

There is a lack of glaciological data

Scientists say that the main reason for our knowledge being limited regarding glacier surge is the lack of glaciological data. More research is needed to fully understand the complex relationship between surging glaciers and climate change. The increasing size of glaciers gives us new information about the environment around it. This can lead to new environmental policies. Environmental protection can be done.

What will this study be used for?

This research can be useful for continuous monitoring of glacier patterns or changes in the future due to climate change. Apart from this, if any dangerous lake or GLOFs situation is created due to the surging of this glacier, then scientists will be able to issue a warning before that.