Monitoring of Glaciers, Climate, and Runoff in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya Mountains

Alford, Donald ; Archer, David ; Bookhagen, Bodo ; Grabs, Wolfgang ; Halvorson, Sarah ; Hewitt, Kenneth ; Immerzeel, Walter ; Kamp, Ulrich ; Krumwiede, Brandon

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: SUMMER TEMPERATURES;    LOCAL TEMPERATURE;    ICE STREAM;    IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE;    SEASONAL PRECIPITATION;   

RP-ID  :  67668

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

Hydrometeorological monitoring, asdiscussed here, describes the activities required tocharacterize the properties and processes of the hydrosphereas it exists in the three-dimensional mesoscale environmentof the high-mountain catchment basins of the HinduKush-Himalaya (HKH) Mountains. Credible monitoring involves:(a) functional institutions; (b) operational instruments;(c) trained, motivated individuals; (d) scientificprocedures; and (e) dedicated funding. Establishing aregional hydro-meteorological research facility in the HKHMountains will involve developing solutions in the areas ofintegrated data collection and analysis procedures,instrument selection and placement, compatibility ofmonitoring instruments and procedures, training ofpersonnel, procedures related to scale and modeling,ensuring accessibility of monitoring sites, and management,analysis, and archiving of the acquired data, all in thecontext of processes within the mountain basins, not in theadjacent lowlands. Mountain hydrometeorology is defined by aset of complex, three-dimensional, biophysical environments,produced by interactions among terrain, geology, andmeteorology. The homogeneity seen from the distant lowlandsbecomes a complex mosaic of environments within theheadwater basins. Altitude determines the properties of anatmospheric column extending upwards from a point within themountains. These atmospheric properties determine thepotential water and energy budgets at a point, or within abasin, in the mountains. Relief, slope aspect and angle,defines local topography.