Fieldwork and training in in situ cryosphere monitoring on Yala Glacier, Nepal

About the field expedition and workshop

The expedition to Yala Glacier in Langtang Valley is planned from 12 to 26 November 2024. The field expedition is being organised to train our regional partners in field-based cryosphere monitoring while also carrying out regular data collection and station maintenance. The expedition led by our expert will include members from Tribhuvan University, and Kathmandu University in Nepal, National Centre for Hydrology and Meteorology (NCHM), Bhutan, and Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD) and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) from Pakistan.

Expedition members will receive hands-on training in in-situ cryosphere monitoring with a standardised approach developed by ICIMOD. The training will cover snow density measurement, glacier mass balance measurement, maintaining the stake network, maintaining and downloading data from Automatic Weather Stations (AWS), retrieving data from timelapse cameras, and analysing snow and glacier data collected from the field.

The event is organised by Action Area A – Managing Cryosphere and Water Risks under the Strategic Group (SG-1) on Reducing Climate and Environment Risks with support from the Government of Norway and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).

A pre-field workshop on 11 November at ICIMOD campus will be organised to equip participants with critical knowledge and skills essential for effective fieldwork.

Objectives

• Measure snow density at accumulation and ablation area of Yala Glacier
• Collect data and maintain the glacier mass balance stake network on Yala glacier
• Reinstall AWS with a modem at Kyangjing, download data, and maintain the AWS at Yala Glacier base camp
• Download data from time-lapse camera at Lirung outlet and Snow Accumulation and Melt Process (SnowAMP) stations at lower Gangja La pass
• Equip participants with skills to navigate the challenges of high-altitude mountain expeditions

Background

Yala Glacier in Langtang Valley, Nepal, is one of the benchmark glaciers with an altitude ranging from 5,661 to 5,168 metres above sea level and covers an area of 1.61 km². Since 2011, ICIMOD, in collaboration with partners in Nepal, has been monitoring the glacier and used the site to train members of partner organisations in the region.

Our observations show that the glacier has been steadily shrinking and retreating with 354m retreat recorded between 1974 and 2016 at an average annual rate of 8m. Additionally, the glacier has undergone extensive thinning, with the ablation area recently detaching from the parent glacier.

In 2022/23, the glacier’s net mass balance showed a loss of -1,281 mm of water equivalent per year for an Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) of 5,565 m and an Accumulation Area Ratio (AAR) of 6%. These data are available through the World Glacier Monitoring Service (WGMS) and ICIMOD’s Regional Database System (RDS).

Snow, glaciers, and permafrost are critical indicators of climate change in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH). They form the foundation of the water tower system in the HKH, and monitoring their changes is essential to understand regional hydrology. In-situ measurements are vital for accurately assessing these changes, as ground-based data help validate satellite observations and geospatial analyses.