Hydrological processes in glacierized high-altitude basins of the western Himalayas

Western Himalaya is a strategically important region, where the water resources are shared by China, India and Pakistan. The economy of the region is largely dependent on the water resources delivered by snow and glacier melt. The presented study used stable isotopes of water to further understand t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Hydrogeology journal 2018-03, Vol.26 (2), p.615-628
Main Authors: Jeelani, Ghulam, Shah, Rouf A., Fryar, Alan E., Deshpande, Rajendrakumar D., Mukherjee, Abhijit, Perrin, Jerome
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic Pollution
AQUIFERS
Basins
CARBONATE ROCKS
Carbonates
CHINA
Earth and Environmental Science
Earth Sciences
Environmental Sciences
Evolution
Geology
Geophysics/Geodesy
GEOSCIENCES
Glacier melting
GLACIERS
Glaciohydrology
GROUND WATER
GROUNDWATER RECHARGE
High altitude
HIMALAYAS
Hydrogeology
Hydrologic processes
HYDROLOGY
Hydrology/Water Resources
Hydrometeorology
INDIA
Isotope composition
ISOTOPE RATIO
Isotopes
Karst
Karst springs
METEOROLOGY
PAKISTAN
PRECIPITATION
Rapid flow
Recharge
Resources
Rivers
Sciences of the Universe
SNOW
Snowpack
STABLE ISOTOPES
STREAMS
Waste Water Technology
Water Management
Water Pollution Control
Water Quality/Water Pollution
WATER RESOURCES
WATER SPRINGS
Winter precipitation
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Summary:Western Himalaya is a strategically important region, where the water resources are shared by China, India and Pakistan. The economy of the region is largely dependent on the water resources delivered by snow and glacier melt. The presented study used stable isotopes of water to further understand the basin-scale hydro-meteorological, hydrological and recharge processes in three high-altitude mountainous basins of the western Himalayas. The study provided new insights in understanding the dominant factors affecting the isotopic composition of the precipitation, snowpack, glacier melt, streams and springs. It was observed that elevation-dependent post-depositional processes and snowpack evolution resulted in the higher isotopic altitude gradient in snowpacks. The similar temporal trends of isotopic signals in rivers and karst springs reflect the rapid flow transfer due to karstification of the carbonate aquifers. The attenuation of the extreme isotopic input signal in karst springs appears to be due to the mixing of source waters with the underground karst reservoirs. Basin-wise, the input–output response demonstrates the vital role of winter precipitation in maintaining the perennial flow in streams and karst springs in the region. Isotopic data were also used to estimate the mean recharge altitude of the springs.
ISSN:1431-2174
1435-0157
DOI:10.1007/s10040-017-1666-1