---
_id: '12647'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: Accurate quantification of the spatial distribution of precipitation in mountain
    regions is crucial for assessments of water resources and for the understanding
    of high-altitude hydrology, yet it is one of the largest unknowns due to the lack
    of high-altitude observations. The Hunza basin in Pakistan contains very large
    glacier systems, which, given the melt, cannot persist unless precipitation (snow
    input) is much higher than what is observed at the meteorological stations, mostly
    located in mountain valleys. Several studies, therefore, suggest strong positive
    vertical precipitation lapse rates; in the present study, we quantify this lapse
    rate by using glaciers as a proxy. We assume a neutral mass balance for the glaciers
    for the period from 2001 to 2003, and we inversely model the precipitation lapse
    by balancing the total accumulation in the catchment area and the ablation over
    the glacier area for the 50 largest glacier systems in the Hunza basin in the
    Karakoram. Our results reveal a vertical precipitation lapse rate that equals
    0.21 ± 0.12% m−1, with a maximum precipitation at an elevation of 5500 masl. We
    showed that the total annual basin precipitation (828 mm) is 260% higher than
    what is estimated based on interpolated observations (319 mm); this has major
    consequences for hydrological modeling and water resource assessments in general.
    Our results were validated by using previously published studies on individual
    glaciers as well as the water balance of the Hunza basin. The approach is more
    widely applicable in mountain ranges where precipitation measurements at high
    altitude are lacking.
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Walter Willem
  full_name: Immerzeel, Walter Willem
  last_name: Immerzeel
- first_name: Francesca
  full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
  id: b28f055a-81ea-11ed-b70c-a9fe7f7b0e70
  last_name: Pellicciotti
- first_name: Arun B.
  full_name: Shrestha, Arun B.
  last_name: Shrestha
citation:
  ama: Immerzeel WW, Pellicciotti F, Shrestha AB. Glaciers as a proxy to quantify
    the spatial distribution of precipitation in the Hunza basin. <i>Mountain Research
    and Development</i>. 2012;32(1):30-38. doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1">10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1</a>
  apa: Immerzeel, W. W., Pellicciotti, F., &#38; Shrestha, A. B. (2012). Glaciers
    as a proxy to quantify the spatial distribution of precipitation in the Hunza
    basin. <i>Mountain Research and Development</i>. International Mountain Society.
    <a href="https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1">https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1</a>
  chicago: Immerzeel, Walter Willem, Francesca Pellicciotti, and Arun B. Shrestha.
    “Glaciers as a Proxy to Quantify the Spatial Distribution of Precipitation in
    the Hunza Basin.” <i>Mountain Research and Development</i>. International Mountain
    Society, 2012. <a href="https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1">https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1</a>.
  ieee: W. W. Immerzeel, F. Pellicciotti, and A. B. Shrestha, “Glaciers as a proxy
    to quantify the spatial distribution of precipitation in the Hunza basin,” <i>Mountain
    Research and Development</i>, vol. 32, no. 1. International Mountain Society,
    pp. 30–38, 2012.
  ista: Immerzeel WW, Pellicciotti F, Shrestha AB. 2012. Glaciers as a proxy to quantify
    the spatial distribution of precipitation in the Hunza basin. Mountain Research
    and Development. 32(1), 30–38.
  mla: Immerzeel, Walter Willem, et al. “Glaciers as a Proxy to Quantify the Spatial
    Distribution of Precipitation in the Hunza Basin.” <i>Mountain Research and Development</i>,
    vol. 32, no. 1, International Mountain Society, 2012, pp. 30–38, doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1">10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1</a>.
  short: W.W. Immerzeel, F. Pellicciotti, A.B. Shrestha, Mountain Research and Development
    32 (2012) 30–38.
date_created: 2023-02-20T08:17:52Z
date_published: 2012-02-01T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2023-02-21T08:56:29Z
day: '01'
doi: 10.1659/mrd-journal-d-11-00097.1
extern: '1'
intvolume: '        32'
issue: '1'
keyword:
- General Environmental Science
- Development
- Environmental Chemistry
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
  url: https://doi.org/10.1659/MRD-JOURNAL-D-11-00097.1
month: '02'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 30-38
publication: Mountain Research and Development
publication_identifier:
  eissn:
  - 1994-7151
  issn:
  - 0276-4741
publication_status: published
publisher: International Mountain Society
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Glaciers as a proxy to quantify the spatial distribution of precipitation in
  the Hunza basin
type: journal_article
user_id: 2DF688A6-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
volume: 32
year: '2012'
...