---
DOAJ_listed: '1'
OA_place: publisher
OA_type: gold
_id: '22502'
abstract:
- lang: eng
text: "The Indian and East Asian summer monsoons shape the melt and accumulation
patterns of glaciers in High Mountain Asia in complex ways due to the interaction
of persistent cloud cover, large temperature ranges, high atmospheric water content
and high precipitation rates. Glacier energy- and mass-balance modelling using
in situ measurements offers insights into the ways in which surface processes
are shaped by climatic regimes. In this study, we use a full energy- and mass-balance
model and seven on-glacier automatic weather station datasets from different parts
of the Central and Eastern Himalaya to investigate how monsoon conditions influence
the glacier surface energy and mass balance. In particular, we look at how debris-covered
and debris-free glaciers respond differently to monsoonal conditions. The radiation
budget primarily controls the melt of clean-ice glaciers, but turbulent fluxes
play an important role in modulating the melt energy on debris-covered glaciers.
The sensible heat flux decreases during core monsoon, but the latent heat flux
cools the surface due to evaporation of liquid water. This interplay of radiative
and turbulent fluxes causes debris-covered glacier melt rates to stay almost constant
through the different phases of the monsoon. Ice melt under thin debris, on the
other hand, is amplified by both the dark surface and the turbulent fluxes, which
intensify melt during monsoon through surface heating and condensation. Pre-monsoon
snow cover can considerably delay melt onset and have a strong impact on the seasonal
mass balance. Intermittent monsoon snow cover lowers the melt rates at high elevation.
This work is fundamental to the understanding of the present and future Himalayan
cryosphere and water budget, while informing and motivating further glacier- and
catchment-scale research using process-based models.The radiation budget primarily
controls the melt of clean-ice glaciers, but turbulent fluxes play an important
role in modulating the melt energy on debris-covered glaciers. The sensible heat
flux decreases during core monsoon, but the latent heat flux cools the surface
due to evaporation of liquid water. This interplay of radiative and turbulent
fluxes causes debris-covered glacier melt rates to stay almost constant through
the different phases of the monsoon. Ice melt under thin debris, on the other
hand, is amplified by both the dark surface and the turbulent fluxes, which intensify
melt during monsoon through surface heating and condensation.\r\nPre-monsoon snow
cover can considerably delay melt onset and have a strong impact on the seasonal
mass balance. Intermittent monsoon snow cover lowers the melt rates at high elevation.
This work is fundamental to the understanding of the present and future Himalayan
cryosphere and water budget, while informing and motivating further glacier- and
catchment-scale research using process-based models."
article_processing_charge: No
article_type: original
author:
- first_name: Stefan
full_name: Fugger, Stefan
last_name: Fugger
- first_name: Catriona L.
full_name: Fyffe, Catriona L.
last_name: Fyffe
- first_name: Simone
full_name: Fatichi, Simone
id: cf8e546b-a9b0-11f0-a43b-aa89ed1b56d6
last_name: Fatichi
- first_name: Evan
full_name: Miles, Evan
last_name: Miles
- first_name: Michael
full_name: McCarthy, Michael
last_name: McCarthy
- first_name: Thomas E.
full_name: Shaw, Thomas E.
last_name: Shaw
- first_name: Baohong
full_name: Ding, Baohong
last_name: Ding
- first_name: Wei
full_name: Yang, Wei
last_name: Yang
- first_name: Patrick
full_name: Wagnon, Patrick
last_name: Wagnon
- first_name: Walter
full_name: Immerzeel, Walter
last_name: Immerzeel
- first_name: Qiao
full_name: Liu, Qiao
last_name: Liu
- first_name: Francesca
full_name: Pellicciotti, Francesca
last_name: Pellicciotti
citation:
ama: Fugger S, Fyffe CL, Fatichi S, et al. Understanding monsoon controls on the
energy and mass balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya. The
Cryosphere. 2022;16(5):1631-1652. doi:10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022
apa: Fugger, S., Fyffe, C. L., Fatichi, S., Miles, E., McCarthy, M., Shaw, T. E.,
… Pellicciotti, F. (2022). Understanding monsoon controls on the energy and mass
balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya. The Cryosphere.
Copernicus Publications. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022
chicago: Fugger, Stefan, Catriona L. Fyffe, Simone Fatichi, Evan Miles, Michael
McCarthy, Thomas E. Shaw, Baohong Ding, et al. “Understanding Monsoon Controls
on the Energy and Mass Balance of Glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya.”
The Cryosphere. Copernicus Publications, 2022. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022.
ieee: S. Fugger et al., “Understanding monsoon controls on the energy and
mass balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya,” The Cryosphere,
vol. 16, no. 5. Copernicus Publications, pp. 1631–1652, 2022.
ista: Fugger S, Fyffe CL, Fatichi S, Miles E, McCarthy M, Shaw TE, Ding B, Yang
W, Wagnon P, Immerzeel W, Liu Q, Pellicciotti F. 2022. Understanding monsoon controls
on the energy and mass balance of glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya.
The Cryosphere. 16(5), 1631–1652.
mla: Fugger, Stefan, et al. “Understanding Monsoon Controls on the Energy and Mass
Balance of Glaciers in the Central and Eastern Himalaya.” The Cryosphere,
vol. 16, no. 5, Copernicus Publications, 2022, pp. 1631–52, doi:10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022.
short: S. Fugger, C.L. Fyffe, S. Fatichi, E. Miles, M. McCarthy, T.E. Shaw, B. Ding,
W. Yang, P. Wagnon, W. Immerzeel, Q. Liu, F. Pellicciotti, The Cryosphere 16 (2022)
1631–1652.
das_tickbox: '1'
date_created: 2026-07-27T12:30:24Z
date_published: 2022-05-05T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2026-08-06T11:17:17Z
day: '05'
doi: 10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022
extern: '1'
intvolume: ' 16'
issue: '5'
language:
- iso: eng
main_file_link:
- open_access: '1'
url: https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-1631-2022
month: '05'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
page: 1631-1652
publication: The Cryosphere
publication_identifier:
eissn:
- 1994-0424
publication_status: published
publisher: Copernicus Publications
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Understanding monsoon controls on the energy and mass balance of glaciers in
the Central and Eastern Himalaya
tmp:
image: /images/cc_by.png
legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: ba8df636-2132-11f1-aed0-ed93e2281fdd
volume: 16
year: '2022'
...