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Tree-Ring Isotopic Records Suggest Seasonal Importance of Moisture Dynamics Over Glacial Valleys of the Central Himalaya

Singh N, Shekhar M, Parida BR, Gupta AK, Sain K, Rai SK, Bräuning A, Singh Charkaborty J, Sharma V, Kamal Tiwari R, Chauhan P, Montagnani L (2022)

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Publication Type: Journal article

Publication year: 2022

Journal

Book Volume: 10

DOI: 10.3389/feart.2022.868357

Abstract

Accelerated glacier mass loss is primarily attributed to greenhouse-induced global warming. Land-climate interactions have increasingly been recognized as an important forcing at the regional-local scale, but the related effects on the Himalayan glaciers are less explored and thought to be an important factor regulating spatial heterogeneity. The aim of the present study is a multi-decadal approximation of glacier-hydroclimate interaction over the western region of the central Himalaya (WCH). Multi-species, highly coherent, tree-ring cellulose delta O-18 chronologies from three sites across the WCH were used to derive atmospheric humidity (Atmospheric Moisture Content: AMC) record of the last four centuries. Annual-scale AMC reconstruction implies a decreasing regional atmospheric moisture since the mid-19th century and a sharp decline in recent decades (1960s). Coherency analyses between regional AMC and glacier mass balance (GMB) indicate an abrupt phase-shift in the relationship after the 1960s within a common record of the last 273 years. To ascertain the cause of this phase-shift, annual AMC was disintegrated into seasonal-scale, utilizing similar to 200 years of delta O-18 record of a deciduous tree species. Seasonal (winter: October-March; summer: April-September) AMC reconstructions and disaggregation results indicate higher sensitivity of regional ice-mass variability to winter moisture dynamics than summer.Winter season AMC reconstruction confirms a revival of winter westerlies-driven moisture influx in the region since the 1970 s. Meanwhile, the record for the summer season AMC indicates a gradual decline in moisture influx from the beginning of the 20th century. Interestingly, despite a prominent decline in Indian summer monsoon (ISM) precipitation after the mid-20th century, the summer season AMC-GMB relation remained stable. We hypothesize that decadal-scale greening, and consequently increased evapotranspiration and pre-monsoon precipitation might have been recycled through the summer season, to compensate for the ISM part of precipitation. However, isotope-enabled ecophysiological models and measurements would strengthen this hypothesis. In addition, high-resolution radiative forcing and long-term vegetation greening trends point towards a probable influence of valley greening on GMB. Our results indicate that attribution of ice mass to large-scale dynamics is likely to be modulated by local vegetation changes. This study contributes to the understanding of long-term hydroclimate-ice mass variability in the central Himalaya, where predictions are crucial for managing water resources and ecosystems.

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APA:

Singh, N., Shekhar, M., Parida, B.R., Gupta, A.K., Sain, K., Rai, S.K.,... Montagnani, L. (2022). Tree-Ring Isotopic Records Suggest Seasonal Importance of Moisture Dynamics Over Glacial Valleys of the Central Himalaya. Frontiers in Earth Science, 10. https://dx.doi.org/10.3389/feart.2022.868357

MLA:

Singh, Nilendu, et al. "Tree-Ring Isotopic Records Suggest Seasonal Importance of Moisture Dynamics Over Glacial Valleys of the Central Himalaya." Frontiers in Earth Science 10 (2022).

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