Less than one percent of the world’s glaciers are characterized as “surge-type” glaciers. The Karakoram in High Asia – the world’s second-highest mountain range – has one of the planet’s densest concentration of surging glaciers, where the Shishpar Glacier in northern Pakistan is moving at a rate of five to seven meters per day and is threatening human settlements
Surging refers to episodes with a sudden, large increase in ice velocities. “Glaciers in the Karakoram exhibit irregular behavior,” said the authors of a 2017 study on surging glaciers published in the journal Scientific Reports. “Early reports suggested they are out of phase with climate fluctuations and trends observed elsewhere.”
A video posted on March 9 by German broadcasting channel DW News, calls attention to the threat posed by Shishpar (also Shisparé or Shishper):
DW News✔@dwnews
As glaciers shrink worldwide, a weather anomaly is causing this glacier in northern Pakistan to grow, putting millions in danger.
A video posted on March 9 by German broadcasting channel DW News, calls attention to the threat posed by Shishpar (also Shisparé or Shishper):
Also read: https://thehighasia.com/hell-and-ice-hassanabad-villagers-live-in-constant-fear/
Last year NASA reported that Shishpar started its advance in April 2018, with certain parts moving as fast as 13 to 18 meters (43 to 59 feet) per day. “Since the surge started, the front of Shishpar Glacier has advanced by about 1 kilometer,” the NASA Earth Observatory said. “As the ice pushed south past an adjacent valley, it blocked a meltwater stream flowing from the neighboring Muchuhar Glacier. By autumn 2018, the water had pooled up and formed a sizable lake.”
Also read this: https://thehighasia.com/atabad-like-disaster-looming-large/
A lack of incoming water from the blockage has already forced one power station to halt operations and a crucial route used by miners and herders to traverse the glacier is now impassable. According to NASA, this is not the first time that this glacier has surged. Field research and analysis of satellite imagery indicate that Shishpar also surged in 1904-1905, 1972-1976, and 1993-2002. This article was first published in the GlacierHub
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Peter Deneen is the senior editor of GlacierHub. He is a graduate of the Climate & Society masters program at Columbia University, a former Coast Guard officer, and native Californian. Twitter: @pete_deneen