Work performed during the first part of the HAIL project has focused on producing a database of empirical glacier reconstructions. This means we have come up with estimates of how long glaciers where in the past during different time periods for specific valleys across HMA. This process has included systematic re-mapping of ice-marginal limits (e.g. terminal, and lateral moraines or till and glacial boulder limits) associated with sites where a rich research legacy has collected geological samples for dating glacier culminations.
High-mountain Asia Paleoglacier Inventory
An extensive meta-analysis of over 120 publications has aided our effort to constrain past ice flow and ice margin limits, together with reinterpretation of a range of satellite and elevation datasets. The main data type of HAPI—High-mountain Asia Paleoglacier Inventory—is paleoglacier flow lines stored in a geographical information system. A paleoglacier flow line is a glacial metric describing how long the former glacier was (i.e. glacier length) at a specific point in time.
HAPI connects to the first research objective of HAIL: to produce a database of paleoglacier reconstructions, which can be used to constrain and interpret glacier models. Additionally, it links to two deliverables 1) a database disseminated though a project web page and 2) a scientific publication (under preparation) on observed patterns of glaciation across HMA. Together this work sums up HAILs first milestone: completion of the HMA-wide empirical reconstruction.
Main result
If we consider only robustly dated maximum glacier limits across HMA, we find that a majority of paleoglaciers reached their maximum overlapping with the global LGM. However, each sub-region present temporal variability, either through individual outliers or through separate paleoglacier populations which reached their maximum earlier during the last glacial cycle. Well-dated sites where paleoglaciers reached their maximum during the subperiod 29—57 thousand years include Kunlun Shan, central and eastern Himalaya, and south and East Tibet. Timing of these maximum expansions broadly coincide with intensified precipitation rates through correlation with monsoon records, as well as restricted mid-latitude glaciations.
Exploitation activities
Examples of potential exploitation activities includes, using HAPI to: interpret and evaluate numerical glacier models, evaluate paleoclimate proxy reconstructions, aid surficial geological mapping (i.e. providing estimates for limits of glacial sediment) and communicate locally about past glacier change. Information about HAPI is currently being disseminated to the international research community and relevant stakeholders through planned conference participation, through our web site and via various list servers. The website
http://hapi-data.org(se abrirá en una nueva ventana) features information about HAIL and HAPI.
Additional work
Additional work being completed for the project period has been to set up steady state simulations using the Sicopolis glacier model. Sicopolis is a 3d model that simulates the evolution of ice sheets and ice caps and outlet glaciers. This work includes defining model domains and preparing input climate data. HAIL has for example prepared PMIP and CESM climate simulations for 21 and 35 thousand years ago which will be used to simulate paleoglaciation across HMA.
