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Use of a hydrologic mixing model to examine the roles of meltwater, precipitation and groundwater in the Langtang River basin, Nepal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2016

Alāna M. Wilson ,
Mark W. Williams ,
Rijan B. Kayastha  and
Adina Racoviteanu
Alāna M. Wilson*
Affiliation:
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder,CO, USA Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Mark W. Williams
Affiliation:
Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder,CO, USA Department of Geography, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
Rijan B. Kayastha
Affiliation:
Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, School of Science, Kathmandu University, Kathmandu, Nepal
Adina Racoviteanu
Affiliation:
National Snow and Ice Data Center, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
*
Correspondence: Alāna M. Wilson <[email protected]>
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Abstract

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Understanding the hydrology of glacierized catchments is an important step in assessing the vulnerability of water resources to a changing climate. While there have been increased efforts recently to understand the dynamics of Asia's cryosphere, glacier melt dynamics and hydrograph separation of river discharge are open questions. A multi-year, multi-seasonal dataset of water chemistry from the Langtang Valley, Nepal, is used to explore water sources and flow paths that contribute to Langtang River discharge. Differences in hydrochemistry of samples from debris-free Khimsung Glacier and debris-covered Lirung Glacier demonstrate the effect of debris cover on glacier outflow. Additional data show seasonal transitions in the composition of Langtang River discharge. End-member mixing analysis (EMMA) using geochemical and isotopic tracers suggests that reacted meltwater contributes the majority of flow during most of the year, with the exception of the summer when unreacted meltwater and precipitation dominate streamflow. We hypothesize our dataset is missing characteristic monsoon water and utilize a Late May river sample as a proxy for precipitation-influenced groundwater in the EMMA. Results offer insight into the plausibility of flow sources and pathways in the basin.

Keywords

debris-covered glaciersmeltwater chemistrymountain glaciers
Type
Paper
Information
Annals of Glaciology , Volume 57 , Issue 71 , March 2016 , pp. 155 - 168
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2016

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