Snow cover dynamics and hydrological regime of the Hunza River basin, Karakoram Range, Northern Pakistan

摘要

A major proportion of flow in the Indus River is contributed by its snow-and glacier-fed river catchments situated in the Himalaya, Karakoram andHindukush ranges. It is therefore essential to understand the cryospheredynamics in this area for water resource management. The MODIS MOD10A2remote-sensing database of snow cover products from March 2000 to December 2009 was selected to analyse the snow cover changes in the Hunza River basin(the snow- and glacier-fed sub-catchment of the Indus River). A database ofdaily flows for the Hunza River at Dainyor Bridge over a period of 40 yrand climate data (precipitation and temperature) for 10 yr from threemeteorological stations within the catchment was made available toinvestigate the hydrological regime in the area. Analysis of remotely sensedcryosphere (snow and ice cover) data during the last decade (2000–2009)suggest a rather slight expansion of cryosphere in the area in contrast tomost of the regions in the world where glaciers are melting rapidly. Thisincrease in snow cover may be the result of an increase in winterprecipitation caused by westerly circulation. The impact of global warmingis not effective because a large part of the basin area lies under highaltitudes where the temperature remains negative throughout most of theyear.