Precipitation variability in central Himalayas and its relation to Northern Hemisphere temperature

A 149.8-m-long ice core was drilled at the accumulation area of Dasuopu glacier (28°23′N, 85°43′E, 7100 m a.s.l.) in the central Himalayas in 1997. The ice core was analyzed continuously for stable isotopes (δ18O), cations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+) and anions (Cl-,SO2-4,NO3-) throughout the core. Cycles indicated by δ18O, cations and anions were identified and counted as seasonal fluctuations as annual increment from maximum to maximum values. Reconstructed 300-year annual net accumulation from the core reveals a major precipitation trend for the central Himalayas with an average precipitation 750 mm per year. The trend, separated from the time series, shows a strong correlation to global temperature. Generally, as northern global temperature increases 0.1℃, the accumulation decreases about 80mm and vise versa. This may suggests that monsoon precipitation in Himalayas have decreased continuously in past decade as a response to global warming.

作 者： DUAN Keqin YAO Tandong   作者單位： DUAN Keqin(Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China;National Laboratory of Western China's Environmental Systems, Lanzhou University, Lanzhou 730000, China)

YAO Tandong(Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy Sciences, Lanzhou 730000, China) 

刊 名： 科學通報(英文版)  SCI 英文刊名： CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN  年，卷(期)： 2003 48(14)  分類號： X14  關鍵詞： monsoon precipitation   Himalayas   global warming