UPSC Articles
Seasonal advancement in surging glaciers in the Karakoram Range
Part of: GS Prelims and GS-I – Geographical phenomenon
In News:
- Recently, scientists from the Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun have observed a seasonal advancement in surging or surge-type glaciers in the Karakoram Range.
- WIHG is an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST).
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Important value additions:
Surging or Surge-type glaciers
- These are short-lived events where a glacier can advance and move at velocities up to 100 times faster than normal.
- They cluster around a few areas.
- High concentrations of surging glaciers occur in Svalbard, the Canadian Arctic islands, Alaska and Iceland.
- They also represent 40% of the total glaciated area of the Karakoram range.
- These can lead to the destruction of villages, roads and bridges.
- Therefore, monitoring of glacier surges is important.
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