science

Glaciers in Bhutan

Glaciers in Bhutan is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Glaciers in Bhutan rather than just read about it. In short: The glaciers in Bhutan, which covers about 3 percent of the total surface area, are responsible for feeding all rivers of Bhutan except the Amochu and Nyere Amachu. Not much historical information is available on these glacial systems; the first modern survey was conducted by Augusto Gansser-Biaggi in the 1970s, who developed a chronology of past glaciations, and warned of imminent glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF…

Key takeaways

Glaciers in Bhutan belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Glaciers in Bhutan to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Glaciers in Bhutan from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The glaciers in Bhutan, which covers about 3 percent of the total surface area, are responsible for feeding all rivers of Bhutan except the Amochu and Nyere Amachu. Not much historical information is available on these glacial systems; the first modern survey was conducted by Augusto Gansser-Biaggi in the 1970s, who developed a chronology of past glaciations, and warned of imminent glacial lake outburst floods (GLOF) in Lunana. This prompted the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Geological Survey of Bhutan (GSB) to carry out joint surveys in the mid-80s, and their report rejected Biaggi's threat-assessment. On 7 October 1994, a GLOF from Luggye lake (part of Lunana glacial system) led to over 20 fatalities in Punakha. This disaster, the first of its kind in Modern Bhutan, increased the frequency of glacial-system-surveys by manifold. Evaluation of GLOF hazard has since formed a significant component of glacial expeditions. Multiple inventory-lists of glaciers and glacial lakes in Bhutan exist. The precise figures vary to some extent, based on the methodology used.

Inventories

Glaciers Multiple trans-Himalayan inventories of variable accuracy and area-span have existed for decades. This section concerns with inventories specifically curated for Bhutan. The first inventory was compiled in 1996 by Phuntso Norbu (of the Division of Geology and Mines) using satellite data from 1989 to 1990 and topographic map of 1962/63. A revised edition was published in 1999 by GSB. The same year, another inventory was published by China Science Publishing & Media on the basis of near-infrared Landsat 2 imagery (1975–1978) and some aerial snapshots — 649 glaciers were located, covering an area of 1,304 km2. and a volume of 150 cubic kilometer. A more accurate inventory, prepared from 1993 SPOT Imagery, Landsat data of 90s, IRS-1D data of 1999, and GSI topographic maps of 1950-60s, was published in 2001 by the International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). 677 glaciers, covering an area of 1,317 km2 were located and classified per Müllerian (WGMS) nomenclature. In 2011, ICIMOD recompiled its data-set for the entire Hindu Kush, using an automated classification of satellite imagery from 2005 ± 3 years in combination with digital elevation model — the area was revised to 642 km2 (based on Bhutan's new national boundary). In 2012, data from World Glacier Inventory (WGI), Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS), and Natural Earth (NE) were blended and refined to create yet another inventory of glaciers — the area estimates came out to be 1930 km2. (did not take the new boundary into account). The ICIMOD database was updated in 2014 (using Landsat imagery from 2010) — no areal difference existed. In 2018, the National Center for Hydrology and Meteorology published the most recent inventory of glaciers in Bhutan using automatic classification of Sentinel-2 data from 2016 — 700 glaciers were located covering an area of about 629.55 km2.

Glacial Lakes

Glaciers By convention, glaciers are located in the river basins, they lie — Wang Chhu basin (consisting of Pa Chhu, Ha Chhu and Thim Chhu sub basins), Punatshang Chhu basin (consisting of Pho Chhu, Mo Chhu and Dang Chhu sub basins), and Manas Basin (consisting of Mangde Chhu, Chamkhar Chhu, Kuri Chhu, and Drangme Chhu sub-basins). Two other river basins exist in Bhutan corresponding to Amo Chhu and Nyere Ama Chhu but is not associated with any glacier. In order of area (or volume), the vast majority are classifiable as "valley glacier", and "mountain glacier". "Ice apron", and "niche glacier" types exist in significant numbers but occupy far less area (or volume). Far rarer are "cirque glaciers", and "ice caps". The "valley glaciers" are located along the southern flanks of the main topographic divide of the Bhutan Himalaya, and are characterized by debris-mantled snouts. They are primarily concentrated in the upper part of the Pho Chhu basin and Northern Basin. "Mountain glaciers" are common on peaks, and back walls of valley glaciers. "Cirque glaciers", "ice caps", "ice aprons", and "niche glaciers" are common on plateaus and ridges that stretch to the south from the main Himalayan divide; they are virtually debris-free. Rock glaciers exist in many places along the Snowman Trekking Route in northwestern and northern Bhutan. The south flowing glaciers exhibit steeper head-walls, more debris cover, and slower flow rates than their north-flowing counterparts. As of 2016, the Punatsang Chhu basin contained the highest number of glaciers (341) with an area of about 361.07 km2 and the Wang Chhu Basin had the lowest number of glaciers (47) with an area of about 33.38 km2. The largest glacier (2016) is in the Mangde Chhu sub basin, having an area of 45.85 km2. The longest glacier (2001) is the Wachey Glacier in Pho Chhu river-basin, measuring about 20.1 km. The highest elevation (2016) of glacier basins is at about 7,361 m in the Mangde Chhu basin. Lowest snout-elevations (2001) are found to be slightly above 4,000 m, for glaciers in the Kuri Chhu basin and Drangme Chhu basin; debris free glaciers exhibit lower snouts.

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Glaciers in Bhutan

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Glaciers in Bhutan claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Glaciers in Bhutan before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Glaciers in Bhutan ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Glaciers in Bhutan

In research: Glaciers in Bhutan appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Glaciers in Bhutan in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Glaciers in Bhutan is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Glaciers of Bhutan, Lists of glaciers, Lists of landforms of Bhutan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Glaciers in Bhutan outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Glaciers in Bhutan in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Glaciers in Bhutan means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Glaciers in Bhutan out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Glaciers in Bhutan in simple terms?

Why does Glaciers in Bhutan matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Glaciers in Bhutan?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Glaciers in Bhutan.