@article{fdi:010061394,
  title = {{S}easonal and annual mass balances of {M}era and {P}okalde glaciers ({N}epal {H}imalaya) since 2007},
  author = {{W}agnon, {P}atrick and {V}incent, {C}. and {A}rnaud, {Y}ves and {B}erthier, {E}. and {V}uillermoz, {E}. and {G}ruber, {S}. and {M}enegoz, {M}. and {G}ilbert, {A}. and {D}umont, {M}. and {S}hea, {J}. {M}. and {S}tumm, {D}. and {P}okhrel, {B}. {K}.},
  editor = {},
  language = {{ENG}},
  abstract = {{I}n the {E}verest region, {N}epal, ground-based monitoring programmes were started on the debris-free {M}era {G}lacier (27.7 degrees {N}, 86.9 degrees {E}; 5.1 km(2), 6420 to 4940 m a.s.l.) in 2007 and on the small {P}okalde {G}lacier (27.9 degrees {N}, 86.8 degrees {E}; 0.1 km(2), 5690 to 5430 m a.s.l., similar to 25 km north of {M}era {G}lacier) in 2009. {T}hese glaciers lie on the southern flank of the central {H}imalaya under the direct influence of the {I}ndian monsoon and receive more than 80% of their annual precipitation in summer ({J}une to {S}eptember). {D}espite a large inter-annual variability with glacier-wide mass balances ranging from -0.67 +/- 0.28 m w.e. in 2011-2012 ({E}quilibrium-line altitude ({ELA}) at similar to 5800 m a.s.l.) to +0.46 +/- 0.28 m w.e. in 2010-2011 ({ELA} at similar to 5340 m a.s.l.), {M}era {G}lacier has been shrinking at a moderate mass balance rate of -0.08 +/- 0.28 m w.e. yr(-1) since 2007. {I}ce fluxes measured at two distinct transverse cross sections at similar to 5350 m a.s.l. and similar to 5520 m a.s.l. confirm that the mean state of this glacier over the last one or two decades corresponds to a limited mass loss, in agreement with remotely-sensed region-wide mass balances of the {E}verest area. {S}easonal mass balance measurements show that ablation and accumulation are concomitant in summer which in turn is the key season controlling the annual glacier-wide mass balance. {U}nexpectedly, ablation occurs at all elevations in winter due to wind erosion and sublimation, with remobilised snow potentially being sublimated in the atmosphere. {B}etween 2009 and 2012, the small {P}okalde {G}lacier lost mass more rapidly than {M}era {G}lacier with respective mean glacier-wide mass balances of -0.72 and -0.23 +/- 0.28 m w.e. yr(-1). {L}ow-elevation glaciers, such as {P}okalde {G}lacier, have been usually preferred for in-situ observations in {N}epal and more generally in the {H}imalayas, which may explain why compilations of ground-based mass balances are biased toward negative values compared with the regional mean under the present-day climate.},
  keywords = {{NEPAL} ; {EVEREST} ; {HIMALAYA}},
  booktitle = {},
  journal = {{C}ryosphere},
  volume = {7},
  numero = {6},
  pages = {1769--1786},
  ISSN = {1994-0416},
  year = {2013},
  DOI = {10.5194/tc-7-1769-2013},
  URL = {https://www.documentation.ird.fr/hor/fdi:010061394},
}