Scientists to drill the highest glacier
Researchers will be able to study the glacier’s structure, measure temperature, flowing capacity
London: A group of climate change scientists will be drilling the world’s highest glacier at the foothills of the Mount Everest. They will be the world’s first team to do so.
The international research team will spend up to six weeks working at an altitude of more than 5,000 metres on the Khumbu glacier in Nepal, using a specially adapted car wash unit to drill up to 200 metres into the ice.
Once it is complete, the team, led by Duncan Quincey from University of Leeds in the UK, will be able to study the glacier’s internal structure, measure its temperature, how quickly it flows and how water drains through it.
“All the current data collected on these glaciers only just scratches the surface,” Quincey said.
“The data we will collect during this expedition will be critical for us to forecast how this glacier, as well as others in the region, will respond to climate change,” he added. Glacier meltwater from across the Himalayan range supports the livelihoods of around 40 per cent of the world’s population, researchers said.
However, dams and lakes that form on the glacier present a significant risk of flash flooding for people living down- stream.
“Understanding what actually happens inside these glaciers is critical for developing a better understanding of how they flow so that we can better predict when dams that form on these glaciers are likely to be breached, releasing vast volumes of water to the valleys below,” said Professor Bryn Hubbard from Aberystwyth University in the UK.