HIMALAYAN GLACIERS RETREATING

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28832, 28 February 1959, Page 10

HIMALAYAN GLACIERS RETREATING

Losses In Both Thickness And Length

tßv V. M. NAIR] NEW DELHI. 'T'HE giant glaciers of the Himalayas are getting A smaller, according to Indian scientists. After a recent expedition they reported that many glaciers had retreated several hundred feet and lost several feet in thickness over the last 50 years. The expedition selected some of the largest Himalayan glaciers for their study, including those of Gangotri, Satopanth, Bhagirath Kharak, Shunkalpa, Poting and Milam. They found that since the last survey, in 1935, the snout of the 18-mile long Gangotri glacier has receded by 700 feet. The 12mile Milam glacier, on the trade route to Tibet, is 2030 feet shorter than when last surveyed in 1906. The Shunkalpa glacier has retreated about 1000 feet during the same period.

While the expedition’s findings indicated a general trend of the glaciers to retreat, the full extent and degree of such retreat could not be estimated because of lack of previous research data. The expedition has now recommended that prominent glaciers should in future be studied in detail from time to time to find out the extent of the changes in their structure and size. The glaciological expedition was part of India’s research programme for the International Geophysical Year. All over India, scientists are continuing research in other spheres of science, trying to solve problems of the upper atmosphere, of the oceans, of earthquakes and of weather. The results of these researches are forwarded regularly for analysis to the world data collection centres of the International Geophysical Year. When they have been fully analysed, scientists may find that they have unlocked some of the secrets of nature.

One thing that has puzzled scientists is the origin . of microseisms, or short-duration waves produced by vibration. These waves have been recorded by sensitive electromagnetic seismographs at various points of the world. Experts have attributed them to various causes such as surf in coastal regions, the beating of high waves on a steep coast, the movement of heavy traffic or the action of wind on trees and tall buildings near the recording equipment. But their origin has never been accurately determined. Short-Duration Waves At Port in the Andaman Islands, and at Calcutta, special attention is now being given to the study of these waves, which scientists believe to be connected in some unexplained way with cyclonic storms. Port Blair is considered ideal for this study, since most of the storms which occur in the Bay of Bengal originate near the Andaman Islands. Already research at these two stations has produced some interesting results. Scientists found that their instruments did not record any microseisms when a storm occurred directly over their station, but as the storm receded towards the sea, the waves began to be recorded. The further the disturbance travelled from the coast the more amplified and frequent were the recording of the waves. Scientists believe that full analysis of the data collected here and at other world centres during the Geophysical Year may give them the clue to the origin of these waves and perhaps ultimately enable them to forecast cyclonic storms in any part of the seven seas.

Another Geophysical Year feature is a special camera installed

at Nainital in the Himalayan foothills, to keep constant watch on the movements of artificial satellites circling the earth. The Nainital Observatory is also photographing the moon with a moon camera lent by the United States of America.

The Meteorological Observatory near Poona is measuring atmospheric electricity. The observatory was able to locate, among 3ther things, regions of artificial radioactivity in the atmosphere, caused by nuclear explosions. Study Of The Oceans At other centres, Indian scientists are studying the oceans. Regular observations of surface salinity and temperature are being carried out near Bombay, Cochin and Vishakhapatnam ports. These observations are expected to help to give the world a better knowledge of the short-term and long-term change in sea level and general circulation of water in the oceans.

Solar flares—the gigantic explosions on the surface of the sun which throw out gases for several hundred miles and play havoc with world radio reception —have also come in for special study at the National Physical Laboratory in Delhi. Enough data have been collected to show that the flares observed during the International Geophysical Year are more numerous and bigger than any previously recorded. Scientists say that it will take anything from two years to 20 years to analyse the masses of data collected by various world centres of the International Geophysical Year. The results, when made available, will give the world a more accurate picture of the structure, behaviour and composition of our earth, the moon and other planets. —Reuter.