An approach to reproduce water temperature structure in the Glacier Lake in Himalaya

Abstract

This study aims to reproduce the water temperature structure in the Imja glacial lake using the 3D-Hydrodynamic model "Imja-3D" and the hypothetic meteorological datasets at the Imja glacial lake. The one-year datasets of hourly average air temperature were hypothesized using the temperature datasets at Namche Bazaar in 2008. The datasets of the wind speeds and the wind directions were considered diurnal pattern of the regional climate features in the Solukhumbu region. The model reproduced the water temperature structure of the lake in July 2008. The thermocline appeared near the lake water surface. The water temperature (2-3 degree) distribution was shown in mid layer. These results showed the similar water temperature structure on the observed one in the Imja glacial lake in 1997.