While black carbon has a large effect on snow darkening and resultant melting of snow, dust particles transported from as far as Saudi Arabia that gets deposited in the Western Himalayan Region has a large role to play in melting of snow, particularly at higher elevations.
Himalayas
Denisovans inhabited Tibetan Plateau 120,000 years before modern humans
Contrary to popular belief that high altitudes were inhabited only by modern humans less than 40,000 years ago, fossil remains conclusively prove that Denisovans lived there 160,000 years ago. Denisovans adapted to low-oxygen environment long before modern humans arrived on the plateau. Analysis of a fossil jawbone containing molars recovered from Baishiya Karst cave in … Continue reading Denisovans inhabited Tibetan Plateau 120,000 years before modern humans
Indian Army jumps the gun on ‘Yeti’ footprints
The Indian Army tweeted photos of giant footprints claiming that it “sighted mythical beast ‘Yeti’”. The claim has no scientific basis and is at odd with scientific evidence. In contrast discovery of hominins — Homo luzonensis in April 2019, Denisovans in 2008 and Hobbits (Homo floresiensis) in 2004 — were based on scientific studies carried … Continue reading Indian Army jumps the gun on ‘Yeti’ footprints
Glaciers in the Himalayas are shrinking rapidly, says study
Published in The Hindu on July 19, 2012 A majority of glaciers in the Tibetan Plateau and the surrounding regions are retreating, according to a study published recently in Nature Climate Change . The Tibetan Plateau and surrounding regions contain most of the world’s glaciers outside the polar region. The total glacier area in this … Continue reading Glaciers in the Himalayas are shrinking rapidly, says study
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