Climatic Influence on Hydrogeochemistry of Meltwater Draining from Chhota Shigri Glacier, Himachal Pradesh, India

This manuscript addresses climatic influence on hydrogeochemistry of Chhota Shigri glacier meltwater by comparing the major ions chemistry of 2009-10 with previously published meltwater chemistry data of 1987. The present comparative hydrogeochemical study between these data sets indicate that concentration of major anions like HCO3- increased nearly 104 times in 2009 and 103 times in 2010, SO42- increased nearly 71 times in 2009 and 78 times in 2010 and Cl- concentration increased nearly 3.0 times in 2009 and 13 times in 2010, in between 1987 and 2009-10. Whereas concentration of major cations like Na+ increased nearly 20 times in 2009 and 19 times in 2010, K+ increased nearly 35 times in 2009 and 38 times in 2010, Ca2+ increased nearly 16 times in 2009 and 23 times in 2010 and Mg2+ increased nearly 108 times in 2009 and 81 times in 2010, in between 1987 and 2009-10. These trends in increasing the dissolved ions concentration of glacier meltwater may be due to high air temperature that is reported in the study area (northwestern Himalaya), resulting in increasing the exposure of rock and weathering processes inside the glaciated valley. Mass balance and snout retreat study of the Chhota Shigri glacier is also supporting climatic influence enhancing the dissolved ions concentration in the meltwater of study area.