During the recent Italian expedition ‘K2 2004 – 50 years later’ (June–July 2004) on Baltoro glacier, Karakoram, Pakistan, glaciological field experiments were carried out on the debris-covered area of this high-elevation glacier. The aim was to investigate the ice ablation and its relations with debris thermal properties and meteorological conditions. Ablation measurements along the glacier up to about 5000m and within a dedicated test field were combined with meteorological data from two automatic weather stations located at Urdukas (4022ma.s.l.) and at K2 Base Camp (5033ma.s.l.). In addition, temperature measurements of the debris cover at different depth levels along the glacier allowed the calculation of debris surface temperature and of the debris thermal resistance (R). Using the air temperature, the local mean lapse rate (0.00758 K/m) and the measured ablation, the degree-day factors (K) at different locations on the glacier were calculated. The ice ablation rates were related to debris thickness and elevation. They are typically on the order of 4cm/ day during the observation period. However, it was found that the surface topography (slope, aspect) has an influence on the total ablation similar to that of the debris thickness. Thermal resistance of the debris cover and its distribution over the glacier were estimated. Finally, a best-guess estimate of the total meltwater production was calculated from available climate data.

Baltoro glacier in the Karakoram, Pakistan, is one of the world’s largest valley glaciers. It drains an area of about 1500km2 and is >60km long. In 2004 an Italian/German expedition carried out a glaciological field program on the ablation zone of the glacier, focusing on the ablation conditions and the dynamic state of the glacier. As Baltoro glacier is a debris-covered glacier, ice ablation also depends on the debris properties. Stake measurements of ice ablation and debris cover in combination with meteorological data from automatic weather stations close by have been used to determine the local melt conditions. Results from these calculations have been combined with an analysis of different classes of surface cover and information about precipitation, using remote-sensing techniques, in order to calculate mass fluxes for the upper part of Baltoro glacier. The dynamic state of the glacier has been investigated by GPS-based surface velocity measurements along the stake network. A comparison of these short-term measurements during the melt season with surface velocities computed from feature tracking of satellite images shows a high seasonal variability of the ice motion. We have shown that this variability is up to 100% of the annual mean velocity. On the basis of these investigations, the mass fluxes at the Concordia cross-section have been quantified. This approach can now be used together with the ablation calculations to reconstruct the variability of glacier extent and volume in the past using available climate data from the central Karakoram. From the comparison of historical measurements and photographs it is shown that the snout of Baltoro glacier is oscillating back and forth a couple of hundred metres. Otherwise it seems not to react with the same magnitude as other glaciers to the climatic change. Elevation changes at Concordia are a few tens of metres at the most

In the mountain regions of the Hindu Kush, Karakoram and Himalaya (HKH) the "third polar ice cap" of our planet, glaciers play the role of "water towers" by providing significant amount of melt water, especially in the dry season, essential for agriculture, drinking purposes, and hydropower production. Recently, most glaciers in the HKH have been retreating and losing mass, mainly due to significant regional warming, thus calling for assessment of future water resources availability for populations down slope. However, hydrology of these high altitude catchments is poorly studied and little understood. Most such catchments are poorly gauged, thus posing major issues in flow prediction therein, and representing in facts typical grounds of application of PUB concepts, where simple and portable hydrological modeling based upon scarce data amount is necessary for water budget estimation, and prediction under climate change conditions. In this preliminarily study, future (2060) hydrological flows in a particular watershed (Shigar river at Shigar, ca. 7000 km2), nested within the upper Indus basin and fed by seasonal melt from major glaciers, are investigated. The study is carried out under the umbrella of the SHARE-Paprika project, aiming at evaluating the impact of climate change upon hydrology of the upper Indus river. We set up a minimal hydrological model, tuned against a short series of observed ground climatic data from a number of stations in the area, in situ measured ice ablation data, and remotely sensed snow cover data. The future, locally adjusted, precipitation and temperature fields for the reference decade 2050–2059 from CCSM3 model, available within the IPCC's panel, are then fed to the hydrological model. We adopt four different glaciers' cover scenarios, to test sensitivity to decreased glacierized areas. The projected flow duration curves, and some selected flow descriptors are evaluated. The uncertainty of the results is then addressed, and use of the model for nearby catchments discussed. The proposed approach is valuable as a tool to investigate the hydrology of poorly gauged high altitude areas, and to project forward their hydrological behavior pending climate change.

The aim of this contribution is to present the research activities which will be carried out in the frame of the Project “Institutional Consolidation for the Coordinated and Integrated Monitoring of Natural Resources towards Sustainable Development and Environmental Conservation in the Hindu Kush - Karakoram-Himalaya Mountain Complex”. The Project will be performed within the cooperation of four scientific partners: IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources), ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development), Ev-K2-CNR and CESVI (NGO, Cooperazione e Sviluppo, onlus) with the involvement of international researchers. The local management will be provided in Nepal by the Sagarmatha National Park (SNP), in Pakistan by the Central Karakoram National Park (CNKP) and in Tibet Autonomous Region (China) by the Quomolongma Nature Preserve (QNP). This contribution will provide an overview about the research issues (on forests, biodiversity, glacier changes, livelihoods) mainly based on remote sensing technologies which could be successfully applied on CNKP. The need for integrating remote sensing data and field activities are presented as well. The applied image processing techniques (i.e. radiometric normalization, image geometric rectification and thematic classification) are introduced with an emphasis on the key role played by acquiring field data and evaluating the accuracy. The basis of this discussion is the creation of some base thematic maps realised mainly from remote sensing data.