China has initiated a new research project to observe land-atmosphere interactions in the Mount Everest region of Tibet. This study aims to explore how the land surface interacts with the atmosphere, which plays a key role in ecological and climate systems. The Aerospace Information Research Institute, part of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, will lead this experiment using unmanned aerial platforms. The chosen location is on the northern side of Mount Everest, known as Qomolangma, at an average altitude of about 4,200 meters (15,960 feet).
Jia Li, a researcher at the Institute, highlighted the significance of this study: “In the Mount Qomolangma area, land-atmosphere interactions not only impact the climate of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its neighboring regions but also have the potential to affect global climate through intricate feedback mechanisms and atmospheric circulation.”
Understanding the Tibetan Plateau is increasingly crucial due to rapid climate changes causing glaciers and snow to melt at an accelerated rate. The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) released the 'Summary of the Hindu Kush Himalaya Assessment Report' in 2019, noting significant elevation-dependent warming (EDW) in the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas.
Further, a 2023 ICIMOD report revealed that 79 glaciers around Everest have thinned by over 100 meters in the past 60 years, with the rate of thinning nearly doubling since 2009.
According to Xinhua, the state-run news agency, the researchers will gather spatial distribution data on various factors, including radiation flux between the land surface and the atmosphere. They will combine ground-station measurements with remote-sensing satellite data for comprehensive observations.
This new study follows previous research efforts, including the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research, which conducted a ground-penetrating radar survey of snow depth on Mount Everest's north slope in May 2022.
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