Brief communication: How deep is the snow on Mount Everest?

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Abstract

Abstract. Exploring the snow depth on Mount Everest, one of the most inaccessible places on our planet, has long been a topic of interest. Previously reported snow depths have been inconsistent and have large uncertainties. Here, we report the ground-penetrating radar survey of snow depth along the north slope of Mount Everest in May 2022. Our radar measurements display a gradual increasing transition of snow depth along the north slope, and the mean depth estimates at the summit are 9.5±1.2 m. This updated snow depth on Mount Everest is much deeper than previously reported values (0.9–3.5 m).

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Most cited references 17

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Importance and vulnerability of the world’s water towers

W. W. Immerzeel, A. F. Lutz, M. Andrade … (2020)

Mountains are the water towers of the world, supplying a substantial part of both natural and anthropogenic water demands1,2. They are highly sensitive and prone to climate change3,4, yet their importance and vulnerability have not been quantified at the global scale. Here we present a global water tower index (WTI), which ranks all water towers in terms of their water-supplying role and the downstream dependence of ecosystems and society. For each water tower, we assess its vulnerability related to water stress, governance, hydropolitical tension and future climatic and socio-economic changes. We conclude that the most important (highest WTI) water towers are also among the most vulnerable, and that climatic and socio-economic changes will affect them profoundly. This could negatively impact 1.9 billion people living in (0.3 billion) or directly downstream of (1.6 billion) mountainous areas. Immediate action is required to safeguard the future of the world's most important and vulnerable water towers.