ABSTRACT In the Himalaya, climate change threatens mountain water resources as glaciers melt and changes in runoff and water availability are likely to have considerable negative impacts on ecological and human systems. While much has been written on the effect of climate change on glaciers in the Himalaya and its impact on sustainability, almost nothing has been published on rock glaciers in the region and their role in maintaining water supplies as the climate warms. Rock glaciers are important components of the Himalayan hydrological system because they are present in almost all regions of the Himalaya and are climatically more resilient than other glacier types owing to an insulating layer of debris cover. Research from other mountain regions shows that they contain potentially important water stores, although in the Himalaya, there is almost no information on their number, spatial distribution and response to future climate change. The extent to which this contributes to higher resilience of the Himalayan cryosphere as a whole is still an open question. This paper argues that research into Himalayan rock glaciers that reveals their hydrological significance is critical for underpinning climate change adaptation strategies and to ensure that this highly populated region is in a strong position to meet sustainable development goals.

中文翻译：

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喜马拉雅山的冰是否比我们想象的更能适应气候变化？

摘要 在喜马拉雅地区，气候变化威胁着山区水资源，因为冰川融化，径流和水资源的变化可能对生态和人类系统产生相当大的负面影响。虽然关于气候变化对喜马拉雅冰川的影响及其对可持续性的影响已经写了很多文章，但几乎没有任何关于该地区的岩石冰川及其在气候变暖时维持供水的作用的文章。岩石冰川是喜马拉雅水文系统的重要组成部分，因为它们几乎存在于喜马拉雅的所有地区，并且由于碎片覆盖的绝缘层，它们在气候上比其他类型的冰川更具弹性。来自其他山区的研究表明，它们含有潜在的重要水库，尽管在喜马拉雅山，几乎没有关于它们的数量、空间分布和对未来气候变化的反应的信息。这在多大程度上有助于整个喜马拉雅冰冻圈的更高弹性仍然是一个悬而未决的问题。本文认为，对喜马拉雅岩石冰川的研究揭示其水文意义对于支持气候变化适应战略和确保这个人口稠密的地区处于实现可持续发展目标的有利地位至关重要。