Himalayan Weather and Climate and Their Impact on the Environment

This book proposes a unique and comprehensive integrated synthesis of the current understanding of the science of Himalayan dynamics and its manifestations on physical systems and ecosystems at different spatial and temporal scales. In particular, this work covers relevant aspects of weather and climate, paleoclimate, snow, glacier and hydrology, ecology/forestry among other topics associated with the Himalayas. It highlights the role of the Himalayas in defining local to regional to global scale impact on weather and climate. It includes Himalayan impact on defining physical basis of changing glacier systems, permafrost melting/thawing, climate variability, and hydrological balances. As a result, this volume represents an important synthesized overview both for environmental and earth science researchers, and for policy makers and stakeholders interested in the physical and dynamical processes associated with the Himalayan massif.

A. P. Dimri is Professor at the School of Environmental Sciences, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, India. His research interests include Indian weather and climate using observations and modeling tools, regional climate dynamics and its variability, statistical and dynamical downscaling of numerical model outputs, extreme events and their physical understanding, particularly over the Himalayan massif. He has significantly contributed to the important dimensions of Western Disturbances and Indian Winter Monsoon by explaining the precipitation mechanisms occurring during winter. Emphasis of his studies is on winter snowfall leading to glacier replenishment which provides an insight for the recharging of the snow-fed rivers and overall ecology of the region. Dr. Dimri has been a member of important committees and published works.

B. Bookhagen is Associate Professor at the Department of Geography, UC Santa Barbara, USA. His research interests include theunderstanding of Quaternary climate change, geomorphic processes, landscape evolution, and tectonic processes through integrated studies involving cosmogenic radionuclide dating (He, Ne, Be, Al, Cl), recent and past climatic records, remote sensing, numerical modeling, and field observations. Spatial scales range from hillslopes (100 km2) to entire mountain ranges ( 103 km). For smaller scale analysis, Dr. Bookhagen uses a terrestrial laser scanner (Riegl) to create high resolution, cm-scale digital elevation models for erosion-process deciphering. He has a number of publications to his credit.

Markus Stoffel is Full Professor at the Institute for Environmental Sciences (ISE), and is Director of the Swiss Tree-Ring Lab at the Department F.-A. Forel for the Aquatic Sciences and the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Geneva. His research interests are in hydrogeomorphic and earth-surface processes, climate change impacts, and dendroecology. He hasauthored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers on geomorphic, hydrologic, cryospheric, and geologic processes in mountain and hillslope environments, with a focus on time series of frequency and magnitude and process dynamics, as well as dendroecology and wood anatomy of trees and shrubs, and integrated water resources management. Dr. Stoffel has collaborated with important co-editors-in-chief of the Journal Geomorphology (Elsevier) and guest editors of scientific journals. He has also co-edited both books and an encyclopedia.

T. Yasunari is Director General of the Research Institute of Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan. He has held many positions in international scientific programs and contributed to the development of key theories on the Indian summer monsoon. He has many publications to his credit.