How deep is the snow on Mount Everest? A Chinese team says it’s deeper than previously thought
- Radar readings taken during an expedition along the north slope suggest the snowpack’s thickness to be more than nine metres at some points
- The results could help understand the effects of climate change at extremely high elevations, researchers say
Previous estimates put the depth within a range of 0.92-3.5 metres, the researchers said, adding that those measurements had been inconsistent and had “large uncertainties”.
“Our measurement revealed an astonishing mean snow depth at the … summit of approximately 9.5 metres, which is much deeper than previous estimates,” Professor Yang Wei, from the institute, said in a video on The Cryosphere’s website.
The researchers based the finding on results of an expedition along the north slope of Mount Everest in April and May last year.
They used ground-penetrating radar to take dozens of readings along a mountain ridge at elevations of above 7,000 metres.
The readings showed a strong difference between the snow and rock surface, allowing the team to determine the boundary between the two materials.
In all, 26 of the measuring points concentrated at the summit showed the snow to be at average depth of around 9.5 metres, the report said, adding that the results were within a range of plus or minus 1.2 metres.
“Such homogeneity not only indicates the reliability of repeated radar measurements within this limited area but also provides insights into the relatively flat topography along the ridge of Mount Everest,” they said in the paper.
Yang said previous measurement efforts were limited by factors such as “snow density, [measuring] stake length and high-altitude challenges”.
In the paper, the researchers said comparisons of snow depth during different periods could be helpful in understanding the influence of human-induced climate change at extremely high elevations in the Himalayas.
“The snow and glaciers on Mount Everest are the sentinels for climate change and therefore offer a potential natural platform for understanding ongoing climate change at such extremely high elevations and their possible widespread influence on the Asian Water Tower,” they said.
They said snow core drilling and more ground-penetrating radar measurements on Mount Everest were needed to understand how the snow was changing.
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Chinese researchers climb Mount Everest to install weather stations on world’s tallest peak
There is disagreement over the exact elevation of Mount Everest because of variations in snow level, gravity deviation, and light refraction, among other factors. The new discovery means the real height of the summit might be changed.
Mount Everest is the highest of the Himalayan mountains, but the height of the top summit has been inconsistent, according to the researchers.
In 2020, Beijing and Kathmandu jointly announced the newest measurement is 8,850 metres, slightly more than Nepal’s previous measurement and about four metres higher than China’s assessment at the time.
