Discharge and suspended sediment in the meltwater of Gangotri Glacier, Garhwal Himalaya, India

Discharge and suspended sediment were measured throughout the ablation seasons between May and October 1999 and 2000 in the proglacial stream that drains the Gangotri Glacier into the Ganges River basin. During the observation periods in 1999 and 2000 the total discharge volume was estimated to be 581.87 and 547.47 x 10(6) m(3), respectively, and the total suspended sediment was 165.62 and 104.99 x 10(4) t, respectively. The lower discharge and suspended sediment in the 2000 season are in response to lower snow and glacier icemelt. A large part of the total discharge volume and suspended sediment was contributed between July and September when solar radiation is strong. Marked variations were noticed in the mean daily discharge and suspended sediment concentrations in different months under the influence of seasonal flushing events during both the study years. However, the mean daily discharge and suspended sediment concentration are more loosely correlated on the seasonal scale in 2000. The rate of decline of suspended sediment is much greater than that of the discharge in both years.