Asia: Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area, India
Great Himalayan Nation Park Conservation Area
Temperature
Annual Ranges
The weather ranges from as low as 55ºF, typically in the month of January, and to temperatures higher than 110ºF, which are most likely to occur in June. The average annual temperature from last year was 88.9ºF.
(3)
Precipitation
Precipitation remains moderate in this area throughout most of the year. It is most abundant during monsoon season which occurs from mid-June to mid-September. In the winter, snowfall can reach over 2 meters deep in both low and high elevations. However, higher elevations will typically receive more snow in the winter.
(3)
Humidity ranges
The average humidity ranges from 25% to 84% in one year. The low of the 25% was in November of 2016, while the high of 84% was in August of 2016. The high percentage of humidity makes sense for this time, as it is during the monsoon season in the area. The average days of fog per month range from 10 to 15 days. The low days are in June and July, while the highest days are in January and March.
(3)
Humidity reports are from Shimia, a nearby weather station in Himachal Pradesh
Weather & Climate
The National Park lies in a temperate climate zone which means that temperatures can go through large changes between seasons. This means that the four seasons have very different conditions in terms of both temperature and precipitation. Not including monsoon season, the area gets around 1100-1500m of rainfall annually. In much of Asia, but India specifically, June through August is monsoon season. During monsoon season abundant amounts of rainfall occur (4). Warm, moist air southwesterly winds blow into India, bringing with them the hotter air and the heavy rains. This increase in temperature and rain causes flooding in many areas. There are winter monsoons which occur in Asia which bring cool, dry air, but this weather does not usually reach India because it is a northeasterly wind, blocked by the Himalayan Mountains.
This location is in the highlands but because of the elevation, the climate where the park is would be warm and temperate in the winter. In the summer there is monsoon season. Most of the rain during the year are within the monsoon season which is in June-September. In the summer, this region is more like the humid tropics than the highlands. The summers are long, hot, humid and there are many severe storms with heavy rains and strong winds. The winters are cool with some chance of snow. There is usually precipitation all year round but most is during the monsoon season (2).
Wind
Predominant wind directions
During the summer months, the wind comes from the Southwest. But during the winter, the wind comes from the Northeast. As stated above, this area gets monsoons during the summer months because the wind is coming from the Southwest. But it does not get monsoons in the winter because the wind is coming from the northeast and is being blocked by the Himalayan Mountains. There is overall very little wind in the northern area where our park is (1).
In this area, the wind patterns are just barely in the Westerlies. With the Himalayan National Park being at 31 degrees N, it is very close to being in the Tropical Easterlies zone. The park remains in this zone for the majority of the year. (6) During most of the year, winds blow toward the northwest direction. During June and July is when the wind will blow towards the southeast. (7)
Air Masses
Air masses that affect the Himalayan National Park are high pressure continental tropical fronts, coming from the southwest during the winter months. The air masses come from the northeast in the summer months. The park is located in a tropopause in the arctic zone.
Biogeography
The biome for the Great Himalayan National Park in this region is temperate coniferous forests. The ecoregion is Western Himalayan subalpine conifer forests.
Plants & Animals
Many of the animals found in the Himalayas are bird species, and the mammals are typically goats and similar species.
Goats are some of the only animals because the slope and elevation of the mountains are usually only maneuverable because of their hooves.
Many goats such as the Himalayan tahr and the Markhor (pictured below) shed in the summer and grow a thick coat in the winter to adjust to the varying climate of the mountains (8).
(8)
The plants that grow in the Himalayas must be suited to grow on sloped terrain and survive in the lower oxygen of high altitudes. Coniferous trees are well-suited for these conditions, and are found in much of the region. Plants also must be able to survive varying amounts of rainfall, as the winters are fairly dry and the summers bring heavy rains due to Monsoon season. (8)
Plant and Animal Adaptations
Altitude has a huge impact on the vegetation and wildlife in the Great Himalayan National Park. Many of the plants and animals in the park can only survive at the lower altitudes because the higher ones experience much more extreme temperatures. Humans have also had an impact on the vegetation and wildlife in the park. People have created a large impact on soil and water loss in the park due to their activities. (12)
Due to the difference in altitude in the park, there are multiple climate types. Because of this, the animals that have adapted to colder conditions live in the highest parts in the mountains while animals with thinner darker coats occupy the lower altitudes. The herbivores that populate the park are nimble climbing animals similar to mountain goats such as the Himalayan Goral, Himalayan Tahr, and the higher climbing Blue Goat. As for the predators of the region, snow leopards are found in higher altitudes while their warm weather counterparts, or common leopards, are found closer to sea level. This is a good example of the different adaptations similar species have in the different parts of the park. Deer, bears, and foxes also live in the area with similar differences in adaptations between the families living in different altitudes. (13)
Environmental Threats
Pollution
Many people have become interested with the Great Himalayan National Park and it has sign become more populated. When people want to climb the mountains, they do not bring their supplies back down from the mountains because it takes too much energy to bring it back down (9).
Invasive Species
The Field Bindweed is an invasive species that can live in soil for up to 20 years and have 500 seeds. It produces attractive flowers but is unwelcome because it's rapid growth and it chokes out the native plants. Field Bindweed competes with native plants for sunlight, moisture, and nutrients. Keeping these plants under shade can kill them or farmers could plant pumpkins or melons to shade out the plant because field bindweed will not kill these plants (10).
(11)
Landforms and Water
Geologic Makeup
The Great Himalayan National Park is in the Sub-Himalaya and has mostly sedimentary rocks. They were produced by the “uplift and subsequent erosion of the Himalayas and deposited by rivers,” (15).
Geology and Landforms
The park is on the boundary of the Eurasian and Indian plates, making the area prone to earthquakes due to the fact that the Indian plate is being submerged under the Eurasian plate. In the last 6 years, there were 523 earthquakes on this plate boundary. However, most earthquakes in the Himalayas occur further east in the mountain range and the Himalayan National Park is further west. The steep slopes also make the area prone to rockslides and avalanches.
The Himalayan mountains were formed when the Indian and Asian landmasses collided and the Indian went below the Asian. The force that drove them together created the mountains and since then the most important natural process that has contributed to their shape is erosion. Over several million years rainwater has given the mountain range its shape by eroding the rock and soils on the face of the mountain (18).
Weathering and Erosion
The Himalayas are home to the largest erosion system on the planet. Monsoon rains erode the surface of the mountains, depositing organic matter and sediment into the ocean. Erosion is fundamental in helping minimize landslides, as well as stabilizing soil fertility and nutrients. The erosion of the Himalayas is also a key aspect in controlling carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere. (20)
(19)
Glacial Activity
There are five different glaciers in the entire Himalayan mountain range. The Himalayan national park does not have any directly in the park but is still affected by some of these glaciers. The upper mountain glacial and snow that melt are sources for several rivers and supplies water that is vital to millions of people downstream.
The four sub-watersheds, the Tirthan, Sainj, Jiwa Nal, and Parvati, get their water from the melting glaciers as well as runoff water from the forests in the park (17).
Plates Tectonics/Boundaries
This national park is on the boundary of the Eurasian and Indian plates, so the area is semi-prone to earthquakes, although more earthquakes in the Himalayas occur further east in the mountain range since our park is located further west.
Our park is on the boundary of the Eurasian and Indian plates which is a convergent plate boundary (14). The Indian plate is being submerged under the Eurasian plate. In the last 6 years, there were 523 earthquakes on this plate boundary. The steep slope also make the area prone to rockslides and avalanches.
References
https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/parvati
http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/geography/4-major-types-of-climate-found-in-india/12775/
https://www.worldweatheronline.com/bihar-weather-averages/bihar/in.aspx
http://wildvistas.com/nationalparks/ghnp/ghnp.html
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_zone
http://www.eschooltoday.com/winds/types-of-winds.html
https://www.windfinder.com/windstatistics/chandigarh
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/places/Himalayas
http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/himalayanalpine_clim_page.htm
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7462.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convolvulus_arvensis#Ecological_Impacts
http://greathimalayannationalpark.com/mammals/
http://www.geo.arizona.edu/geo5xx/geo527/Himalayas/geology.html
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1406
http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2013/12/himalayas-formed/
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/earth/environment/climatechange/8933945/Himalayan-glaciers-are-melting-says-IPCC-research.html
Galy, V., France-Lanord, C., Beyssac, O., Faure, P., Kudrass, H., & Palhol, F. (2007). Efficient organic carbon burial in the Bengal fan sustained by the Himalayan erosional system. Nature, 450, 407-411. doi:10.1038/nature06273