Artificial glaciers in Ladakh

In Ladakh, a high-altitude cold desert in northern India, engineers are manually creating artificial glaciers, with some projects aiming for heights of 30 to 40 meters. These structures are intended to store approximately 16,000 cubic meters of water, or about 16 million liters, equivalent to the volume of six Olympic swimming pools.

Historical context of artificial glaciers

The concept of storing winter water for agricultural use is not new in the region, as civil engineer Chewang Norphel popularized artificial glaciers spread across terraces since the late 1980s. However, these flat ice reservoirs are exposed to significant melting due to their large surface area.

Introduction of the ice stupa

Sonam Wangchuk, a Ladakhi engineer, introduced a different approach by focusing on the shape of the artificial glaciers. In the winter of 2013-2014, he built a prototype called an "ice stupa," an artificial glacier in the shape of a cone. The prototype measured approximately 6 meters across two levels and was constructed at an altitude of about 3,200 meters.

Design and construction of the ice stupa

The ice stupa stored 150,000 liters, or 150 cubic meters, enough to fill about 1,000 bathtubs. It melted five times slower than a frozen pond due to its geometric design, which minimizes the surface area exposed to the sun. The principle behind the ice stupa involves capturing water upstream and channeling it through a pipe to a higher point than the construction site.

Scaling up the ice stupa design

Subsequent projects aimed to scale up the size of the ice stupas, targeting heights of 30 to 40 meters and storing about 16,000 cubic meters of water each. These figures represent goals rather than confirmed results. A 40-meter cone would be equivalent to a 13-story building, erected in a desert above 3,000 meters.

Challenges and research gaps

Researchers note that comparative measurements of water production between different types of artificial glaciers are still missing. Wangchuk considers his cone more compact and durable than traditional ice terraces, but this superiority has not been quantified by studies to date. The actual heights achieved by the stupas that followed the prototype are not established.