Special Stamp on Ice Stupa released | Burning Issues

Table of Contents

Why in News?

The Indian Department of Post has released a ‘special stamp cover on Ice Stupa’.
Ice Stupa is a form of glacier grafting technique that creates artificial glaciers, used for storing winter water (which otherwise would go unused) in the form of conical shaped ice heaps

Background

Ladakh is cold desert
Water requirement when streams dry up
In the month of May, Sonam Wangchuk noticed the ice under a bridge. Despite summer and lowest elevation in Ladakh, the ice had not melted since it was not under direct sunlight.

Why are they built?

The idea behind artificial glaciers:
To freeze and hold the water
Water that is wasted away down the streams
Instead, this ice will melt in the springtime, just when the fields need watering.

Shape of glacier

Working

Water always maintains its level.
Water piped from 60m upstream would easily rise close to 60m up from ground
Water is made to fall from that height in cold winter nights (with wind chill factor).
The water would freeze by the time it reaches the ground and slowly form a huge cone or Ice Stupa

Significance

The Ice Stupa is a survival technique
Each stupa has the capacity to store at least 30-50 lakh liters of water

</div>" width="100%" height="315" frameborder="0"><span data-mce-type="bookmark" style="display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;" class="mce_SELRES_start"></span>