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Rain/snowfall is limited to a small(ish) number of days, while meltwater is on a predictable 12-month cycle. With rain that just flows down the mountain, you ge
by matt4077 8y ago
Rain/snowfall is limited to a small(ish) number of days, while meltwater is on a predictable 12-month cycle. With rain that just flows down the mountain, you get a few days of far too much water, and the rest is dry.
The glacier (and snow) average out flow over time. It acts as a natural holding pool.
- Udik 8y agoI thought about that, but while it's true that a glacier acts as a buffer, I guess that rain at those altitudes always falls as snow- for the majority of the year but probably in the summer as well- then proceeds to melt away during the summer. So the buffer effect shouldn't be entirely gone.