IGCP Project 672 – Himalayan glaciers: assessing risks to local communities from debris cover and lake changes using new satellite data
Training on glacier hazard mapping using GIS and remote sensing Nov 1 to 5th 2018, Mirabel Hotel, Dhulikhel, Nepal
Brief outline of the project In the high rugged Himalaya, the lower parts of glaciers are often covered by a thick layer of rock, dirt and gravel originating from the steep valley sides, creating so-‐called “debris-‐covered” tongues. Differential rates of ice melt create spectacular features such as ablation cones, ice cliffs and a myriad of supraglacial lakes. Some lakes disappear quickly; others grow and breach the moraine dam, triggering catastrophic floods with disastrous consequences for communities downstream.
There is high urgency in developing remote sensing tools to monitor these features in a timely manner, since fieldwork is difficult and surveys are generally scarce. We will use different types of satellite imagery combined with terrain analysis to characterize the surface features of these glaciers, to map their changes over time and to assess their potential for triggering hazards.
Under the EU-‐funded project “Debris-‐cover on glaciers (DISCOVER GLACIERS): Exploring methods to assess climate-‐induced glacier changes and their impacts” we use satellite data at various spatio-‐temporal resolutions to quantify the surface and dynamics of debris-‐covered ice, and to better understand the basic processes related to glacier hazards. The DISCOVER GLACIERS project aims at answering the scientific questions; work proposed for IGCP funding will allow transferring the outcomes to local communities. Our long-‐term goal is to disseminate methodologies developed under this project via trainings and workshops to local institutions in high Asia and to embed scientific knowledge into local communities. Field campaigns will allow us to harvest local knowledge about past flood events and observed glacier changes. By combining the science with community involvement, we aim at understanding the socio-‐economic impacts of glacier hazards in high altitude areas where people live.
Scientific Objectives
Objective 1: Identify rapidly changing glacier areas and lakes, which may contribute to triggering future hazards
Objective 2 Quantify topographic factors (local slope and orientation) and surface features (ice walls, debris mounds and supraglacial lakes) to assess their contribution to hazards using weighted ranking techniques in a geographic information system (GIS).
Objective 3 Transfer scientific knowledge about monitoring debris-‐covered glaciers to local partner institutions in high Asia through trainings, workshops and field collaborations.
IGCP theme
This project is situated under the Geohazards theme: Mitigating the risks of the IGCP. Specifically, our project focuses mostly on debris-‐cover-‐related hazards and the associated formation of fast growing pro-‐glacial lakes. Some of the hazardous events may Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) which occur due to the formation and subsequent failure of ice-‐ and moraine-‐dammed lakes, glacier outbursts or through the rapid release of water or triggering of ice, rock and snow avalanches due to the destabilization of mountain slopes, earthquakes or volcanic activity.
Capacity building
Capacity building is an essential part of the proposed research since our areas of interest are located in less developed Asian countries. This project allows transfer of scientific knowledge to the local Himalayan institutions, with the aim of facilitating collaboration between scientists from more industrialized countries and those from developing countries. This project facilitates knowledge and expertise exchange among Asian institutions in Nepal, India and Bhutan and beyond through a series of workshops and training events and will encourage participation of individuals from both academic and government institutions. Several of these institutions (in Nepal, Bhutan and India) are involved in this project on topics such as remote sensing for glacier monitoring, using commercial and open source software, lake hazard assessment and glacier inventories among others. IGCP funds facilitate the participation of local collaborators from the various Asian countries.
Workshop scope
This workshop on remote sensing and GIS techniques for glacier lake hazard estimates with a focus on Nepal is a joint collaboration between the ‘Himalayan glaciers and risks to local communities’ IGCP project 672 funded by the International Geoscience Program (IGCP) at UNESCO (2018 – 2022) and the ‘Debris-‐cover on glaciers (DISCOVER GLACIERS) project funded by the European Commission Marie-‐Curie COFUND scheme (2017 – 2020), both conducted at Aberystwyth University in the UK. Using various types of new satellite imagery combined with terrain analysis, we explore various techniques to map and the surface of glaciers and glacier lakes and their annual changes. This program is co-‐organized with the Himalayan Cryosphere, Climate and Disaster Research Center (HiCCDRC) at Kathmandu University. The workshop is organized and facilitated by Dr. Adina Racoviteanu, Ser Cymru
II Fellow at Aberystwyth University and IGCP project leader. The goal is to develop tutorials to allow students and staff to develop basic GIS skills for hazard monitoring, and to progress towards more advanced image processing techniques. This 5-‐day workshop is the first in a series aimed at establishing a standardized protocol for glacier lake mapping and glacier-‐related hazard estimates across the Eastern Himalaya.
Photo: Participants at the IGCP 672 capacity building workshop on remote sensing and GIS for Geoscience applications held in Thimphu, Bhutan, June 3 – 4th, 2018
For more information please visit the project website: http://www.unesco.org/new/en/natural-‐sciences/environment/earth-‐sciences/international-‐geoscience-‐programme/igcp-‐projects/geohazards/project-‐672/
PROJECT PARTNERS
Sherutbse College, Bhutan National Center for Weather, Climate
and Water Resources, Bhutan
Sikkim University, India Kathmandu University, Nepal Indian Institute of Technology
LOGISTICAL SUPPORT: Himalayan Research Expeditions, Nepal
FUNDING
CONTACTS Dr. Adina E. Racoviteanu : [email protected] (project leader), Aberystwyth University (UK)
Dr. Smriti Basnett, [email protected] (project co-‐leader), Sikkim University, India
Dr. Pankaj Thapa: [email protected] (project co-‐leader), Sherubtse College, Bhutan
The IGCP 672 project is funded through UNESCO and IUGS funds, who supported this initiative. We wish to give thanks to these funding sources for making possible the participation of local students and faculty as well as external project collaborators and co-leaders.
The DISCOVER GLACIER project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 663830. Participation of project leader and workshop facilitator A. E. Racoviteanu was made possible using the Ser Cymru funds.
