Chapter overview KEY FINDINGS 124 CHAPTER 4 EFFECTS OF A CHANGING CRYOSPHERE ON BIODIVERSITY AND ... more Chapter overview KEY FINDINGS 124 CHAPTER 4 EFFECTS OF A CHANGING CRYOSPHERE ON BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, AND RESPONSE OPTIONS IN THE HKH 125 HKH ecosystems are complex and have specificities. Integrated approaches and regional interventions that minimise vulnerability-for ecosystems and human wellbeing-are required to address extreme events. The HKH region is characterised by large variations in ecosystems and cultures, and its local communities depend heavily on natural resources. Blanket approaches to minimising vulnerability will prove ineffective here. Nature-based solutions that consider customised interventions and are grounded in an ecosystems-based understanding could make for a possible, effective approach. Stronger science on mountain ecosystems is needed to increase understanding of their complexities. Though climate science is gaining attention and investments in research are increasing, improving Global and regional drivers of biodiversity loss-such as land use change and habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and invasive alien species-are prevalent and increasing in the HKH (high confidence). For example, by 2100, the Indian Himalaya could see nearly a quarter of its endemic species wiped out (medium confidence). Although countries in the region already place a premium on functional ecosystems and ecosystem services-over 40% of all land in the HKH lies within protected area systems (very high confidence), ecosystems are in stress or are subject to risks-from a changing climate, varying government policies, and expanding markets (high confidence). The HKH, also referred to as the "Third Pole", is an important repository of cryosphere outside the North and South poles (very high confidence). As the youngest mountain ecosystem, the HKH region is also significant in terms of the history of its formation, which has created geodiversity, multiple elevational gradients, and microclimates (very high confidence). These variations enable diversity in vegetation zones that enrich biodiversity, including ecosystems diversity. The resulting ecosystem services provide direct services to 240 million people in the HKH region and support a further 1.65 billion understanding of the complex interlinkages between climate change, cryosphere, ecosystems, and society needs urgent attention. Only then will designing and implementing interventions to increase resilience and develop adaptation capacity be possible. 132 CHAPTER 4
CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE CRYOSPHERE IN THE HINDU KUSH HIMALAYA 21 22 CHAPTER 2 22 C... more CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE CRYOSPHERE IN THE HINDU KUSH HIMALAYA 21 22 CHAPTER 2 22 CHAPTER 3 Contents 2.1 Introduction 23 2.2 The climate of the HKH region 26 2.2.1 The observed climate in the HKH 2.2.2 Trends in temperature and precipitation 2.2.3 Elevation-dependent warming 2.2.4 The complexity of extreme events 2.3 Glaciers 34 2.3.1 Observed glacier area, surface velocity, thickness, and debris cover in the HKH 2.3.2 Observed changes in glacier mass 2.3.3 Projected changes in glacier mass 2.3.4 Towards a better understanding of glacier response to climate change 2.4 Glacial lakes 42 2.5 Snow 45 2.5.1 Observed and projected changes in snow cover and snow line elevations 2.5.2 Measurements and changes in snow depth and snow water equivalent 2.5.3 Observed and projected changes in the snow season and extreme snow events 2.5.4 Relationship between elevation-dependent warming and snow 2.6 Permafrost 50 2.6.1 Observed changes in permafrost 2.6.2 Consequences of changes in permafrost 2.6.3 Projections for permafrost 2.7 Major knowledge gaps 53 2.7.1 Glaciers 2.7.2 Glacial lakes 2.7.3 Snow 2.7.4 Permafrost 2.7.5 Conclusions and policy recommendations References 52 Appendix 68 CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE CRYOSPHERE IN THE HINDU KUSH HIMALAYA 23
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
In this article, we compare several approaches to segmenting glacial lakes in the Hindu Kush Hima... more In this article, we compare several approaches to segmenting glacial lakes in the Hindu Kush Himalayas in order to support glacial lake area mapping. More automatic mapping could support risk assessments of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, a type of natural hazard that poses a risk to communities and infrastructure in valleys below glacial lakes. We propose and evaluate several approaches that incorporate labels from a 2015 survey using Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off imagery to guide segmentation on newer higher resolution satellite images such as Sentinel 2 and Bing Maps imagery, comparing them also to approaches that do not use this form of weak prior. We find that a guided version of U-Net and a properly initialized form of morphological snakes are most effective for these two datasets, respectively, each providing between an 8-10% intersection-over-union improvement over existing U-Net segmentation approaches. An error analysis highlights the strengths and limitations of each method. We design visualizations to support the discovery of lakes of potential concern, including an interactive exploratory interface. All the codes supporting our study are released in public repositories. Index Terms-Climate change, deep learning, glacial lakes, glacier mapping, morphological snakes. I. INTRODUCTION T HIS article focuses on the mapping of glacial lakes using historically guided semantic segmentation models and satellite imagery. Glaciers all over the world are currently thinning and retreating at a remarkable rate as a result of the changing climate [6]. The melting of glaciers often accumulates to form glacial lakes between the frontal moraine and the retreating glacier or on the surface of the lower section of the glacier [8].
Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating gla... more Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating glaciers in mountain ranges worldwide. GLOFs have attracted significant attention amongst scientists and practitioners in the past 2 decades, with particular interest in the physical drivers and mechanisms of GLOF hazard and in socioeconomic and other human-related developments that affect vulnerabilities to GLOF events. This increased research focus on GLOFs is reflected in the gradually increasing number of papers published annually. This study offers an overview of recent GLOF research by analysing 594 peer-reviewed GLOF studies published between 2017 and 2021 (Web of Science and Scopus databases), reviewing the content and geographical focus as well as other characteristics of GLOF studies. This review is complemented with perspectives from the first GLOF conference (7-9 July 2021, online) where a global GLOF research community of major mountain regions gathered to discuss the current state of the art of integrated GLOF research. Therefore, representatives from 17 countries identified and elaborated trends and challenges and proposed possible ways forward to navigate future GLOF research, in four thematic areas: (i) understanding GLOFs-timing and processes; (ii) modelling GLOFs and GLOF process chains; (iii) GLOF risk management, prevention and warning; and (iv) human dimensions of GLOFs and GLOF attribution to climate change. A. Emmer et al.: Progress and challenges in glacial lake outburst flood research Table 1. Characteristics of GLOF papers analysed in this study.
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-pro... more This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. ICIMOD would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from ICIMOD. Note The views and interpretations in this publication are those of the author(s). They are not attributable to ICIMOD and do not imply the expression of any opinion concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or the endorsement of any product.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 2019
We investigate the control of the morphological variables on the 2000–2016 glacier‐wide mass bala... more We investigate the control of the morphological variables on the 2000–2016 glacier‐wide mass balances of 6,470 individual glaciers of High Mountain Asia. We separate the data set into 12 regions assumed to be climatically homogeneous. We find that the slope of the glacier tongue, mean glacier elevation, percentage of supraglacial debris cover, and avalanche contributing area all together explain a maximum of 48% and a minimum of 8% of the glacier‐wide mass balance variability, within a given region. The best predictors of the glacier‐wide mass balance are the slope of the glacier tongue and the mean glacier elevation for most regions, with the notable exception of the inner Tibetan Plateau. Glacier‐wide mass balances do not differ significantly between debris‐free and debris‐covered glaciers in 7 of the 12 regions analyzed. Lake‐terminating glaciers have more negative mass balances than the regional averages, the influence of lakes being stronger on small glaciers than on large glac...
In order to monitor changes in the glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya, a repeat decadal glacier inve... more In order to monitor changes in the glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya, a repeat decadal glacier inventory was carried out from Landsat images of 1977/78 (~1980), 1990, 2000 and 2010. The base map of glaciers was obtained by the object-based image classification method using the multispectral Landsat images of 2010. This method is used separately to delineate clean-ice and debris-covered glaciers with some manual editing. Glacier polygons of 2000,1990 and ~1980 were obtained by manual editing on 2010 by separately overlaying respective years. The 2010 inventory shows 885 glaciers with a total area of ~642 ± 16.1 km2. The glacier area is 1.6% of the total land cover in Bhutan. The result of a repeat inventory shows 23.3 ± 0.9% glacial area loss between ~1980 and 2010, with the highest loss (11.6 ±1.2%) between ~1980 and 1990 and the lowest (6.7 ±0.1%) between 2000 and 2010. The trend of glacier area change from the 1980s to 2010 is -6.4 ± 1.6%. Loss of glacier area was mostly observed be...
Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have been intensely investigated in High Mountain Asia (HMA)... more Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have been intensely investigated in High Mountain Asia (HMA) in recent years and are often the first hazard related to the cryosphere mentioned in the region. As glaciers recede and surrounding slopes become increasingly unstable, such events are expected to increase, although this trend has yet to manifest. Many studies have investigated individual events and while several regional inventories exist, they either do not cover all types of GLOF or are geographically constrained. Further, downstream impacts are rarely discussed. Previous inventories have relied on academic sources and have not been combined with existing inventories of glaciers and lakes. In this study, we present the first comprehensive inventory of GLOFs in HMA, including details on the time of their occurrence, processes of lake formation and drainage involved as well as downstream impacts. We document 682 individual GLOFs that occurred between 1833 and 2022. Of these, 20% were recurring events from just three ephemeral ice-dammed lakes. In combination, the documented events resulted in 6907 fatalities, with 6000 of these linked to a single GLOF, three times higher than a previous assessment for the region. The integration of previous inventories of glaciers and lakes within this database will inform future assessments of potential drivers of GLOFs, allowing more robust projections to be developed. The presented database and future updated versions are traceable, version controlled and can be directly incorporated into further analysis.
We observed the surge velocity, terminus advance, lake formation and outburst, as well as its dow... more We observed the surge velocity, terminus advance, lake formation and outburst, as well as its downstream impacts at Shisper Glacier in the Karakoram, Pakistan and suggest potential naturebased risk-reduction solutions. A recent surge started in late 2017 with increased velocity since April 2018 and a resulting terminus advance from June 2018. Bi-modal peak velocity of 19.2 ± 0.16 m/ day was observed in April-May 2018 and May-June 2019. Also, the terminus advance blocked the river from the adjacent Muchuhar Glacier repeatedly since November 2018. Lake outbursts were observed in June 2019 and April 2020. Relying on observations of the lake area and peak discharge of 142 m 3 s À1 in 2019 and 85 m 3 s À1 April 2020, outburst were simulated using the BASEMENT software. Simulations and field observations show that even at high discharge, damages were mainly observed along the main river channel, causing strong bank erosion rather than widespread inundation of land. The ice-dammed lake is potentially hazardous until the blocked stream completely disappears in future. Our results suggest that the biggest lake outburst hazard lies in its erosion potential with damages to infrastructure closest to the river and large sediments transport to the downstream Hunza River.
Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region
During the needs assessment in Afghanistan, the General Directorate of Water Resources (GDWR) of ... more During the needs assessment in Afghanistan, the General Directorate of Water Resources (GDWR) of the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA) (previously Water Resource Department (WRD) of the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW)) emphasized that the compilation of comprehensive data on the glaciers in the country is a national priority.
ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
A remote-sensing based consistent semi-automated glacier mapping methodology with minimum manual ... more A remote-sensing based consistent semi-automated glacier mapping methodology with minimum manual intervention has been developed at ICIMOD. Using this methodology the glaciers of Hindu Kush Himalayan region were mapped in 2011 and continuously used for glacier mapping and monitoring in the region. These data were freely available to download from ICIMOD portal and GLIMS database. These comprehensive glacier information are the only data which is being used for research and development projects for countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. Recently decadal glacier change from 1980 to 2010 of Nepal and Bhutan were published to understand the glacier change in the Himalaya. The decadal change assessment will be continued in other basins of HKH region to understand the glacier change. Due to rugged terrain, remote access, and logistic hindrance field verification is a challenging task and can be limited only in selected glaciers. Geodetic mass balance study in the selected glaciers like in Yala of Langtang basin and Rikha Samba of Hidden valley are on progress complement to field validation. High resolution images, lack of hydro-meteorological stations near to the glacier and limited competent manpower are another hindrance in the study of glacier change of the HKH region.
Chapter overview KEY FINDINGS 124 CHAPTER 4 EFFECTS OF A CHANGING CRYOSPHERE ON BIODIVERSITY AND ... more Chapter overview KEY FINDINGS 124 CHAPTER 4 EFFECTS OF A CHANGING CRYOSPHERE ON BIODIVERSITY AND ECOSYSTEM SERVICES, AND RESPONSE OPTIONS IN THE HKH 125 HKH ecosystems are complex and have specificities. Integrated approaches and regional interventions that minimise vulnerability-for ecosystems and human wellbeing-are required to address extreme events. The HKH region is characterised by large variations in ecosystems and cultures, and its local communities depend heavily on natural resources. Blanket approaches to minimising vulnerability will prove ineffective here. Nature-based solutions that consider customised interventions and are grounded in an ecosystems-based understanding could make for a possible, effective approach. Stronger science on mountain ecosystems is needed to increase understanding of their complexities. Though climate science is gaining attention and investments in research are increasing, improving Global and regional drivers of biodiversity loss-such as land use change and habitat loss, pollution, climate change, and invasive alien species-are prevalent and increasing in the HKH (high confidence). For example, by 2100, the Indian Himalaya could see nearly a quarter of its endemic species wiped out (medium confidence). Although countries in the region already place a premium on functional ecosystems and ecosystem services-over 40% of all land in the HKH lies within protected area systems (very high confidence), ecosystems are in stress or are subject to risks-from a changing climate, varying government policies, and expanding markets (high confidence). The HKH, also referred to as the "Third Pole", is an important repository of cryosphere outside the North and South poles (very high confidence). As the youngest mountain ecosystem, the HKH region is also significant in terms of the history of its formation, which has created geodiversity, multiple elevational gradients, and microclimates (very high confidence). These variations enable diversity in vegetation zones that enrich biodiversity, including ecosystems diversity. The resulting ecosystem services provide direct services to 240 million people in the HKH region and support a further 1.65 billion understanding of the complex interlinkages between climate change, cryosphere, ecosystems, and society needs urgent attention. Only then will designing and implementing interventions to increase resilience and develop adaptation capacity be possible. 132 CHAPTER 4
CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE CRYOSPHERE IN THE HINDU KUSH HIMALAYA 21 22 CHAPTER 2 22 C... more CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE CRYOSPHERE IN THE HINDU KUSH HIMALAYA 21 22 CHAPTER 2 22 CHAPTER 3 Contents 2.1 Introduction 23 2.2 The climate of the HKH region 26 2.2.1 The observed climate in the HKH 2.2.2 Trends in temperature and precipitation 2.2.3 Elevation-dependent warming 2.2.4 The complexity of extreme events 2.3 Glaciers 34 2.3.1 Observed glacier area, surface velocity, thickness, and debris cover in the HKH 2.3.2 Observed changes in glacier mass 2.3.3 Projected changes in glacier mass 2.3.4 Towards a better understanding of glacier response to climate change 2.4 Glacial lakes 42 2.5 Snow 45 2.5.1 Observed and projected changes in snow cover and snow line elevations 2.5.2 Measurements and changes in snow depth and snow water equivalent 2.5.3 Observed and projected changes in the snow season and extreme snow events 2.5.4 Relationship between elevation-dependent warming and snow 2.6 Permafrost 50 2.6.1 Observed changes in permafrost 2.6.2 Consequences of changes in permafrost 2.6.3 Projections for permafrost 2.7 Major knowledge gaps 53 2.7.1 Glaciers 2.7.2 Glacial lakes 2.7.3 Snow 2.7.4 Permafrost 2.7.5 Conclusions and policy recommendations References 52 Appendix 68 CONSEQUENCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE FOR THE CRYOSPHERE IN THE HINDU KUSH HIMALAYA 23
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
In this article, we compare several approaches to segmenting glacial lakes in the Hindu Kush Hima... more In this article, we compare several approaches to segmenting glacial lakes in the Hindu Kush Himalayas in order to support glacial lake area mapping. More automatic mapping could support risk assessments of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods, a type of natural hazard that poses a risk to communities and infrastructure in valleys below glacial lakes. We propose and evaluate several approaches that incorporate labels from a 2015 survey using Landsat 7 ETM+ SLC-off imagery to guide segmentation on newer higher resolution satellite images such as Sentinel 2 and Bing Maps imagery, comparing them also to approaches that do not use this form of weak prior. We find that a guided version of U-Net and a properly initialized form of morphological snakes are most effective for these two datasets, respectively, each providing between an 8-10% intersection-over-union improvement over existing U-Net segmentation approaches. An error analysis highlights the strengths and limitations of each method. We design visualizations to support the discovery of lakes of potential concern, including an interactive exploratory interface. All the codes supporting our study are released in public repositories. Index Terms-Climate change, deep learning, glacial lakes, glacier mapping, morphological snakes. I. INTRODUCTION T HIS article focuses on the mapping of glacial lakes using historically guided semantic segmentation models and satellite imagery. Glaciers all over the world are currently thinning and retreating at a remarkable rate as a result of the changing climate [6]. The melting of glaciers often accumulates to form glacial lakes between the frontal moraine and the retreating glacier or on the surface of the lower section of the glacier [8].
Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating gla... more Glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) are among the most concerning consequences of retreating glaciers in mountain ranges worldwide. GLOFs have attracted significant attention amongst scientists and practitioners in the past 2 decades, with particular interest in the physical drivers and mechanisms of GLOF hazard and in socioeconomic and other human-related developments that affect vulnerabilities to GLOF events. This increased research focus on GLOFs is reflected in the gradually increasing number of papers published annually. This study offers an overview of recent GLOF research by analysing 594 peer-reviewed GLOF studies published between 2017 and 2021 (Web of Science and Scopus databases), reviewing the content and geographical focus as well as other characteristics of GLOF studies. This review is complemented with perspectives from the first GLOF conference (7-9 July 2021, online) where a global GLOF research community of major mountain regions gathered to discuss the current state of the art of integrated GLOF research. Therefore, representatives from 17 countries identified and elaborated trends and challenges and proposed possible ways forward to navigate future GLOF research, in four thematic areas: (i) understanding GLOFs-timing and processes; (ii) modelling GLOFs and GLOF process chains; (iii) GLOF risk management, prevention and warning; and (iv) human dimensions of GLOFs and GLOF attribution to climate change. A. Emmer et al.: Progress and challenges in glacial lake outburst flood research Table 1. Characteristics of GLOF papers analysed in this study.
This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-pro... more This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form for educational or non-profit purposes without special permission from the copyright holder, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. ICIMOD would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication that uses this publication as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or for any other commercial purpose whatsoever without prior permission in writing from ICIMOD. Note The views and interpretations in this publication are those of the author(s). They are not attributable to ICIMOD and do not imply the expression of any opinion concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries, or the endorsement of any product.
Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 2019
We investigate the control of the morphological variables on the 2000–2016 glacier‐wide mass bala... more We investigate the control of the morphological variables on the 2000–2016 glacier‐wide mass balances of 6,470 individual glaciers of High Mountain Asia. We separate the data set into 12 regions assumed to be climatically homogeneous. We find that the slope of the glacier tongue, mean glacier elevation, percentage of supraglacial debris cover, and avalanche contributing area all together explain a maximum of 48% and a minimum of 8% of the glacier‐wide mass balance variability, within a given region. The best predictors of the glacier‐wide mass balance are the slope of the glacier tongue and the mean glacier elevation for most regions, with the notable exception of the inner Tibetan Plateau. Glacier‐wide mass balances do not differ significantly between debris‐free and debris‐covered glaciers in 7 of the 12 regions analyzed. Lake‐terminating glaciers have more negative mass balances than the regional averages, the influence of lakes being stronger on small glaciers than on large glac...
In order to monitor changes in the glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya, a repeat decadal glacier inve... more In order to monitor changes in the glaciers in the Bhutan Himalaya, a repeat decadal glacier inventory was carried out from Landsat images of 1977/78 (~1980), 1990, 2000 and 2010. The base map of glaciers was obtained by the object-based image classification method using the multispectral Landsat images of 2010. This method is used separately to delineate clean-ice and debris-covered glaciers with some manual editing. Glacier polygons of 2000,1990 and ~1980 were obtained by manual editing on 2010 by separately overlaying respective years. The 2010 inventory shows 885 glaciers with a total area of ~642 ± 16.1 km2. The glacier area is 1.6% of the total land cover in Bhutan. The result of a repeat inventory shows 23.3 ± 0.9% glacial area loss between ~1980 and 2010, with the highest loss (11.6 ±1.2%) between ~1980 and 1990 and the lowest (6.7 ±0.1%) between 2000 and 2010. The trend of glacier area change from the 1980s to 2010 is -6.4 ± 1.6%. Loss of glacier area was mostly observed be...
Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have been intensely investigated in High Mountain Asia (HMA)... more Glacier lake outburst floods (GLOFs) have been intensely investigated in High Mountain Asia (HMA) in recent years and are often the first hazard related to the cryosphere mentioned in the region. As glaciers recede and surrounding slopes become increasingly unstable, such events are expected to increase, although this trend has yet to manifest. Many studies have investigated individual events and while several regional inventories exist, they either do not cover all types of GLOF or are geographically constrained. Further, downstream impacts are rarely discussed. Previous inventories have relied on academic sources and have not been combined with existing inventories of glaciers and lakes. In this study, we present the first comprehensive inventory of GLOFs in HMA, including details on the time of their occurrence, processes of lake formation and drainage involved as well as downstream impacts. We document 682 individual GLOFs that occurred between 1833 and 2022. Of these, 20% were recurring events from just three ephemeral ice-dammed lakes. In combination, the documented events resulted in 6907 fatalities, with 6000 of these linked to a single GLOF, three times higher than a previous assessment for the region. The integration of previous inventories of glaciers and lakes within this database will inform future assessments of potential drivers of GLOFs, allowing more robust projections to be developed. The presented database and future updated versions are traceable, version controlled and can be directly incorporated into further analysis.
We observed the surge velocity, terminus advance, lake formation and outburst, as well as its dow... more We observed the surge velocity, terminus advance, lake formation and outburst, as well as its downstream impacts at Shisper Glacier in the Karakoram, Pakistan and suggest potential naturebased risk-reduction solutions. A recent surge started in late 2017 with increased velocity since April 2018 and a resulting terminus advance from June 2018. Bi-modal peak velocity of 19.2 ± 0.16 m/ day was observed in April-May 2018 and May-June 2019. Also, the terminus advance blocked the river from the adjacent Muchuhar Glacier repeatedly since November 2018. Lake outbursts were observed in June 2019 and April 2020. Relying on observations of the lake area and peak discharge of 142 m 3 s À1 in 2019 and 85 m 3 s À1 April 2020, outburst were simulated using the BASEMENT software. Simulations and field observations show that even at high discharge, damages were mainly observed along the main river channel, causing strong bank erosion rather than widespread inundation of land. The ice-dammed lake is potentially hazardous until the blocked stream completely disappears in future. Our results suggest that the biggest lake outburst hazard lies in its erosion potential with damages to infrastructure closest to the river and large sediments transport to the downstream Hunza River.
Earth Observation Science and Applications for Risk Reduction and Enhanced Resilience in Hindu Kush Himalaya Region
During the needs assessment in Afghanistan, the General Directorate of Water Resources (GDWR) of ... more During the needs assessment in Afghanistan, the General Directorate of Water Resources (GDWR) of the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA) (previously Water Resource Department (WRD) of the Ministry of Energy and Water (MEW)) emphasized that the compilation of comprehensive data on the glaciers in the country is a national priority.
ISPRS - International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences
A remote-sensing based consistent semi-automated glacier mapping methodology with minimum manual ... more A remote-sensing based consistent semi-automated glacier mapping methodology with minimum manual intervention has been developed at ICIMOD. Using this methodology the glaciers of Hindu Kush Himalayan region were mapped in 2011 and continuously used for glacier mapping and monitoring in the region. These data were freely available to download from ICIMOD portal and GLIMS database. These comprehensive glacier information are the only data which is being used for research and development projects for countries like Bhutan, Nepal and Pakistan. Recently decadal glacier change from 1980 to 2010 of Nepal and Bhutan were published to understand the glacier change in the Himalaya. The decadal change assessment will be continued in other basins of HKH region to understand the glacier change. Due to rugged terrain, remote access, and logistic hindrance field verification is a challenging task and can be limited only in selected glaciers. Geodetic mass balance study in the selected glaciers like in Yala of Langtang basin and Rikha Samba of Hidden valley are on progress complement to field validation. High resolution images, lack of hydro-meteorological stations near to the glacier and limited competent manpower are another hindrance in the study of glacier change of the HKH region.
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