Application Call for Winter School 2023 on “Application of Field and Remote Sensing techniques for Snow and Glacier Studies”

Application Call for Winter School 2023 on “Application of Field and Remote Sensing techniques for Snow and Glacier Studies”

25 September, 2023

Winter School 2023

Application of Field and Remote Sensing techniques for Glacier Studies

CAPAcity BuiLding in glacio-hydro-meteorological rEsearch in Nepal (CAPABLE-NEPAL)

About Winter School

High-Mountain Asia (HMA) encompasses a significant portion of Asia’s land area, playing a critical role as the largest repository of snow and ice outside the Polar Regions. These glaciers serve as a vital water source for major Asian river systems, sustaining the livelihoods of billions of people both upstream and downstream. However, the accelerating impacts of climate change have led to the rapid retreat of HMA glaciers, resulting in the creation and expansion of glacial lakes, and an augmented risk of glacial lake outburst floods. Understanding the hydrological intricacies of these glaciated basins is paramount for the management of future water resources and the reduction of disaster risks. Nonetheless, our comprehension of the high-mountain glacio-hydro-meteorological environment remains constrained due to a shortage of trained experts, reliable long term data and monitoring infrastructure.

In response to these crucial challenges, the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology, Tribhuvan University (CDHM-TU), has initiated a regional training initiative. Winter School 2022 has been successfully concluded with support from the Institute of Research for Development, France (IRD-France), the University Grant Commission Nepal (UGC), the Kathmandu Center for Research and Education, Chinese Academy of Science, and Tribhuvan University (KCRE, CAS-TU). We are pleased to announce the inclusion of collaborative partners, the Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO) and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) for Winter School 2023.  

This endeavor, comprising theoretical sessions, laboratory based practical training, and direct field exercises in the Everest region of Nepal including Changri-Nup glacier, seeks to promote capacity building in monitoring of high-mountain glaciers, hydrology and climate.

Objectives

Our objective is to empower local talents, building their capacity to establish a sustainable glacio-hydro-meteorological monitoring network in HMA. This network will significantly contribute to our understanding of the changing environment in High Mountain Asia and its long-term impact on the livelihoods of millions of people in the region.

Winter School 2023 will bring together university students, early-career professionals, and researchers from Nepal, Pakistan, China, India, Bhutan, and France. Participants will engage in direct field practice at the Changri-Nup glacier in the Everest region as well as theoretical, remote sensing and modeling practices.

Expected Outcomes

Through this Winter School, we anticipate the following outcomes:

• Empowered Expertise: Equipping participants with advanced knowledge of remote sensing, modeling and practical skills in high-mountain glacio-hydro-meteorology.
• Regional Expansion: Extending our capacity-building program from 2022 to 2024 and broadening its regional impact.
• Global Collaboration: Facilitating cross-border collaboration among experts, researchers and young scientists and students in the field.

Important dates

• Application deadline: October 13, 2023
• Field Session (Everest region): November 16 to December 4, 2023.
• Theory and hands-on session in Kathmandu: December 7 to December 20, 2023.

Only short-listed candidates shall be contacted by October 19, 2023  October 27, 2023

Join Us in Pioneering a Sustainable Future

We invite dedicated students, young scientists, early-career professionals, researchers, faculties, practitioners and government employees passionate about high-mountain glacio-hydro-meteorology to partake in this transformative Winter School 2023. Together, we will fortify our knowledge and skills to confront the critical challenges posed by the changing challenging environment of High-Mountain Asia.

Application process

Applicants will be considered on a first-come-first-served basis, provided they meet the required qualifications listed below:

• An interest in cryosphere science and a basic understanding of earth and environmental science.
• Basic knowledge of QGIS/ArcGIS and r/Python or a similar programming language.
• Basic knowledge of the following areas: cryosphere, climate, meteorology, hydrology, climate change, remote sensing.
• Background in hydrology and meteorology, environmental science, engineering, geology, geography, and relevant subjects.
• Preferably at least M.Sc. scholar in relevant subjects.
• The applicants to have affiliations with the organization in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan.

Interested candidates are requested to apply through the provided application link. For comprehensive information and application details, please refer to the information provided above. (Check here for the report of Winter School 2022)

Course Contents

 Field Session

• Observation of glacial environment and landforms.
• Visiting meteorological and hydrological stations to learn about instruments and assist in maintenance.
• Visit to Imja Lake to observe Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) mitigation project and gain insights into glacial hazards.
• Involvement in clean ice survey at West Changri-Nup Glacier, including stake measurements, AWS maintenance, and DGPS survey for mass balance assessment.

 Theory and Laboratory Session

    Glaciology:

• Lecture (Field glaciology): Principles of Cryosphere components, glacier mass balance and dynamics, field measurement techniques needed to understand the link between climate and glaciers and cryospheric hazards
• Field data analysis (theory): methods to calculate surface glacier mass balance and energy balance based on data collected in the field (ablation, accumulation data and in-situ meteorological records)
• Hands-on: practical training to calculate surface mass balance and basic skills needed to calculate point energy balance on glaciers, DGPS measurement and data processing, energy balance modeling (COSIPY)

  Remote sensing and GIS: 

• Lecture: principle of remote sensing, review of existing optical and passive sensors and their application for glacier monitoring at different spatio-temporal scales
• Hands-on: Searching and ordering of Satellite data repositories, image pre-processing (atmospheric/topographic correction, stacking, clipping, (re-projecting, geo-referencing), image classification (ice and snow mapping, masking vegetation and clouds, change analysis and uncertainty), terrain analysis, glacier area mapping from various sensors, processing of stereo data to calculate glacier mass and volume change (geodetic mass balance), glacier dynamics by feature tracking (IMCORR plugin), Multi-criteria debris cover mapping, Optimal localization, uncertainty analysis

     Hydrology:

• Lecture: introduction to glacio-hydrology principles, and overview of field measurements needed to understand the processes and the link between climate, glaciers and river flows
• Field data analysis (theory): methods used to calculate river discharges based on data collected in the field (discharge measurements by dilution method)
• Hands-on: Introduction to physically based and distributed glacio-hydrological modelling of glacierized catchment

  Climate Modelling:

• Lecture: overview of climate data source, modelling the climate system, global and atmospheric models
• Hands-on: processing climate models and reanalysis data (python);  LMDZ or MAR practical sessions (bash) with a python script to compute climate trends (online server), ERA5 practical sessions (bash) with a python script to compute climate trends (online server)

    Deep learning: Application of deep learning for cryospheric research 

 

Contact:

Dr. Dibas Shrestha (Email: st.dibas@yahoo.com, dibas.shrestha@cdhm.tu.edu.np, Mob. No: 9841420676)

Dr. Binod Dawadi (dawadibinod@gmail.com, binod.dawadi@cdhm.tu.edu.np, Mob No: 9851079900)

Dr. Sunil Acharya (acsunil@hotmail.com, sunil.acharya@cdhm.tu.edu.np, Mob No: 9841251700)

 

Note: Winter School 2023 is made possible through the collaborative efforts of our partner institutions, including IRD-France, KCRE CAS-TU, ANSO, and ICIMOD.