Application Call for Winter School 2024 on “Application of Field and Remote Sensing techniques for Glacier Studies”

Application Call for Winter School 2024 on “Application of Field and Remote Sensing techniques for Glacier Studies”

21 August, 2024

Winter School 2024

Application of Field and Remote Sensing techniques for Glacier Studies

CAPAcity BuiLding in glacio–hydro–meteorological rEsearch in Nepal (IRD PSF CAPABLE–NEPAL)

About Winter School

The glacier and ice-covered area of High-Mountain Asia (HMA) encompasses a significant portion of land area in Asia, playing a critical role as the largest repository of snow and ice outside the Polar Regions. HMA glaciers serve as a vital water source for the 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 wastage of HMA glaciers, with consequences on water resources and associated glacier hazards. Understanding the hydrological intricacies of these glaciated basins is paramount for the management of future water resources. It is also essential to understand how glaciers are changing, especially when retreat can lead to the formation of glacier lakes and the threat of sudden floods, to try and mitigate the risk. Nonetheless, our comprehension of the high-mountain glacio-hydro-meteorological environment and related risks remains limited due to shortage of trained experts and a reliable long term data and monitoring infrastructure.

To address these challenges, the Central Department of Hydrology and Meteorology at Tribhuvan University (CDHM-TU) has initiated an annual regional “Winter School” starting in 2022. Two intense training initiatives have been successfully concluded in 2022 and 2023 with support from the Institute of Research for Development, France (IRD), the University Grant Commission Nepal (UGC), the Kathmandu Center for Research and Education, Chinese Academy of Science, and Tribhuvan University (KCRE, CAS-TU), Alliance of International Science Organizations (ANSO), UNESCO IGCP Program and the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). As part of this ongoing effort, the 3^rd Winter School will be held from October 20 to November 22, 2024 both in the Classroom (in Kathmandu) and in the field (the Everest region of Nepal).

The Winter school includes theoretical sessions, hands on tutorials followed with direct field exercises in the Everest region of Nepal for a selected group of participants (xx students) including Changri-Nup glacier.

Objectives

The long term goal of this school is to promote capacity building in monitoring of high-mountain glaciers, hydrology and climate in this region. Specifically, we aim to  empower local students and researchers, by strengthening their capacity to establish and conduct a sustainable glacio-hydro-meteorological monitoring network in HMA, as well as analysing the data. By training local and regional scientists, we believe this network will significantly contribute to our understanding of the changing environment in HMA and its long-term impact on the livelihoods of millions of people in the region.

Winter School 2024 will bring together university students, early-career professionals, and researchers from Nepal, Pakistan, China, India, Bhutan. The facilitators will primarily be distinguished researchers from Institute of Research for Development, France. Participants will be exposed to theoretical concepts in glaciology and remote sensing, then will apply these through a series of tutorials and then use this knowledge to engage in direct field investigations at the Changri-Nup glacier in the Everest region.

Expected Outcomes

Through this Winter School, we anticipate the following outcomes:

• Skilled human resources equipped with advanced knowledge of glaciological concepts, remote sensing and modeling
• Cohort of young researchers capable of conducting field-based glacier monitoring
• Establish cross-border networking among experts, researchers and young scientists and students in the field.

 

Important dates

• Application deadline: 15 September 2024
• Notification of selected participants: 30 September 2024
• Theory and hands–on session in Kathmandu: 20-30 October 2024
• Field Session (Everest region): 4-22 November 2024

 

Who can apply?

Applicants must 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 or/Python or a similar programming language;
• Basic knowledge in 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.
• Applicants who are presently affiliated with academic institution or research institution in Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, and Pakistan can apply for a scholarship
• Field school participants will be selected based on their performance during theoretical and hands-on sessions in Kathmandu, strong motivation for in-situ glacier monitoring and research, physical fitness, and previous experience in high-altitude environments (above 4000 m)

Note: Limited self-funded seats are available for applicants across the globe.

How to apply?

Interested candidates are invited to apply through the provided application link. For comprehensive information and application details, please refer to the information provided above.

Course Contents

 PART I: Laboratory Sessions  (Oct 20 – 30^th, 2024)

     Field glaciology module:

• Lectures: Principles of cryosphere, glacier mass balance concepts, glacier dynamics, field glacier mass balance measurement techniques etc.; overview of debris covered glaciers and rock glaciers
• Hands–on: practical training to calculate surface mass balance from field measurements; calculating point energy balance on glaciers, DGPS measurements and processing, energy balance modeling (COSIPY)

     Remote sensing and GIS modules: 

• Lectures: principles of remote sensing, optical vs radar sensors and their application for glacier monitoring; overview of satellite data repositories, searching and ordering data
• Hands–on: satellite imagery pre–processing (atmospheric/topographic correction, stacking, clipping, etc.); image segmentation for snow/ice mapping, terrain analysis using DEMs, geodetic mass balance (XDEM), glacier dynamics by feature tracking (IMCORR)

    Glacio–hydrology modules:

• Lecture: introduction to glacio–hydrology principles, overview of field measurements
• Hands–on: Introduction to physically based and distributed glacio–hydrological modelling of glacierized catchment

     Climate module:

• Lecture: overview of climate data sources, modelling the climate system, global atmospheric models

    Permafrost module: Introduction to permafrost, and measurement and modeling techniques

    Deep learning module:

• Lecture: Application of deep learning for cryospheric research
• Hands–on: GeoSAM for image segmentation

 

Part II: Field training, Khumbu region, Nov 4 – 22, 2024

• Observation of glacial environment and landforms.
• Visiting various meteorological and hydrological stations along the Everest Base Camp route to learn about instruments and assist in their maintenance (AWS, Pluvio, hydrological stations etc).
• Visit to Thame to observe recent Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) event.
• Visit to Imja Lake to observe Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF) mitigation project and gain insights into glacial hazards.
• Involvement in field monitoring of the clean ice part of West Changri–Nup Glacier, (stake replacement and measurement, AWS maintenance, DGPS survey for mass balance)
• Discharge measurement using fluorescence tracer
• Interaction with local communities via interviews to collect their experiences and perspectives regarding climate–induced changes

 

Scholarships:

Participants apply for full and partial scholarships. The full scholarship covers round-trip airfare, local transportation, accommodation, and meals throughout the winter school. The partial scholarship covers local accommodation and meals during the theory and hands-on sessions in Kathmandu (20-30^th October 2024). For both cases, priority for consideration is given to applicants who are:

• actively involved in glacier research in the High-mountain Asia region
• coming from Nepal, Bhutan, India, China and Pakistan
• willing to work in in-situ cryosphere monitoring under challenging high-altitude environment

Note: applicants across the globe can apply for partial scholarship.

Resource Persons:

Dr. Adina Racoviteanu, Research Scientist, Institute of Research for Development, France

Dr. Fanny Brun, Research Scientist, Institute of Research for Development, France

Dr. Amaury Dehecq, Research Scientist, Institute of Research for Development, France

Dr. Walter Immerzeel, Professor, Utrecht University, Netherland

Dr. Lin Liu, Professor, Chinese University of Hong Kong

Dr. Deepak Aryal, Professor, CDHM Tribhuvan University, Nepal

Dr. Dibas Shreshta, Assistant Professor, CDHM Tribhuvan University, Nepal

ICIMOD Scientists (TBD)

 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 2024 is made possible through the collaborative efforts of our partner institutions, including IRD-France, KCRE CAS-TU, ANSO, UNESCO-IGCP and ICIMOD.