Quenching the thirst at the foot of the giants: the effect of climate change on glacier-derived water resources in high mountain regions

Glacier-derived water is essential to communities in many mountain catchments and to millions of people who live downstream and rely on it for hydropower generation; irrigation (68% of lowland agriculture worldwide depends on runoff from the mountains); and domestic water use, including potable drinking water. With 'ensuring access to water for all' being one of the United Nations sustainability goals, the issue of climate change driven reduction of glacier-derived meltwater is compelling and urgent, especially in the context of projected climate warming and mountain glacier mass loss.

Within such scenario, and with the ultimate goal of providing crucial input to, and a testing ground for predictive models, it is essential to contextualise the ongoing climate-driven glacier retreat in high mountain regions, which is affecting water supply to millions of people. Identifying how glaciers have responded in the past to different climate forcing will inform future predictions of glacier response to increasing temperatures and changing precipitation, and its effect on meltwater. The project has three aims, each examining distinct temporal scales:
(i) Reconstruction of Holocene mountain glacier dynamic response to climate forcing based on geomorphological mapping, dating of glacial deposits, extraction of the palaeo-glacier Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELA), and analysis of independent climatic proxies;
(ii) Detailed, satellite-based study of glaciers extent and change over the past ~40 years, analysed in relation to climatic records from meteorological stations and climate reanalysis data;
(iii) Assessment of future mountain glacier mass losses and related meltwater runoff, based on downscaled climate projections.

This project will focus on two main regions, the central and southern Cordillera of the Peruvian Andes and the northern sector of the Indian Himalaya. These arid, high mountain environments have received relatively little attention so far, despite providing water to large populations including Lima, with its 11 million inhabitants.

The research will achieve the aims through a number of objectives which include remote sensing and fieldwork mapping and sampling of glacial landforms, geochronological investigations, climate analyses and modelling. Ultimately, this investigation will deliver an impact assessment of climate change on the life-supporting water resources that these glaciers in high-mountain arid regions provide to the population.

Throughout this 3.5 year project, the candidate will receive a unique blend of transferrable-skill training provided by QUADRAT, including five field courses, quantitative and advanced skills, an internship and a Chartered Management Institute certificate in strategic management and leadership. Through the supervision by glaciology and climatology experts and other specific training opportunities, the candidate will gain invaluable skills in glaciology, geomorphology, remote sensing and climatology. Together, this skillset will enhance the candidate's (post-PhD) career opportunities.

The supervisory team, led by Matteo Spagnolo at the Cryosphere and Climate Change Group of the University of Aberdeen and Donal Mullan from Queen's University Belfast, includes glaciologists, climatologists and remote sensing experts. The work will be facilitated by ongoing collaboration between the supervisory team and colleagues in Peru and India.