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

来自冰川的水对于许多山区集水区的社区和数百万生活在下游并依赖冰川发电的人来说是必不可少的；灌溉(全世界68%的低地农业依赖于山脉的径流)；以及生活用水，包括饮用水。“确保所有人都能用上水”是联合国的可持续发展目标之一，气候变化驱动的冰川融化水的减少问题迫在眉睫，尤其是在预计气候变暖和山区冰川质量丧失的背景下。在这种情况下，由于最终目标是为预测模型提供关键的投入和试验场，至关重要的是将高山地区正在进行的气候驱动的冰川消退的背景联系起来，这正在影响数百万人的供水。查明冰川过去如何对不同的气候强迫做出反应，将为未来冰川对气温上升和降水变化的反应及其对融水的影响的预测提供信息。该项目有三个目标，每个目标都考察不同的时间尺度：(I)根据地貌测绘、冰川沉积测年、提取古冰川平衡线高度(ELA)和分析独立的气候指标，重建全新世山脉冰川对气候强迫的动态响应；(Ii)根据气象站的气候记录和气候再分析数据，对过去40年来冰川范围和变化进行详细的卫星研究；(3)根据缩小规模的气候项目，评估未来山区冰川质量损失和相关的融水径流。该项目将侧重于两个主要地区，即秘鲁安第斯山脉的中南部科迪勒拉和印度喜马拉雅山脉的北部。到目前为止，这些干旱的高山环境相对较少受到关注，尽管为包括利马在内的1100万人口提供了水。这项研究将通过一系列目标来实现这些目标，包括遥感和野外工作、冰川地貌绘制和采样、地质年代学调查、气候分析和建模。最终，这项调查将对气候变化对高山干旱地区这些冰川为人们提供的维持生命的水资源的影响进行评估。在这个为期3.5年的项目中，应聘者将接受由样方提供的独特的可转移技能培训，包括五个实地课程、量化和高级技能、一个实习机会和特许管理学会战略管理和领导力证书。通过冰川学和气候学专家的监督和其他具体的培训机会，应聘者将获得冰川学、地貌学、遥感和气候学方面的宝贵技能。总而言之，这些技能将增加候选人(博士后)的职业机会。由阿伯丁大学冰冻圈和气候变化小组的Matteo Spagnolo和贝尔法斯特女王大学的Donal Mullan领导的监督团队包括冰川学家、气候学家和遥感专家。监督小组与秘鲁和印度的同事之间正在进行的合作将促进这项工作。

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.