Dear Cryolisters,
A quick reminder that the date is approaching for the expert workshop on Debris covered glaciers and related hazards, to be held at the Geological Society in London, Sept 2 - 4 2019.
If you'd like to contribute, please REGISTER soon so we can finalize the working groups and topics . A preliminary schedule and the updated list of invited speakers on day 1 prior to working group sessions, as well as registration details are posted at: https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/GSL-Debris-Covered-Glaciers
Please find below the annoucement with more details on the format of the workshop, and feel free to pass along the info to your colleagues who may be interested.
We hope to see you there!
Adina, Lindsey and Neil and the organizing committee
--------------------
We are pleased to announce an expert exchange workshop on debris covered glaciers and their related glacier hazards at the Geological Society in London from Sept 2 – 4th 2019 (2.5 days). The workshop will be interactive and designed to bring together the latest insights from scientific research and mountain hazard assessment and mitigation planning to identify outstanding research priorities and drive forward practical hazard management solutions. If you are an expert in one of these fields, please come and join us and make a contribution. If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.Conference title: Debris-covered glaciers: from remote sensing and field based tools to local communities
This meeting focuses on advances in the understanding of debris-covered glaciers and glacier-related hazards in high mountains. It aims at standardizing remote sensing and field-based tools, specifically those used to quantify glacier hazards and help local communities identify and deal with these emerging hazards. The meeting will be of interest to scientists, practitioners and policy makers who work in high mountain environments on issues concerning the response of the cryosphere to climate change.
The motivation for this meeting is a recognition of the changing state of debris-covered glaciers, in particular with respect to the hazards posed by rapidly growing moraine-dammed lakes in close proximity to local communities. Communicating the needs of these communities to scientists and conveying latest research findings to those exposed to risk is crucial in delivering appropriate hazard mitigation strategies. The goal of this meeting is therefore to bring together scientists and practitioners to discuss current research on debris-covered glaciers in high mountain environments (e.g. high Asia, Andes) and specifically to address concerns about climate change and glacier-related hazards. The goal is to exchange expertise and coordinate interaction among scientists to standardize methods, develop recommendations and transfer them to local institutions in the countries concerned. Participants will collaborate on developing workshop material for future capacity building training packages as well as on the effective deployment of the growing earth science social media presence of High Mountain based communities and organizations. The workshop is closely aligned with the aims of the Glacier and Permafrost Hazards in Mountains GAPHAZ working group of the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS) and the International Permafrost Association (IPA), and the recently formed IACS working group on debris-covered glaciers. The workshop will thus have two primary components:
a) Conference meeting (half day) Leading experts on debris covered glaciers and their related hazards will present the current state-of-the art on research on debris-covered glaciers and will identify critical knowledge gaps.
b) Working group meeting (2 days) Participants will form small working groups to share the latest methodological developments and algorithms needed to tackle the identified knowledge gaps. The working group goals are to develop strategies for future research activities and or dissemination and management practices. Topics for working groups will be finalized depending on the interests and expertise of final participants; proposed general topics are:I. Glacier processes and change
II. Glacier related hazards
III. Socio-economic impacts of glacier lake outburst floods
Specific outcomes will include: (i) publishing results of the meeting on an open access website (e.g. GAPHAZ, IACS), and promoting the existence of these findings via social media avenues; (ii) development of collaborative research projects – both active collaborative analysis and formal proposals seeking new funding; (iii) action plans for local community engagement.
Invited speakersTobias Bolch – on mapping supraglacial debris cover
Farooq Azam - on mass balance of debris covered glaciersMatt Westoby – on modelling glacier lake outburst floods
John Reynolds, Reynolds International – on glacier lakes hazard assessment schemesDuncan Quincey - on Working group on Glacier and Permafrost Hazards in Mountains (GAPHAZ)
Scott Watson - on the 'walk the talk' conference in Nepal
Jonathan Carivick - on GLOF processes
Looking forward to see you there!The organizing committee,Conveners: Dr Adina Racoviteanu (convener), Dr Neil Glasser, Dr Lindsey Nicholson (co-conveners),
Facilitators: Dr David Rounce, Dr Scott Watson, Dr Evan Miles
