Cryosphere-Related Hazards in a Warming World over Himalaya
Webinar Speaker:
Dr. Irfan Rashid
Department of Geoinformatics, University of Kashmir
- May 23rd, 2023
- 11:00 A.M. Eastern Time
- Sponsored by GRSS
- REACT-TC Webinar
About the Webinar
In the prevalent warming scenario, the frequency and intensity of cryosphere-related hazards that include glacial lake outburst floods, rock-ice avalanches, glacier detachments, snow avalanches, etc. have been reported to be increasing the Third Pole Region. This has increased the vulnerability of downstream population and infrastructure to the disasters. While GLOFs have been researched threadbare, there is no robust assessment of the volume of dammed waters in glacial lakes that introduces a lot of uncertainty in projections. At the same time, hazards like rock-ice avalanches and glacier detachments are posing new challenges about to the scientific community since the data pertaining to these hazards is scanty or almost absent. In this context, this talk would showcase the potential, challenges, and future prospects of applications of GI Science in regional-scale assessment of cryosphere related hazards that would help design mitigation plans for scientifically informed disaster risk reduction.
About the Speaker
Irfan Rashid is working as a Senior Assistant Professor at the Department of Geoinformatics, University of Kashmir. He received his PhD in Environmental Sciences from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Hyderabad in 2016. During his Ph.D., he worked on the impact of climate change on vegetation distribution utilizing remotely sensed data, dynamic vegetation models and field information. His research is aimed at understanding glacier-climate interactions, glacier-related hazards and alpine ecosystem dynamics over Himalaya. Currently, his research is working on quantifying the GLOF risk over the Indian Himalayan Region and understanding the permafrost dynamics over western Himalaya through sponsored projects funded by Department of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
