IITK Research Challenges Symposium (REACH) 2020 27-29 March 2020 Hotel Ramada, Lucknow

Theme: Frozen Water Resources in the Himalaya: Its State, Fate, and Monitoring Technologies
(4 x 20min Talks, followed by 45 mins Rump Session)

The glacial mass in the Himalayas and surrounding mountain ranges is the third largest on Earth and is often called the “Third Pole” and the “Water Towers of Asia” as it provides meltwater to more than one-sixth of the world population. However, global warming, climate change and anthropogenic influences are adversely affecting the health of the Himalayan glaciers, which feed a number of large rivers in Indian subcontinent, including the Indus, Ganga, and Brahmaputra Rivers. Without the Himalayas, the Indian subcontinent will not receive the much-needed Monsoon year after year. Questions and concerns have been raised about the melting of mountain glaciers and snow packs in the Himalayas, and how this will impact downstream water supplies, ecosystem services, glacial biology, hydropower generation, irrigation, and food security. Apart from water sustainability issues, concerns have been also raised whether the rapidly melting glaciers could cause a significant shift in seasonal water supply, thereby increasing the risks of major flood events or whether climate change would trigger more snow avalanches. In this session we propose to bring together multidisciplinary experts in glaciers, rivers, climate change, ecosystem services, geodesy, geoinformatics, biology and natural hazards to address the technological advancements to explore, monitor, and conserve the frozen water resources in the Himalaya.

	Prof. Indra S. Sen (Lead Speaker) (Earth Science) Talk Title: The state, fate, and future direction to conserve the Himalayan glacier Abstract
	Prof. Balaji Devaraju (CIVIL Engineering) Talk Title: Himalayan glaciers through the geodetic lens Abstract
	Prof. Saravanan Matheshwaran (Biological Sciences & Bioengineering) Talk Title: Understanding the role of microbes in glacier environment and climate Abstract
	Prof. Salil Goel (Civil Engineering) Talk Title: Potential of LiDAR for Mapping and Monitoring Glaciers Abstract