Back to news
29 Apr 2016 | News

Glaciology Student Work Presented at ICIMOD

1 min Read

70% Complete
Amrit Thapa presents his thesis progress to ICIMOD experts.

On 8 April 2016, four students in their final year of MS Research in Glaciology shared their thesis progress with cryosphere experts from ICIMOD. The students are enrolled in the MS Research in Glaciology program at Kathmandu University, which is supported by ICIMOD and funded by the Government of Norway.

The students are working on varied topics of cryosphere science such as modelling glacier hydrology and snowmelt, glacier mass balance and ice thickness. Their research is at an early stage. ICIMOD cryosphere experts provided them guidance on the methodology and data analysis in collaboration with Professor Rijan Kayastha from Kathmandu University.

Mingma Sherpa presenting her progress on her research on the mass balance of Yala Glacier, Langtang.

The students said they greatly benefited from the feedback received during the session. “I was comparing modelling results with MODIS eight-day snow product [derived from satellite data],” said Amrit Thapa. “During the feedback session I learned that I can also use MODIS daily snow product to calibrate my model and achieve greater accuracy.” MODIS stands for Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-radiometer receiver and acquisition system installed on the premises of ICIMOD. His friend Tenzing Sherpa is researching the glaciers of the Hidden Valley in Mustang, Nepal. “Sharing our work-in-progress with ICIMOD experts provided us the opportunity to gather second opinions on our research methods. It helped me narrow down my research goals,” he said. Two other students were Abhijit Vaidya and Mingma Y. Sherpa. Abhijit said having someone with field experience as a co-supervisor helps to keep the model closer to the actual field conditions. Mingma presented her ongoing research on the mass balance of Yala Glacier, Langtang.

The MS Research in Glaciology program is coordinated by Dr Rijan Kayastha and co-supervised by cryosphere experts from ICIMOD and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), Norway.

Three of the students are funded by scholarships provided through the cryosphere initiative of ICIMOD, while one is funded by the CHARIS project.

A total of twelve students (three female and nine male) have graduated from the course since it began in 2011. Some graduates of the course are employed in relevant sectors in the region while other are doing postgraduate studies.

Stay current

Stay up to date on what’s happening around the HKH with our most recent publications and find out how you can help by subscribing to our mailing list.

Sign Up

Related content

Continue exploring this topic

24 Jul 2018 News
ICIMOD Transboundary Landscapes Programme Receives Global Award for Outstanding Achievement

The prestigious award recognizes efforts by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and its partners to build a ...

14 Dec 2017 Atmosphere Initiative
HKH Features at UNFCCC COP 23

During another side event on 7 November, representatives from the two ends of the geographical spectrum, the small islands and ...

30 Nov 2015 News
Teaching the Basics of Glacier Monitoring

  As part of monitoring and assessment of changes in glaciers, snow and glacio-hydrology in the Hindu Kush Himalayas, the Cryosphere ...

25 Jun 2018 Livelihoods
Celebrating World Environment Day 2018 at The Earthquake Reconstruction And Rehabilitation Project In Dhungentar, Nuwakot

World Environment Day 2018 Event at Dhungentar: Brief Report. Since 2016, ICIMOD in partnership with the National Reconstruction Authority (NRA) has ...

19 Feb 2016 News
Reducing Koshi Water Vulnerability

  Discussing solutions around water security and water-induced disasters in the Koshi basin, specialists from the Koshi region gathered in Patna, ...

Greening Barren Land: Facilitating Irrigation and Agricultural Activity in Upper Hunza, Pakistan

WWF-Pakistan plans to experiment with solar pumps and hydro ramp pumps, and install drip irrigation equipment and sprinkles to pump ...

17 Mar 2017 Himalica
Brand HIMALICA – Green Products from the Mountains soft-launched at the Sixth Nepal International Trade Fair

Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the Sixth Nepal International Trade Fair in Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu, Nepal, on 16 March ...