Location
Newcastle University

Supervisors: Rachel Carr (NU), Stuart Dunning (NU), Matt Perks (NU), Seb Pitman (NU)

Contact email: Rachel.Carr@newcastle.ac.uk

Project rationale

Himalayan glaciers are a vital water resource for the ~1 billion people living in their downstream catchments, but are currently melting rapidly. This meltwater can accumulate in ice-marginal lakes, which can fail and rapidly produce large volumes of water and sediment, in the form of Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs). Bhutan is the most vulnerable country globally to GLOFs because its population, infrastructure, cultural heritage and hydro-power generation capacity lie downstream of glacial lakes and recent GLOFs have required emergency action. Thus there is an urgent societal need to quantify the rising threat posed by GLOFs across Bhutan and to determine appropriate management and mitigation actions. However, Bhutan had >2500 glacial lakes in 2020, 65 of which were categorised as high-risk. It is therefore prohibitively expensive to monitor even its most dangerous lakes using industry-standard sensors. Furthermore, effective warmings and management measures require the responses and priorities of at-risk populations to be account for. This PhD will address these real-world challenges via a combination of: i) developing low-cost, near-real time sensors for monitoring GLOFs and their potential triggers; ii) modelling potential flood pathways, to inform sensor locations and; iii) in-person surveys, to explore the needs and behaviours of at-risk downstream populations.

Methodology

The PhD will focus on the Punatsangchu catchment, as it has the 4th highest GLOF risk globally and the highest in Bhutan. The main focus of the PhD project will be on developing low-cost sensors that can be deployed throughout the catchment to measure changes in GLOF hazard, potential triggers and downstream impacts. This includes: water level sensors; portable lidar scanners, to determine evolution of glacial lake dams and hillslopes; time-lapse cameras; seismic sensors; and turbidity sensors. The sensors will be installed during pre-planned fieldwork in 2025/26 and validated against existing industry standard sensors, both funded via a NERC seedcorn grant. The student will work closely with DHI on the sensor development, including suitability for the remote field site, power needs and data communications. Due to the uncertainty in many key parameters associated with GLOF modelling, the student will use ensemble modelling to identify the most appropriate sensor locations in the Punatsangchu and will utilise HEC-RAS and/or r.avaflow software. Potentially inundated infrastructure will be identified from Google Earth and Open Street Map and used to inform survey locations. Interviews and focus groups will be conducted, to determine the response, priorities and needs of exposed populations and hence inform emergency responses and management.

Background reading

Carr, J.R., Barrett, A., Rinzin, S., Taylor, C. (accepted) Step-change in supraglacial pond area on Tshojo Glacier, Bhutan, and potential downstream inundation patterns due to pond drainage events. Journal of Glaciology.

Rinzin, S. et al. (2023) GLOF hazard, exposure, vulnerability, and risk assessment of potentially dangerous glacial lakes in the Bhutan Himalaya. Journal of Hydrology, 619.

Taylor, C., Robinson, T., Dunning, S., Carr, J.R., Westoby, M. (2023) Glacial lake outburst floods threaten millions globally. Nature Communications, 14, 487.

FLOOD-CDT

This PhD is being advertised as part of the Centre for Doctoral Training for Resilient Flood Futures (FLOOD-CDT). Further details about FLOOD-CDT can be seen here https://flood-cdt.ac.uk. Please note, that your application will be assessed upon:

  1. Motivation and Career Aspirations;
  2. Potential & Intellectual Excellence;
  3. Suitability for specific project and
  4. Fit to FLOOD-CDT.

So please familiarise yourselves with FLOOD-CDT before applying. During the application process candidates will need to upload:

  • a one-page statement of your research interests in flooding and FLOOD-CDT and your rationale for your choice of project;
  • a curriculum vitae giving details of your academic record and stating your research interests;
  • name two current academic referees together with an institutional email addresses; on submission of your online application your referees will be automatically emailed requesting they send a reference to us directly by email;
  • academic transcripts and degree certificates (translated if not in English) – if you have completed both a BSc and an MSc, we require both; and
  • a IELTS/TOEFL certificate, if applicable.

Please upload all documents in PDF format. You are encouraged to contact potential supervisors by email to discuss project-specific aspects of the proposed prior to submitting your application. If you have any general questions please contact floodcdt@soton.ac.uk.

Apply

Apply here: https://www.ncl.ac.uk/postgraduate/fees-funding/search-funding/?code=FL…