Qiao Li
Areas of interest
- Earth Observation of the Cryosphere
- Supraglacial lakes
- Glacier retreat
- Glacial lake outburst floods
- Satellite remote sensing
Research centres and groups
Environmental Science Research DivisionResearch projects
Assessing the evolution of supraglacial lakes and their effects on glacier melt in the High Mountain Asia using remote sensing
Globally rising temperatures cause increased glacier melting in nearly all glacierised regions of the world, especially for the mountain ranges of High Mountain Asia. Recession of glaciers and permafrost degradation also impact the stability of glaciers. Meltwater from these glaciers form supraglacial lakes, which can store large volumes of water and have a strong glacial lake outburst floods potential threatening the downstream population and infrastructure. SGLs are highly sensitive to climatic warming and their formation and drainage are linked to changing ice flow velocity and glacier disintegration.
Funded by the University International PhD Studentship, I aim to quantify the spatial and temporal evolution of SGLs in HMA using satellite observations and cloud computing to improve our understanding of glacier responses to climate change and assessments of risks to downstream communities.
Supervisors:
Professor Maria Shahgedanova (University of Reading)
Dr Shovonlal Roy (University of Reading)
Background
I am postgraduate researcher within the Department of Geography and Environmental Science, and my research study involves assessing the evolution of supraglacial lakes and their effects on glacier melt in the High Mountain Asia region using satellite observations. I will mainly work with observations from satellite optical missions such as Sentinel-2, Landsat 7&8 and ASTER, with the aim of better mapping and tracking evolutions in supraglacial lake, revealing the mechanisms behind their formation and drainage, and their effects on glacier melt and risks of glacial lake outburst floods under a changing climate. I focus on regional and temporal variations in surface melt evolution to investigate how these changes will impact ice velocity, glacier stability and downstream communities. This would also improve future projections of glacier responses to climate change.