Exploring Aufeis: Relevance of Icing and Ice Reservoirs for Climate Change Adaptation in the Trans-Himalaya of Ladakh, India

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Marcus Nüsser
• Subject Area: Physical Geography ; Human Geography
• Term: since 2020
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 438535984

In semi-arid high mountain regions, meltwater from the cryosphere is vital for irrigated agriculture. Water availability including its seasonality and variability are key factors of agricultural production in these regions. In the context of climate change, the amount of meltwater and the timing of maximum discharge is changing, resulting in increasing uncertainty for agrarian livelihood security. Due to the high altitude of glacier occurrence in the Trans-Himalaya of Ladakh, the melting of glaciers occurs much later and results in a delayed supply of melt water, due to which recurring water deficits in spring are common. In order to bridge these critical periods of water scarcity, ice reservoirs were introduced in various tributaries since the 1980s, commonly referred to as “artificial glaciers”. These structures capture winter runoff as ice close to the cultivated areas utilizing the natural icing (aufeis) process, which occurs in many of the upper tributaries in the region. The phenomenon of aufeis and its relevance for local water availability have been largely neglected in previous studies. The overarching aim of this project is an integrative analysis of the relevance of aufeis and ice reservoirs for agricultural practices in Ladakh. This includes assessments of the efficacy of different ice reservoir types and their usefulness as climate change adaptation strategies. Based on an inventory of aufeis and ice reservoirs using remote sensing time series analysis, potential sites for ice reservoirs will be modelled. In a further step, an assessment of the volume of ice accumulated in the reservoirs will be carried out in order to understand their supplementary contribution to irrigation. For this, we will use methods of terrestrial photogrammetry and remote sensing to generate high spatial resolution digital surface models for winter and summer. The final step will focus on examining the perception of the local population regarding the relevance of aufeis fields and ice reservoirs for agrarian production and water availability. Sustainable implementation of ice reservoirs in local irrigation systems and community-led maintenance of irrigation infrastructure will be investigated using empirical social research methods. This project aims to contribute to a better understanding of socio-hydrological interactions in a sensitive high mountain region under conditions of precarious livelihoods and cryosphere change.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigator: Dr. Susanne Schmidt