Back to news
24 Aug 2017 | News

Participants of On-the-job Training Develop Glacier Change Data for Selected HKH Basins

From 10 April to 9 June 2017, six faculty members from Tribhuvan University (TU) in Kathmandu completed a two-month on-the-job training on the application of remote sensing (RS) and geographic information system (GIS) for the mapping and monitoring of glaciers. The output of the training will be included in a glacier change assessment of five river basins in the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH), to be delivered by the end of 2017.

“We were working independently through the process of mapping glaciers from satellite images. This helped further develop my remote sensing skills and my skills using different software, “said Ramita Bajracharya, Assistant Professor, Central Department of Geology, TU. Bajracharya is working on the eastern side of the Upper Brahmaputra Basin. She plans to use the skills from this training to conduct similar research in the future.

As part of the on-the-job training, the attendees downloaded satellite images from 1990, 2000, and 2010 and generated glacier maps for each year for selected basins or regions in the HKH. The data was compiled to prepare decadal glacier change for the selected basins. Training attendees used semi-automatic delineation of clean ice and debris covered glaciers using eCognition software and developed their glacier databases using ArcGIS.

1 min Read

70% Complete
Ramita Bajracharya, Assistant Professor, Central Department of Geology, TU mapping eastern side of the Upper Brahmaputra Basin

The outcome of their work was reported to their supervisors at ICIMOD on a weekly basis, where assigned experts provided feedback and technical guidance on improving final products.

The Cryosphere Initiative of ICIMOD which partners with TU under the Cryosphere Monitoring Programme in Nepal (CMP-Nepal) organized the training to develop the capacities of professionals from partner institutes and transfer knowledge on a wider scale. The on-the-job training was a follow up to a recent one-week training on the same topic and meant to maximize the benefits of the one-week training. While short-term trainings do familiarize participants with the tools and techniques necessary for mapping and monitoring glaciers and glacial lakes, when the participants of these workshops return to their regular work or study routines, it becomes difficult for them to practice and further develop their remote sensing techniques. CMP-Nepal focuses on longer-term on-the-job trainings that provide opportunities attendees the opportunity to further develop and apply the skills and knowledge they have learnt through short-term trainings.

Over the course of their on-the-job training, the six TU faculty members mapped the glaciers of the Brahmaputra Basin and some parts of the Ganges Basin. They will continue to work further to improve the glacier database. The attendees can now explore the RS tools and techniques to conduct independent research.


Glacier mapping of Brahmaputra basin as prepared by training participants using object-based image classification method , Image: Anita TuiTui/TU

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

27 Feb 2016 News
Enhancing the Large Cardamom Production

Large cardamom (Amomum sabulatum Roxb) is the high value cash crop and main source of cash income for farmers in ...

30 Jan 2018 Climate change
ICIMOD Supports LAKI through Side Events at Major International Conferences

ICIMOD is leading the LAKI process, a collaborative initiative between the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate ...

10 Aug 2015 News
Learning to use SERVIR tools and MODIS products

The SERVIR-Himalaya Initiative of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) organized a five-day training on SERVIR science applications ...

13 Mar 2015 News
Web-related Training for NEPA Afghanistan

A training on web development and content management was organized for four representatives of the National Environmental Protection Agency (NEPA ...

10 Jan 2017 News
Partnerships for Transformative Change

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), in association with the Partnership Brokers Association (PBA), is ...

24 Sep 2015 News
ICIMOD supports International conference on Mountain and Climate Change

  The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) through its Cryosphere Initiative was a co-organiser for the International Conference on ...

Bhutan, India, and Nepal to Strengthen Regional Cooperation through Tourism in the Kangchenjunga Landscape

The event focused on sharing existing practices and improving the potential and future prospects of tourism as a major conservation ...

8 Jul 2021 News
MoU signed by Climate Analytics and International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development

On 7 July 2021 the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD) and Climate Analytics have signed a Memorandum of ...