Overview

Glaciers play an important role in the water cycle in High Mountain Asia (a geographic region encompassing the high mountains surrounding the Tibetan plateau). Many of these glaciers have large areas that are covered in rock, dirt, and dust (hence the name debris covered glaciers). This causes them to respond to 20th and 21st century climate change in ways that are distinct from "typical" clean ice glaciers. The presence of ponded water on the surface of these glaciers (termed supraglacial lakes) can cause the glaciers to melt faster from increased energy absorption and increased water flow through the ice. Additionally, rapid drainage of these lakes can cause catastrophic flooding and damage to downstream communities. 

As part of my PhD research, I am investigating the evolution of supraglacial lakes on debris-covered glaciers by synthesizing high resolution PlanetScope satellite imagery with medium resolution Landsat and Sentinel-2 imagery. Applying these methods over small scales (single glaciers) and large scales (entire continents) has the potential to reveal novel insights into the hydrologic systems of these high mountain areas.

Publications

Zeller, L., D. McGrath, S. McCoy., J. Jacquet. 2023 (in review). Seasonal to decadal dynamics of supraglacial lakes on debris‑covered glaciers in the Khumbu Region, Nepal. The Cryosphere. (https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2023-1684)

Presentations

Zeller, L., D. McGrath, S. McCoy. 2022. Supraglacial lakes on debris-covered glaciers: high resolution observations of subseasonal lake expansion and drainage. Poster: AGU 2022 Fall Meeting, Chicago [PDF]