Dr. Francesca Pellicciotti

This project will systematically collect the measurements of physical properties needed to constrain the a new generation of debris thickness inversion methods, enabling high-accuracy global estimates of supraglacial debris thickness and its rate of change.

PAMIR

PAMIR is a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary scientific programme funded by the Swiss Polar Institute to understand the state, changes, and consequences of the cryosphere in the Pamir Mountains of Central Asia.

TEMPEST - TEMPerature ESTimation for mountain glaciers

TEMPEST combines an unprecedented inventory of historic glacier meteorological datasets with dedicated measurements in the Swiss Alps to develop a new model of air temperature for mountain glaciers globally.

EMERGE - Extreme droughts in mountain regions

EMERGE will investigate the impacts of historic megadroughts on water fluxes and ecosystems in mountain regions, and use this knowledge to develop stress-test scenarios for a possible future megadrought in the Swiss Alps.

HOPE - High-elevation precipitation in High-Mountain Asia

High-mountain precipitation is a key variable for simulating glacier runoff in High-Mountain Asia but is poorly known and difficult to measure directly. This project investigates the quantity, seasonality and variability of precipitation in selected catchments of High-Mountain Asia, and determines t

Peru GROWS - Peruvian glacier retreat and its impact on water security

Peruvian glaciers are an important water resource for downstream populations and have shrunk significantly in recent decades in response to climatic change. This project investigates the impacts of ongoing and projected climatic change on glacier retreat and water resources in Peru's most glacierise

Understanding glaciers and hydrological changes in the Tibetan Plateau using high resolution monitoring and modelling

This collaboration with the Institute of Tibetan Plateau Research (ITP), Delft University and Northumbria University is supported by the Royal Society (UK) and the European Space Agency (ESA). It aims to advance our understanding of the cryosphere and hydrology of high-elevation catchments on the Ti

RAVEN - Rapid mass loss of debris-covered glaciers in High-Mountain Asia

One of the most important questions of climate change impact research today is how glaciers are responding to global warming. ERC-funded, RAVEN aims to determine the role that debris-covered glaciers play in the water cycle of High Mountain Asia and better incorporate processes unique to debris-cove

Understanding the role of rock and debris-covered glaciers in the hydrological system of the Chilean Andes

The Andean cryosphere is an important water resource for downstream populations and is in steep decline as a result of recent climatic change. This project aims to improve our understanding of the quantity and seasonality of the contributions of rock and debris-covered glaciers to the hydrological s

Mapping debris-covered glaciers and their features and characteristics

Supraglacial debris considerably alters the response of glaciers to changes in climate, yet debris-covered glaciers are notoriously difficult to delineate due to their fuzzy boundaries and spectral similarities to marginal moraines. Their surfaces are often characterized by supraglacial ponds and ex

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Publications WSL

Scientific publication article peer reviewed

Kneib, M.; Fyffe, C.L.; Miles, E.S.; Lindemann, S.; Shaw, T.E.; Buri, P.; McCarthy, M.; Ouvry, B.; Vieli, A.; Sato, Y.; Kraaijenbrink, P.D.A.; Zhao, C.; Molnar, P.; Pellicciotti, F., 2023: Controls on ice cliff distribution and characteristics on debris-covered glaciers. Geophysical Research Letters, 50, 6: e2022GL102444 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1029/2022GL102444

Jouberton, A.; Miles, E.S.; Shaw, T.E.; McCarthy, M.; Fugger, S.; Pellicciotti, F., 2023: Reply to Yang et al.: global warming and black carbon simultaneously lead to glacier mass decline over the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 120, 12: e2301467120 (2 pp.). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2301467120

Jouberton, A.; Shaw, T.E.; Miles, E.; McCarthy, M.; Fugger, S.; Ren, S.; Dehecq, A.; Yang, W.; Pellicciotti, F., 2022: Warming-induced monsoon precipitation phase change intensifies glacier mass loss in the southeastern Tibetan Plateau. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 119, 37: e2109796119 (7 pp.). doi: 10.1073/pnas.2109796119

Kneib, M.; Miles, E.S.; Buri, P.; Fugger, S.; McCarthy, M.; Shaw, T.E.; Chuanxi, Z.; Truffer, M.; Westoby, M.J.; Yang, W.; Pellicciotti, F., 2022: Sub-seasonal variability of supraglacial ice cliff melt rates and associated processes from time-lapse photogrammetry. Cryosphere, 16, 11: 4701-4725. doi: 10.5194/tc-16-4701-2022

McCarthy, M.; Miles, E.; Kneib, M.; Buri, P.; Fugger, S.; Pellicciotti, F., 2022: Supraglacial debris thickness and supply rate in High-Mountain Asia. Communications Earth & Environment, 3, 1: 269 (11 pp.). doi: 10.1038/s43247-022-00588-2

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Further scientific publications

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Magazine article and brochures

Bharucha, Z.P.; Ahmad, B.; Appadurai, A.N.; Bolch, T.; Dimri, A.P.; Dixon, H.; Fowler, H.; Halvorson, S.; Hussain, A.; Jeelani, G.; Mehra, M.K.; Miles, E.; Mustafa, D.; Nüsser, M.; Orr, A.; Pellicciotti, F.; Potter, E.; Romshoo, S.; Sarkar, S.K.; ... Wester, P., 2022: Climate and water in the Upper Indus Basin. An urgent new research agenda. 10 p.

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