Knowledge Priorities on Climate Change and Water in the Upper Indus Basin: A Horizon Scanning Exercise to Identify the Top 100 Research Questions in Social and Natural Sciences

River systems originating from the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) are dominated by runoff from snow and glacier melt and summer monsoonal rainfall. These water resources are highly stressed as huge populations of people living in this region depend on them, including for agriculture, domestic use, and energy production. Projections suggest that the UIB region will be affected by considerable (yet poorly quantified) changes to the seasonality and composition of runoff in the future, which are likely to have considerable impacts on these supplies. Given how directly and indirectly communities and ecosystems are dependent on these resources and the growing pressure on them due to ever-increasing demands, the impacts of climate change pose considerable adaptation challenges. The strong linkages between hydroclimate, cryosphere, water resources, and human activities within the UIB suggest that a multi- and inter-disciplinary research approach integrating the social and natural/environmental sciences is critical for successful adaptation to ongoing and future hydrological and climate change. Here we use a horizon scanning technique to identify the Top 100 questions related to the most pressing knowledge gaps and research priorities in social and natural sciences on climate change and water in the UIB. These questions are on the margins of current thinking and investigation and are clustered into 14 themes, covering three overarching topics of ‘governance, policy, and sustainable solutions’, ‘socioeconomic processes and livelihoods’, and ‘integrated Earth System processes’. Raising awareness of these cutting-edge knowledge gaps and opportunities will hopefully encourage researchers, funding bodies, practitioners, and policy makers to address them

Multi-temporal photographic dataset of glacier changes in the Rupal Valley, Nanga Parbat, north-western Himalaya

This dataset presents multi-temporal glacier photography from the Rupal Valley, south of Nanga Parbat in the north-western Himalaya. The elevation of viewpoints of re-photographic surveys ranges between 2940 and 5370 m a.s.l. The research is based on the hypothesis that repeat photography of these mountain glaciers allows for a longer monitoring period than remote sensing data as historical metric photographs from the years 1934, 1958, and 1987 are available. All relevant historical photographs showing glacier aspects taken during scientific expeditions have been collected from archives and repeated from the same viewpoints during several surveys between 1992 and 2010. Prints of the selected photographs were taken to the field in order to identify the exact viewpoints. The camera was always mounted on a tripod for careful selection of the view angle and frame. This multi-temporal dataset allows for a detailed visual assessment of glacier fluctuations, changes in glacier snout positions, ice volumes, and debris cover over a period of seven to eight decades. It offers insights for a better understanding of glacier changes in this prominent Himalayan mountain region and can serve as a baseline for further studies. The dataset provides baseline data for a recently published article (Nüsser and Schmidt, 2021) with original archival material and replicated glacier photography. Publication: Nüsser, M., Schmidt, S. 2021. Glacier changes on the Nanga Parbat 1856-2020: A multi-source retrospective analysis. Science of the Total Environment 785, 147321. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.14732

Multi-temporal photographic dataset of glacier changes in the Rupal Valley, Nanga Parbat, north-western Himalaya

This dataset presents multi-temporal glacier photography from the Rupal Valley, south of Nanga Parbat in the north-western Himalaya. The elevation of viewpoints of re-photographic surveys ranges between 2940 and 5370 m a.s.l. The research is based on the hypothesis that repeat photography of these mountain glaciers allows for a longer monitoring period than remote sensing data as historical metric photographs from the years 1934, 1958, and 1987 are available. All relevant historical photographs showing glacier aspects taken during scientific expeditions have been collected from archives and repeated from the same viewpoints during several surveys between 1992 and 2010. Prints of the selected photographs were taken to the field in order to identify the exact viewpoints. The camera was always mounted on a tripod for careful selection of the view angle and frame. This multi-temporal dataset allows for a detailed visual assessment of glacier fluctuations, changes in glacier snout positions, ice volumes, and debris cover over a period of seven to eight decades. It offers insights for a better understanding of glacier changes in this prominent Himalayan mountain region and can serve as a baseline for further studies. The dataset provides baseline data for a recently published article (Nüsser and Schmidt, 2021) with original archival material and replicated glacier photography. Publication: Nüsser, M., Schmidt, S. 2021. Glacier changes on the Nanga Parbat 1856-2020: A multi-source retrospective analysis. Science of the Total Environment 785, 147321. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.14732

Adaptation to climate change induced water stress in major glacierized mountain regions

Mountains are a critical source of water. Cryospheric and hydrological changes in combination with socio-economic development are threatening downstream water security triggering the need for effective adaptation responses. Here, we present a global systematic review (83 peer-reviewed articles) that assesses different water-related stressors and the adaptation responses to manage water stress in major glaciated mountain regions. Globally, agriculture (42%), tourism (12%), hydropower (8%) and health and safety (4%) are among the main sectors affected by hydrological and cryospheric changes . A broad set of adaptation measures has already been implemented in the world's mountain regions. We find that globally the most commonly used adaptation practices correspond to the improvement of water storage infrastructure (13%), green infrastructure (9.5%), agricultural practices (17%), water governance and policies (21%), disaster risk reduction (9.5%) and economic diversification (10%). Successful implementation of adaptation measures is limited by reduced stakeholder capacities, collaboration and financial resources, and policies and development. To overcome these limitations, funding for climate change adaptation and development programmes in mountains and trust-building measures such as shared stakeholder activities need to be strengthened. Local awareness raising of both, the adverse effects of climate change and potentially positive implications of specific adaptation measures can help to support successful adaptatio