Exploring the importance of glaciers for water, food, and energy security

Hosted by Dr Caroline Clason

Mountain glaciers are crucial stores of freshwater, providing water resources to millions of people in Earth's glaciated regions. Yet this key resource is under threat as glaciers retreat in response to the warming climate, with knock-on impacts not only for water security, but also food and energy security. This lecture will explore the trends and drivers of glacier change in mountain glacier regions, and the impacts of dwindling water supply for both people and the environment. It will discuss the state of glacier-fed water security around the world, including what the future holds for regions such as the Andes and Himalayas, and consider how we can mitigate and adapt to the impacts of Earth's disappearing glaciers. 

Dr Caroline Clason is an Associate Professor of Glaciology at the University of Plymouth. Her research focusses on glacial hydrology, both in terms of water quantity and the impacts of contaminants on water quality. Caroline's work on glaciers has taken her to Greenland, Iceland, Sweden, the Peruvian Andes, Canada, and the European Alps, while her teaching focusses on contemporary changes to the cryosphere and environment-society interactions.

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