Report / Technical

Using unmanned aerial vehicles for glacier monitoring in the Himalayas

Abstract

This report describes the results of the “Using Unmanned Airborne Vehicles (UAV) for glacier monitoring in the Himalayas” project that was executed by the consortium comprising of Utrecht University, ICIMOD and FutureWater from May 2014 to January 2016. In the project, the use of UAVs was tested for several Himalayan glaciers and the data were used to improve the understanding of the functioning of the large glacier tongues, which provide an important source of melt water for the people downstream. The project was highly successful and resulted in highly accurate and detailed datasets, scientific papers, a professional documentary and capacity built and awareness raised on the scientific use of a technology that shows great promise for the future