On a cold morning in December last year, nine women woke up to see glaciers shrouded in front of them, glowing orange in the rising sun. These scientists have spent their entire lives studying the frozen circle (the frozen part of the earth), but most people have never encountered it in person.
Members of the group were selected as the first cohort of Hindu Kush Himalayan women in ice expeditions, an initiative recently launched by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). ICIMOD is a Nepal-based NGO focused on the conservation and sustainability of mountainous areas in Asia. During this expedition, women from five countries head to the Pangkar Glacier in the Gandaki River Basin in Nepal.
The Hindu Kush Himalayas have an estimated 54,000 glaciers covering an area of 60,000 square kilometers, making it an important source of freshwater for rivers in the region. Now, these glaciers are shrinking significantly due to climate change. Women from the ICE team set out to explore the impact of climate change on the Ponkar Glacier, which has a 3,651m (11,978 feet) end and is one of the largest glaciers in the region.
Under the guidance of Cryosphere experts with extensive field experience, participants conducted interdisciplinary field survey projects to understand glacier characteristics and surrounding human communities.
Inspiration: Bringing more women into the frozen sphere science
Cryosphere Science has always been a historically dominant discipline. In the 1980s, when Icimod senior scientist Miriam Jackson started glacier research in England, women were not allowed to go to Antarctica through the British plan.
In 1987, Jackson managed to explore Greenland through Ohio State University, where she was the only female of 10. “There is definitely gender and a little bit powerful,” Jackson told Glacierhub.
Robin Bell, a lecturer at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory in Colombia and a former president of the American Geophysics Union, had similar experiences during his 1989 research journey.
When Bell had the opportunity to work in Antarctica, she grabbed it and became McMurdo’s only female lead investigator, who operates year-round and is the largest U.S. station on the continent. The following year, Bell brought two other women’s journeys, a student and a technician.
Since then, Bell has prioritized inclusion science in her work. “I try to open up science to everyone,” Bell said. “Sometimes we don’t think about bringing everyone, but the understanding is that our science is better for more people on the table.”
Bell also emphasizes the power of inclusion more generally. “Study shows that more groups make better decisions,” she said.
Although Jackson noted that despite the global invitation to women into glacial sciences such as glaciers and scientific adventures, Jackson noted that gender imbalances between her and Bell remained common in the 1980s, especially in Asia, especially in Asia. There, many women engage in office-based work such as glacier modeling and remote sensing, but rarely do field work.
The Hindu Kush Himalayan women in ice adventures aim to change this. “We want to enable these women to return to the community and lead the community,” said Sunwi Maskey, an expedition organizer at Cryosphere, Icimod.
The final team consists of nine women, from undergraduate to postdoctoral students, spanning disciplines from geoscience to international relations, from Bhutan, India, Nepal, Pakistan and China.
Walking on the Ice: Preparation and Challenge
“Preparation started the day we announced the participants,” Maki said. Before meeting in person, leaders held virtual meetings so that participants could learn from each other and learn how to prepare physically and mentally. After several months of preparation, on December 4, the team piled into Kathmandu’s jeep and left the glacier.
Despite cultural, religious, and disciplined differences between them, participants quickly established connections. Aishwarya Sanas, currently receiving her Ph.D. In the study of international relations and governance at Shiv Nadal University in India, there was initial concern that she was the only participant who did not study natural or physical sciences “strange people”. However, meeting in person a few days before the trip eliminated her anxiety. “The way everyone gets together and helps each other is stand out,” Sanas said. “The team dynamics are incredible.”
In addition, strong collaboration among participants is encouraged in the face of high altitudes and steep terrain, and despite strict Juni preparations, many are still struggling at altitudes and extreme weather conditions. Silian Pan, Ph.D., a German student at Leibniz University specializes in Arctic permafrost microbiology, recalls that she walked for 10.5 hours a day and arrived at the camp late at night at 18 degrees Celsius. “I suffered a lot,” she said.
Still, for Pan, seeing the peaks and glaciers makes the pain worth it. “When you look at pictures from 10 or 20 years ago, and the look of the mountains, and compare them, you find what the work means; it changes a lot,” she explained.
The aesthetic and entertainment opportunities in the area are another motivation for participants. “Every day is beautiful. The mountains are so close that you can’t stay away from your eyes,” said Finu Shrestha, a remote sensing and geoinformation analyst.
Pakistani participant Tuba Farooq recently received a degree in environmental science from the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore, where he found a sense of accomplishment connected to her companions beyond the level of the research association. “At night, when we came back from the hike, we played a lot of games. Sometimes we danced too. That was the best part,” Farouk said.
An important gain for Sanas is that glacial science is related to human physical preparation and mental abilities. She explained: “You have to take care of your health [with] No matter what life you have left, you can do research. ”
Shared knowledge: Research and courses
It turns out that participants had a lot of life to study throughout the journey. They are divided into three group focus areas: glaciers, permafrost, and social and economic factors.
Sanas participated in the third group and interviewed porters, guides, climbers and locals. She learned that many locals wanted a road to alleviate the process of transporting goods that tourists requested. For example, Sanas explained: “Tourists want coffee. Locals don’t drink coffee. It’s not part of the culture.”
After completing her project, Sanas advised villagers to gather together to form a “code of conduct” between her and her visitors to encourage respect and sustainability. For PAN, recognizing the impact of climate change on the region reminded her of the importance of research. “Now, the glacial lake is gone, and the water is very small there,” she explained. “The locals… need to walk 30 minutes to get water for daily use. That’s why we’re studying this.”
Another unusual aspect of the adventure is the employment of female porters. Shrestha explains that female porters are rare because they usually cannot bear the same physical burden as men. Pan learned through interviews with these porters that many are housewives and carrying luggage is one of the only ways to generate income. She explained: “They want to hike. A lot of people like to hike, but they don’t have the chance; it’s too expensive for them. They can’t come as tourists. [but] As workers, they can. ”
Experience has changed how participants will conduct research. “When you get into the field, there are a lot of other things going into life,” Farooq explained.
Before the expedition, Farouk did not travel to another city, let alone another country without family. She advises other women to take advantage of this opportunity when they appear. “Be brave,” she said. “No matter what opportunity you have, you should use yourself.”
Farooq also pointed out the importance of having a diverse group. “We’re all looking at the same picture, but we have to look at it from a different perspective,” she said.
Leaders of the program hope to implement the program again in the coming years. They have begun brainstorming for their next expedition, continuing to challenge the “ice ceiling” and providing more opportunities to women in the science of the ice circle.
