Thesis: Reconstruction of Glacier Changes in the Central Himalayas Since 1970 and Implications for Reconstructing Glacier Fluctuations During the Holocene M/F

Job Description

Thesis Subject

The western-central Himalaya (WCH ; India, Nepal and Bhutan) which can be subdivided in 4 climatic zones (Fig. 1) is home to around 17 000 glaciers which are sources of the 3 major rivers Brahmaputra, Ganga and Indus. These rivers are essential for water, agriculture and energy supply for hundreds of millions of people [IPCC, SROCC, 2019]. Over the recent decades some sectors of the region have experienced very hot summers (> 50°C for several days in large cities of India) and, like all mountain regions in the world, a large glacier retreat that has also caused major glacier lake outburst floods destroying villages [Immerzeel et al., 2020 ; Hugonnet et al., 2021 ; The GLAMBIE team, 2025]. Furthermore, glacier future evolution in this region is expected to decrease their ice volume by 25 to 60% by 2100 - with large spatial variability - depending on pathway of human greenhouse gases emission [Marzeion et al., 2020], and between 50 to 90% after long-term equilibrium (i.e. after many centuries ; Zekollary and Schuster et al., 2025).

WCH glaciers are influenced by two main climate systems: the westerlies and the Indian and Eastern Summer Monsoons in the eastern part of the range. In recent decades, regional glacier mass loss has been quantified but results highlight a large spatial heterogeneity
[Sakai et al., 2017 ; Brun et al., 2017], preventing a robust estimate of future changes and associated risks for society. Indeed, the interplay between climatic (regional climate, weather regimes, seasonal moisture, orographic effects…), geomorphological (debris
coverage, hypsometry of the watershed, presence of a terminal lake, etc.) and environmental factors (vegetation, soil…) are still poorly understood [Brun et al., 2019]. A robust analysis of their respective role in mass balance changes is missing so far as current
studies are based on an observational period that is too short to account for the glacier's long-term history. Thus, glaciers that are very sensitive to climate change cannot be distinguished from others whose behaviors are more controlled by geomorphological
conditions with a muted or delayed reaction to current climate change. Moreover, a more accurate quantification of the anthropogenic and natural contribution to such glacier change is needed. It is for example unknown whether the current glacier retreat is unprecedented compared to that during warm periods of the Holocene (last 11 600 years), as recently reported for some tropical glaciers [Gorin et al., 2024]. In addition, in situ observations of glacier mass balance are sparse in the WCH, due to the difficult access and large size of the glaciers, which questions the robustness of glacier model calibration. For all these reasons, it is still difficult to estimate the future evolution of glaciers in the WCH, especially its spatial variability.

The aim of this PhD project is to reconstruct the evolution of 40 glaciers in the western-central Himalaya region since the 1960s using remote sensing observations, long-term in situ mass balance measurements, specific downscaling method of climate
reanalysis data and global glacier modelling with the Open Global Glacier Model (OGGM). Second objective of the PhD project is to use a well-calibrated global glacier model to simulate glacier trajectories during Holocene using dedicated large scale paleo-climatic simulations. All this work in the recent and long past (Holocene) will help understanding the link between climate change and individual glacier evolution taking into account geomorphological glacier conditions and local climate, that will finally make estimates of future glacier evolution more robust and spatially coherent.

Your Work Environment

The Institute of Environmental Geosciences (IGE) is a public research laboratory affiliated with the CNRS, the IRD, the University of Grenoble Alpes (UGA), and Grenoble-INP. Its research focuses on climate change and the impact of human activities on our planet in polar, mountainous, and intertropical regions—areas that are particularly sensitive to major societal challenges. The laboratory has an average staff of approximately 330 people, including 190 permanent employees (researchers, faculty researchers, engineers, technicians, and administrative staff) and about 140 doctoral students, postdoctoral researchers, and contract employees. Each year, the IGE also hosts approximately 120 interns and visiting scientists. The IGE is spread across four buildings on the Grenoble university campus (the Glaciology Building, OSUG-B, the Maison du Climat et de la Planète, and INRAE-Grenoble in Saint-Martin-d'Hères).

The IGE is one of the main laboratories of the Grenoble Observatory of Universe Sciences (OSUG), a federative structure of the National Institute of Universe Sciences (INSU). The IGE actively contributes to the national research strategy in the polar regions, in collaboration with national and international partners. It participates in numerous national and international projects. The successful candidate will carry out their duties within the IGE's C2H team, as part of the CIME project, under the supervision of Patrick Wagnon.

Compensation and benefits

Compensation

2300 € gross monthly

Annual leave and RTT

44 jours

Remote Working practice and compensation

Pratique et indemnisation du TT

Transport

Prise en charge à 75% du coût et forfait mobilité durable jusqu’à 300€

About the offer

About the CNRS

The CNRS is a major player in fundamental research on a global scale. The CNRS is the only French organization active in all scientific fields. Its unique position as a multi-specialist allows it to bring together different disciplines to address the most important challenges of the contemporary world, in connection with the actors of change.

CNRS

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