The overall aim of the CAT project is to identify and quantify regional differences in greater Himalayan glacio-hydrology and to elucidate climate change induced alterations in water availability and the occurrence of extreme precipitation events through three key objectives:
1. Advance the knowledge on high-altitude climate dynamics from valley to synoptic scales, with a special focus on high-altitude precipitation and the interaction between the atmosphere, the extreme topography, the land surface and the cryosphere
2. Understand how climate controls key glacio-hydrological processes in high-altitude catchments in particular ice flow and melt dynamics of debris covered glaciers, snow maturation and sublimation and routing of (sub-surface) runoff.
3. Explain regional differences and their consequences for accurate projections of future changes in greater Himalayan glacio-hydrology by implementing catchment scale glacial-hydrological models for two representative, but contrasting catchments at a resolution that allows inclusion of key local-scale glacio-hydrological processes and atmospheric dynamics.
The project was concluded very successfully and we have made great advances in understanding the glacio-hydrology of the Himalaya and how this may change in the future. This is evidenced by two successfully defended PhD theses, numerous publications and outreach activities and open access datasets with meteorological, glaciological and hydrological observations.
The project led to important insight into how climate change impacts the water supply from the mountain ranges in Asia. This has important societal consequences as millions of people depend on this water for irrigation, drinking water and industry. The results of the project have been covered widely in the media including international newspapers, IPCC reports and popular science magazines like National Geographic and the Scientific American.
