Abstract

Glacierized mountainous areas make up some of the most hazardous landscapes of our planet, and are undergoing profound changes under 21st century climatic warming. The answers to two fundamental questions are required in these areas: (i) what is the baseline hazard and risk, and (ii) are the hazard and risk likely to increase or decrease in coming decades. While these questions remain largely unanswered on a global scale, this presentation delves into the subject through a series of case studies of complex hazards in glacierized and high-mountain areas.

In this talk, I will consider both the gaps in our current knowledge, and how novel techniques and datasets help bridge these. In particular, I will discuss the two-way interactions between landslides and glaciers, improving summit ice volume estimates at glacierized volcanoes, and new optical feature tracking approaches to map slope deformation the scale of mountain ranges. The evolving hazard profile intersects with a growing population and rapidly developing infrastructure networks. As a result, a cross-disciplinary approach is essential to comprehensively analyze and mitigate risk. This talk highlights the significance of addressing these challenges and explores avenues for future research, in particular introducing the new Cambridge Complex and Multihazard Research Group (CoMHaz).