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The Mitsui & Co. Environment Fund

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Niigata University Institute of Science and Technology, Associate Professor Chiyuki Narama

Research on reducing glacier-related disasters in Central Asia and the Himalayas

Research grant

Project Description

Since 1998, among the plethora of small glacial lakes across the Tian Shan mountains of Central Asia and the Ladakh Range of northwestern India there have been several occurrances of glacial lake outburst floods causing many casualities. To reduce glacier-related disasters, this research will acquire knowledge about small glacial lakes, create composite hazard maps, hold glacial disaster workshops, and make policy proposals related to governments' soft disaster prevention policies towards creating a disaster prevention system for inhabitants.

Grant year
FY2012 Research Grants
Grant term
3 years
April 2013 - March 2016
Grant amount
10,994,000 yen
Activity region
Kyrgyzstan, Central Asia (Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range) and Ladakh region, Northwest India (Ladakh Range, Zanskar Range)
Traces of glacial lake flood, Kyrgyz Ala-Too Range, Kyrgyzstan

Overview of the Organization

Associate Professor Chiyuki Narama
Representative
Associate Professor Chiyuki Narama
Profile
Specialist field
Physical geography, mountain environmental studies
Affiliated academic societies
The Association of Japanese Geographers, Japanese Society of Snow and Ice, Tokyo Geographical Society, International Glaciological Society
Background
PhD in geography from Tokyo Metropolitan University Graduate School of Science in March 2002. Following time spent as a special PD researcher with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science at the Nagoya University Graduate School of Environmental Studies, as a guest researcher at the University of Oslo Department of Geography, and as a project researcher at the Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, in April 2014 became Associate Professor at Niigata University Graduate School of Science and Technology (Environmental Science and Technology).
WEB site
http://www.sc.niigata-u.ac.jp/environment/organization/narama.html
Collaborating researchers
Jinro Ukita (Professor, Niigata University Institute of Science and Technology), Naho Ikeda (Assistant Professor, Tohoku University International Research Institute of Disaster Science), Takeo Tadono (Senior Researcher, JAXA EORC), Mirlan Daiyrov (Researcher, Central Asian Institute of Applied Geosciences), The Ladakh Ecological Development Group (LEDeG)
Research results
  • (1) Tadono, T., Kawamoto, S., Narama, C., Yamanokuchi, T., Ukita, J., Tomiyama, N., Yabuki, H. (2012): Development and Validation of New Glacial Lake Inventory in the Bhutan Himalayas Using ALOS 'DAICHI'. Global Environmental Research 16(1) :31-40.
  • (2) Narama, C., Tadono, T., Ikeda, N., Sonam Gyalson (2012): Characteristics of glacial lakes of the Ladakh Range, western Himalayas of India. Himalayan Study Monographs 13 :166-179.
  • (3) Narama, C., Tadono, T., Yatagai, A., Ikeda, N., (2011): Status of glacier lakes and glacier outburst floods in Damkar Valley, Ladakh Range, western Himalayas of India. Himalayan Study Monographs 12 :73-83.
  • (4) Ukita, J., Narama, C., Tadono, T., Yamanokuchi, T., Tomiyama, N., Kawamoto, S., Abe, C., Uda, T., Yabuki, H., Fujita, K., Nishimura, K. (2011): Glacial Lake Inventory of Bhutan using ALOS Data: Part I: Methods and Preliminary Results. Annals of Glaciology 52(58) :65-71.
  • (5) Narama, C., Duishonakunov, M., Kaab, A., Daiyrov, M., Abdrakhmatov, K. (2010): The 24 July 2008 outburst flood on the western Zyndan glacier lake and recent regional changes in glacier lakes of the Teskey Ala-Too range, Tien Shan, Kyrgyzstan. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 10(4) :647-659.
  • (6) Narama, C., Kaab, A., Duishonakunov, M., Abdrakhmatov, K. (2010): Spatial variability of recent glacier area changes in the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia, using Corona (~1970), Landsat (~2000), and ALOS (~2007) satellite data. Global and Planetary Change 71 :42-54.