





Owen is primary author on "Nature and Timing of Quaternary Glaciation in the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogen," and Madhav Murari, a post-doctoral fellow at UC, is primary author on "Timing and Climatic Drivers for Glaciation Across Monsoon-Influenced Regions of the Himalayan-Tibetan Orogen." The National Science Foundation and National Geographic Society have supported the research efforts of Owen and his team.

The University of Cincinnati's Lewis Owen has been studying glaciers in Tibet and the Himalayas for 25 years.

(Photo Credit: Provided by University of Cincinnati's Lewis Owen)





On an even broader scale, Owen notes the Himalayas and Tibet also have a major influence on regional and global atmospheric circulation, magnifying their importance in understanding the dynamics of global environmental change.

"We want to be able to more accurately construct where glaciers are going to melt in the future and to what degree they are going to melt," Owen says. "We want to be able to plan and prioritize where we protect from glaciers melting."

The Himalayas are one of the most glaciated regions on Earth. University of Cincinnati's Lewis Owen has been studying the area for 25 years.

(Photo Credit: Provided by University of Cincinnati's Lewis Owen)


To help predict the future, Owen and his colleagues look to the past. Researchers in Owen's group use advanced geochronology techniques such as cosmogenic and luminescence dating to more accurately determine the age of their samples. The results give scientists a clearer picture of how to reconstruct glacial response to climate change from as far back as when the glaciers were first formed many hundreds of thousands of years ago in the Quaternary Period, a geologic time period that includes the ice ages and extends to present day.

In essence, without knowing what glaciers were doing in the past, Owen says, computer models of global climate change can't be accurately tested.

"Our studies are providing a framework for understanding past glaciation to implicate future changes," Owen says. "We want to be able to manage mountain areas and sustain them so future generations can live and work and play up there."

Glaciers have a profound effect on the hydrology of Tibet and the Himalayas, which impacts the large nearby populations of nations such as India and China.

(Photo Credit: Provided by University of Cincinnati's Lewis Owen)