Document Type

Honors Project - Open Access

Comments

Advised by Dr. Susan Fox of Macalester College. See acknowledgements to learn about those who supported me, and their invaluable contributions to the success of this work.

Abstract

As weather patterns change worldwide, isolated communities impacted by climate change go unnoticed and we need community and habitat-conscious solutions. In Himalayan Mustang, Nepal, indigenous Lubra village faces threats of increasing flash flooding. After every flood, residual concrete-like sediment hardens across the riverbed, causing the riverbed elevation to rise. As elevation increases, sediment encroaches on Lubra’s agricultural fields and homes, magnifying flood vulnerability. In the last monsoon season alone, the village witnessed floods swallowing several fields and damaging two homes. One solution considers relocating the village to a new location entirely. However, relocation poses a challenging task, as eight centuries of ancestry, heritage, and nuanced cultural complexities exist in both aspects of communal opinion and civil engineering. To investigate this issue further, we utilize remote sensing technologies such as drones and satellite imagery to create unique, highly-detailed 3D visualizations and 2D maps as a way to document climate-related impacts in Lubra village. In addition, we generate digital elevation models to investigate quantifying riverbed elevation trends to address how the riverbed elevation changes overtime. In tandem, we conduct oral interviews with members of Lubra to understand how flooding and droughts affect their ways of life, allowing us to contextualize these models. Pairing visualized data with personal accounts, I aspire to provide an informative story that depicts Himalayan climate change on a local level, and demonstrates these impacts to both the Nepalese and global audience.

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