Umesh Haritashya

Visiting Assistant Professor
Full-Time Faculty
College of Arts and Sciences: Geology

Profile

Dr. Haritashya received his Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology, India in 2005 where he studied glacier hydrology, modeling, and image analysis. He joined UD's Geology Department in 2008 after completing post-doctoral research appointment in NASA's international GLIMS (Global Land Ice Measurements from Space) project at University of Nebraska-Omaha. Currently, Dr. Haritashya is teaching Environmental Geology, and Geomorphology. Next semester he will be teaching Problems and Decisions in Environmental Geology, and special course on Climate Change. He is also an active researcher interested in interdisciplinary research in glacier science.

Faculty Perspective

I am a Quantitative Geologist who is utilizing both field collected data as well as satellite borne data for my cool research, which revolves around the fact that due to climate change and global warming, temperature changes now seem inevitable and are changing the landscape of snow, ice and glaciers, or even existence thereof. This changing environment requires interdisciplinary research of the complex phenomena that control the dynamics of earth's and atmospheric processes. I am working towards this interdisciplinary research considering the importance of climate change impact on the cryosphere, practical application of the hydrology of glacierized basins on runoff prediction, reservoir management, hydroelectric production, irrigation, and flood control; as well as better understanding of the weather systems in the high altitude region, and the hydrological and sediment transport behavior including hydrological processes and storage characteristics of the glaciers. My research work has resulted in several well-refereed international research papers, book chapters, and many presentations. I am also editing two books to be published by Springer and Elsevier, respectively in 2010. I am privileged to be a part of several research projects, working with several great colleagues around the world. Besides, I am also associated with several grant reviewing agencies and journal reviewing panels.

 

Degrees

  • Ph.D., Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), India

Professional Activities

  • Member, American Geophysical Union (AGU)
  • Member, Association of American Geographers (AAG)
  • Member, Environmental & Water Resources Institute (EWRI)
  • Member, Geological Society of America (GSA)
  • Member, International Glaciological Society (IGS)
  • Member, International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS)
  • Member, Sigma Xi
  • Life member, Indian Association of Hydrologists (IAH)

Research Interests

  • Mountain Hydrology/Geomorphology and Surface Processes.
  • Assessment of glacier morphology and ice dynamics.
  • Remote sensing and GIScience.
  • Geospatial visualization
  • Climate change impact on Alpine glaciers.
  • Glacier hydrology and sedimentology.
  • Modeling of snow and glacier melt runoff.
  • Algorithm development in Image Processing and GIS Environment.
  • Natural hazards including GLOF, landslides, floods, climate change related hazards.
  • Collection and analysis of hydro-meteorological, suspended sediment and glaciological data in high altitude glacierized region.

Selected Publications

Books

Encyclopedia of Snow, Ice and Glaciers (2011), Springer publications, 1254p.

Peer Review Publications

Henry N. N. Bulley, Michael P. Bishop, John F. Shroder Jr. and Umesh K. Haritashya (2013) "Integration of classification tree analyses and spatial metrics to assess changes in supraglacial lakes in the Karakoram Himalaya." International Journal of Remote Sensing.

Michael P. Bishop, Andrew B. G. Bush, Roberto Furfaro, Allan R. Gillespie, Dorothy K. Hall, Umesh K. Haritashya and John F. Shroder Jr. (2013) "Theoretical foundations of remote sensing and modeling for glacier assessment." Global Land Ice Measurements from Space, J.S. Kargel, G.J. Leonard, M.P. Bishop, A. Kääb, and B. Raup (Eds.), Praxis-Springer, Heidelberg, ISBN: 978-3-540-79817-0.

Michael P. Bishop, John F. Shroder Jr., Ghazanfar Ali, Andrew B. G. Bush, Umesh K. Haritashya, Rakshan Roohi, Mehmet Akif Sarikaya, Brandon J. Weihs (2013) "Remote sensing of glaciers in Afghanistan and Pakistan." Global Land Ice Measurements from Space, J.S. Kargel, G.J. Leonard, M.P. Bishop, A. Kääb, and B. Raup (Eds.), Praxis-Springer, Heidelberg, ISBN: 978-3-540-79817-0.

Umesh K. Haritashya (2012) "Effectiveness of four water-bearing zones of the glacierized basin in meltwater runoff modeling." Remote Sensing and Hydrology, Christopher M. U. Neale and Michael H. Cosh (Eds.). IAHS (International Association of Hydrological Society) Publication No. 352 (ISBN 978-1-907161-27-8).

Prajjwal K. Panday, Henry Bulley, Umesh K. Haritashya and Bardan Ghimire (2012) "Supraglacial lake classification in the Everest region Nepal Himalaya."  J. K. Thakur, Singh, S. K., Ramanathan, A., Prasad, M. B. K., Gossel, W. (Eds.) Geospatial Techniques for Managing Environmental Resources, Springer Publications with Capital Publishing Company, 86-99.

Jeffrey S. Kargel, J. Graham Cogley, Gregory Leonard, Umesh K. Haritashya and Alton Byers (2011) "Himalayan Glaciers: The big picture is a montage." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 108, No. 36, pp 14709 – 14710. 

Umesh K. Haritashya, Amit Kumar and Pratap Singh (2010) "Particle size characteristics of suspended sediment transported in meltwater from the Gangotri Glacier, Central Himalaya — an indicator of subglacial sediment evacuation." Geomorphology, Vol. 122, No. 1 – 2, pp 140 – 152.

Umesh K. Haritashya, Michael P. Bishop, John F. Shroder Jr., Andrew B. G. Bush and Henry N. N. Bulley (2009) "Space-based assessment of glacier fluctuations in the Wakhan Pamir, Afghanistan." Climatic Change, Vol. 94, pp 5 – 18.

Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya and Naresh Kumar (2008) "Modelling and estimation of different components of streamflow for Gangotri Glacier basin Himalayas." Hydrological Sciences Journal, Vol. 53, No. 2, pp 309 – 322.

R. P. Gupta, A. Ghosh and Umesh K. Haritashya (2007) "Empirical relationship between near-IR reflectance of melting seasonal snow and environmental temperature in a Himalayan basin." Remote Sensing Environment, Vol. 107, No. 3, pp 402 – 413.

Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya and Naresh Kumar (2007) "Meteorological study for Gangotri Glacier and its comparison with other high altitude meteorological stations in Central Himalayan region." Nordic Hydrology, Vol. 38, No. 1, pp 59 – 77.

Umesh K. Haritashya, Pratap Singh, Naresh Kumar and Yatveer Singh (2006) "Hydrological importance of an unusual hazard in mountainous basin: Flood and landslide." Hydrological Processes, Vol. 20, No. 14, pp 3147 – 3154.

Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya, Naresh Kumar and Yatveer Singh (2006) "Hydrological characteristics of Gangotri Glacier, Central Himalayas, India." Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 327, No. 1-2, pp 55 – 67.

Umesh K. Haritashya, Pratap Singh, Naresh Kumar and R. P. Gupta (2006) "Suspended sediments from Gangotri Glacier: quantification, variability and correlations with discharge and temperature." Journal of Hydrology, Vol. 321, No. 1-4, pp 116 – 130.

R. P. Gupta, Umesh K. Haritashya, Pratap Singh (2005) "Mapping dry/wet snow cover in the Indian Himalayas using IRS multispectral imagery." Remote Sensing Environment, Vol. 97, No. 4, pp 458 – 469.

Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya, K. S. Ramasastri and Naresh Kumar (2005) "Prevailing weather conditions during summer seasons around Gangotri Glacier." Current Science, Vol. 88, No. 5, pp 753 – 760.

Pratap Singh, Umesh K. Haritashya, K. S. Ramasastri and Naresh Kumar (2005) "Diurnal variations in discharge and suspended sediment concentration including runoff delaying characteristics of the Gangotri Glacier in Garhwal Himalayas." Hydrological Processes, Vol. 19, No. 7, pp 1445 – 1457.