Dr. Miriam Jackson is a Senior Cryosphere Specialist in Managing Cryosphere and Water Risks and has been leading ICIMOD’s cryosphere work since joining the institution in 2020. She has vast experience in the cryosphere area, including field research in Norway, Bhutan, Antarctica, Nepal, Greenland, and India.
Miriam has worked extensively on the issues that society faces due to cryosphere changes; this has involved collaborating with hydropower companies on the risks of glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs) and developing guidelines for climate-resilient hydropower development. She has also been involved in community interactions at the local level to share knowledge concerning the implications of cryosphere change. Besides, she is associated with international initiatives such as the Ambition on Melting Ice. Miriam is also a member of the Scientific Steering Group for WCRP’s Climate and Cryosphere Initiative.
Her important scientific publications include being the lead author for the IPCC on the High Mountain Areas chapter in the IPCC Special Report on Oceans and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate. She is also an editor of the recent HI-WISE report – Water, Ice, Society, and Ecosystems in the Hindu Kush Himalaya: An Outlook.
Before joining ICIMOD, Miriam worked as a glaciologist for the Norwegian government for over twenty years and her responsibilities included leading glacier research in the Svartisen Subglacial Laboratory under 200 m of ice and leading the Norway-India collaborative project, INDICE, which is studying the response of the Indian hydrological system to climate change.
Miriam holds a PhD in geophysics from the California Institute of Technology, an MS in geosciences from the Ohio State University (USA), and a BSc (Hons) in mathematics and astronomy from the University College London.