Harsh Beria

CryoSCOPE (link)

Duration: 2025-2029

Funding: Horizon Europe (€1.8mn ETH / €9mn+ consortium)

Monitoring inland ice is essential for understanding environmental processes in cold regions and predicting climate-driven shifts and natural hazards. The EU-funded CryoSCOPE project unites a diverse consortium of experts, research organisations, and industry partners to address challenges related to in-situ and remote sensing observations, focusing on the interactions between land, ice, snow and permafrost in globally significant cold spots. By integrating novel measurements and advanced numerical models, CryoSCOPE aims to improve the representation of atmospheric, cryospheric, and hydrological processes in Earth System Models, providing high-resolution data in these landscapes. These insights will support environmental research and strengthen climate resilience in these cold spots.

SANTA (Spatial snow cover projections for Switzerland)

Duration: 2024-2026

Funding: WSL Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research (SLF) + Meteoswiss

I am working with Dr. Christoph Marty (SLF) and Dr. Sven Kotlarski (Meteoswiss) to develop high-resolution (at 1km) spatial snow projections across Switzerland under the Klima CH2025 framework. For the first time, detailed snow water equivalent (SWE) and snow depth maps will be produced for entire Switzerland for different global warming levels. These snow projections will use the Klima CH2025 bias-adjusted GCM-RCM model runs as atmospheric forcing. SANTA will also provide key snow indicators tailored to different end-users, such as snow cover duration, snow fraction or snow disappearance date. Additionally, SANTA will upgrade the current degree-day snowmelt models used by the Operational Snow Hydrological Service (a joint initiative of SLF and MeteoSwiss) to a more advanced energy-balance approach.

Quantifying hydrologic response of terrestrial ecosystems to drought

Duration: 2021-2023

Funding: ETH Postdoctoral Fellowship (CHF 235,200)

I worked with Prof. James Kirchner (link) to examine how droughts differently impact vegetation productivity and terrestrial water balance in water-limited vs energy-limited landscapes in the Swiss Alps. This work integrates diverse datasets, including remote sensing (e.g., solar induced flourescence, NDVI, EVI), eddy covariance flux towers, tree rings, and forest inventories. Relevant research papers are currently under review.