Abstract ID: 3.13507 | Accepted as Talk | Talk/Oral | TBA | TBA

Glaciers are a bellwether of climate change. Their critical role in the ecosystems of mountain regions has been emphasised by the United Nations, which has designated 2025 as the International Year of Glacier Preservation. Against this background, recent years have seen a proliferation of studies advocating for and assessing the application of digital technologies—including remote sensing, the Internet of Things, and, more recently, digital twins and AI/ML—to monitor glacier conditions and the broader impact of their melting on the ecosystem. At the same time, digital technologies have been deployed to support the adaptation strategies of upland communities, whose livelihoods are deeply intertwined with and dependent on glaciers, now increasingly threatened by their melting. This paper provides an overview of current research on the design and implementation of digital technologies for both monitoring and adaptation, with a specific focus on the interaction between expert systems and Indigenous knowledge. It identifies critical challenges and best practices in research-action across the Global North/Global South divide, raising questions about the involvement of mountain communities in both the active surveillance of glacier melting and the development of adaptation strategies. In doing so, it proposes a research agenda that applies a perspective grounded in the Social Appropriation of Technology and Indigenous Knowledge theories to explore how upland communities use digital technologies to interpret and adapt to major disruptions to their livelihoods.