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My name is Millie Spencer, and I am a 3rd year PhD candidate in the Geography Department. I am currently on a Fulbright Award studying glacier retreat and its downstream impacts in south-central Chile.ÌýHosted jointly by the University of Chile’s Civil Engineering Department and Indigenous Peoples Program, my work integrates glacier field measurements, glacier-hydrological modeling, and semi-structured interviews with periglacial communities. This approach seeks to bridge scientific methods with Indigenous and local knowledge, recognizing community memory as a critical resource for understanding climate change and informing adaptation strategies.

The first month and a half of my time here in Chile has been a whirlwind. The season to safely and accurately measure glaciers here in Chile is February-April, so I am working hard to hike to as many glaciers as possible before winter begins in full force. Accompanied by my generous colleagues here in Chile, we are hiking a chain of stratovolcanoesÌýin south-central Chile to fly uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAV) and build digital elevation 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó of the glaciers. These 91ÃÛÌÒ¸ó enable us to compute the volume loss of the glaciers over time.

In March, I spent two days camping at the base of Glaciar Nevado with my colleague Robert Clasings. The hike to Glaciar Nevado is an arduous 8 miles up volcanic sand dunes and lahars. However, our gorgeous camp near a waterfall with a view of the glacier above made the effort worthwhile. This mission enabled us to map the entire glacier, including a debris covered portion that was previously unidentified by scientists.Ìý

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