In 2019, we set out to explore remote high-altitude lakes in the Indian trans-Himalaya. Supported by a grant from the National Geographic Society, our expedition’s dual goals were to use robots to document remote lakes in the trans-Himalaya aerially and underwater while also documenting any plastic contamination. Our field work covered nine lakes across Ladakh and Spiti. We mapped these lakes aerially and used our SofarOcean Trident to capture the first-known underwater footage from these lakes, documenting the activities of both small crustaceans as well as the presence of plastic waste. To better understand the issue of plastic contamination, we collected litter from around these lakes, first documenting it by manufacturer and type and then ensuring that it was properly disposed off.  Our media and data from this expedition are being used, by us and by other conservation organisations, to aid in advocacy and policy planning efforts to ensure that these lake ecosystems are not irreparably degraded.

Following on this expedition, we returned in 2022 in collaboration with the Sciurid Lab at IISER Tripathi. In this joint collaboration, we used drones to aerially survey the habitat of pika, marmots and voles. Mapping the habitat of these species living in high altitude plateaus by foot is extremely challenging and sometimes dangerous. In this project, we tested the use of drones in mapping the habitat and population distribution of marmots and pikas.