glaciers
Glacier volume response time is a measure of the time taken for a glacier to adjust its geometry to a climate change. It is currently believed that the volume response time is given approximately by the ratio of glacier thickness to ablation at the glacier terminus. The authors propose a new conceptual model of glacier hypsometry (area-altitude relation) and derive the volume...
Himalayan glaciers are considered to be amongst the most sensitive glaciers to climate change. However, the response behaviour of these glaciers is not well understood. Here we use several approaches to estimate characteristic timescales of glacier AX010, a small valley glacier in the Nepal Himalaya, as a measure of glacier sensitivity. Assuming that temperature solely...
Higher temperature and change in precipitation patterns have induced an acute decrease in Andean glaciers, thus leading to an additional stress on water supply. To adapt to climate changes, local governments need information on the rate of glacier volume losses and on current ice thickness. The authors show how volume changes can be accurately estimated in remote areas using...
The expected outcomes of the collaborative research project, which will continue through at least 2010, are (1) the generation of cutting-edge empirical data and theoretical insights into the current rate and magnitude of climate change induced glacier recession, shifting hydrologic processes, and human livelihood vulnerability and adaptation; (2) the refinement of rigorous...
Longbasaba and Pida lakes are two moraine-dammed lakes located at the headwaters of the Geiqu River, a tributary of the Pumqu River in the Chinese Himalayas, at an elevation of about 5700 m. The minimum distance between the two lakes is 24 m and their difference in elevation is about 76 m. Breach risks were assessed on the basis of field surveys carried out in the summers of 2004, 2005, and 2006...
The Rio Santa valley in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru, has been repeatedly affected by severe glacial flood disasters in the past decades. The continuing high rate of glacier retreat has led to the formation and rapid growth of a large number of glacial lakes. Due to the risk of lake outburst floods, downstream communities are confronted with serious hazards. The regional capital of Huaraz is one...
The cryosphere is the body of the world's frozen water, composed of sea and continental ice, snow cover, and perpetually frozen soil and rocks (permafrost). Mountain glaciers cover about 160,000 km2 (World Glacier Monitoring Service 2008), sometimes reaching the lowlands and the sea. Awareness of their importance for water supply is rapidly increasing, as is their vulnerability as frozen “water...
This books seeks to provide a synthesis of impacts caused by the oft-repeated assertion that glacier retreat is the clearest sign of ongoing global warming, with severe consequences for humans.
The shrinking glacier atop Kilimanjaro has received much attention as it is one of the few remaining tropical glaciers in the world. Physical drivers ranging from changes in temperature and humidity to shifts in cloud coverage and radiation have been attributed to reducing the ice mass. Studies have utilised varying methods and often use point data sources that tend to be spatially and temporally...
Mountains are among the regions most sensitive to climate change. Some of the most visible indicators of climate change come from mountain areas, such as the widespread retreat of glaciers that has been observed from polar to tropical regions in recent decades. The sensitive position of mountain areas has been clearly highlighted by the IPCC in its latest report in 2007. Mountains provide...
Pages
