Evolution of temperature indices in the periglacial environment of the European Alps in the period 1990–2019

Abstract

Air temperature in the European Alps shows warming over recent decades at an average rate of 0.3 °C/10 years, thereby outpacing the global warming rate of 0.2 °C/10 years. The periglacial environment of the Alps is particularly important for several aspects (i.e. hydropower production, tourism, natural hazards, indicator of global warming). However, there is a lack of specific and updated studies relating to temperature change in this environment. In order to fill this gap, the recent temperature trends in the periglacial environment of the Alps were analyzed. Mean/maximum/minimum daily air temperatures recorded by 14 land-based meteorological stations were used, and the temperature indices for the period 1990-2019 were calculated. The periglacial environment of the Alps showed a warming rate of 0.4 °C/10 years, 0.6 °C/10 years and 0.8 °C/10 years for the mean/ maximum/minimum temperatures, respectively. These warming rates are higher than that observed for the entire Alpine area. In 2050 many glaciers of the Alps below 3000 m altitude are expected to be extinct, and all the areas previously occupied by glaciers will become periglacial. In order to manage and adapt to these changes, more in-depth climate analyses are needed. This is necessary for all the mountainous areas of the world, which are undergoing similar changes.

Performance of the debris flow alarm system ALMOND-F on the Rochefort Torrent (Val d’Aosta) on August 5, 2022

“…The availability of reliable alarm systems is becoming increasingly crucial in a context of climate change [11], associated with growing slope instability, especially in mountain areas [12]. Thus, the possibility to further test the ALMOND-F system and improve its performances will be of great help to increase the number of available and reliable alarm systems and better face the challenges posed by climate change.…”

Micro‐ and macroclimate interactively shape diversity, niches and traits of Orthoptera communities along elevational gradients

“…Climate change is causing a restructuring and reassembly of biotic communities worldwide (Habel et al, 2016;Halsch et al, 2021;Hill et al, 2021). Mountain regions are particularly at risk as temperatures rise rapidly there (Nigrelli & Chiarle, 2021;Pepin et al, 2015) while they serve as exceptionally important refugia for cold-adapted and often endemic species (Berger et al, 2010;Laiolo et al, 2018;Trew & Maclean, 2021). Since air temperature declines steadily with elevation (lapse rate of ~−5.5 K/1000 m), gradients along mountain slopes can be used as space-for-time surrogates to study community assembly processes and anticipate species' responses to climate warming (Körner, 2007;Rahbek et al, 2019).…”

Assessing climate impacts on slow-moving landslides in the western Alps of Piemonte: integration of monitoring techniques for detecting displacements

“…Over the years, various approaches have been proposed to evaluate long-term precipitation and temperature regimes and, in particular, their influence on slope instability. Nigrelli et al (2021) have investigated the temperature indices of the European Alps in the period 1990-2019, revealing the identification of one or more climate anomalies possibly correlated with instances of ground instability in specific case studies. Paranunzio et al (2019) performed a probabilistic analysis assuming a set of the most representative climate variables on the occurrence of slope failures at high-elevation sites.…”