Toward mountains without permanent snow and ice

Abstract

The cryosphere in mountain regions is rapidly declining, a trend that is expected to accelerate over the next several decades due to anthropogenic climate change. A cascade of effects will result, extending from mountains to lowlands with associated impacts on human livelihood, economy, and ecosystems. With rising air temperatures and increased radiative forcing, glaciers will become smaller and, in some cases, disappear, the area of frozen ground will diminish, the ratio of snow to rainfall will decrease, and the timing and magnitude of both maximum and minimum streamflow will change. These changes will affect erosion rates, sediment, and nutrient flux, and the biogeochemistry of rivers and proglacial lakes, all of which influence water quality, aquatic habitat, and biotic communities. Changes in the length of the growing season will allow low-elevation plants and animals to expand their ranges upward. Slope failures due to thawing alpine permafrost, and outburst floods from glacier-and moraine-dammed lakes will threaten downstream populations. Societies even well beyond the mountains depend on meltwater from glaciers and snow for drinking water supplies, irrigation, mining, hydropower, agriculture, and recreation. Here, we review and, where possible, quantify the impacts of anticipated climate change on the alpine cryosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere, and consider the implications for adaptation to a future of mountains without permanent snow and ice.

GLOFs in the WOS: bibliometrics, geographies and global trends of research on glacial lake outburst floods (Web of Science, 1979–2016)

“…Huss et al, 2017). A certain change in the publishing paradigm is observed among the published GLOF research items and documented by the analysed characteristics (see Sect.…”

Rapid decline of snow and ice in the tropical Andes – Impacts, uncertainties and challenges ahead

“…Adaptation measures should ideally be based on an assessment of both climate change-related impacts and societal dynamics, which require data that are applicable at local to regional scales (Viviroli et al, 2011;Huss et al, 2017). Yet in the tropical Andes such a database is often missing, be it for climatic, glaciologic, hydrologic, or other environmental or socio-economic aspects.…”

Robust Adaptation Research in High Mountains: Integrating the Scientific, Social, and Ecological Dimensions of Glacio-Hydrological Change

“…This "temporal redistribution effect" can account for a substantial proportion of seasonal flow in many regions [18]. However, climate-related changes in mountain glaciers are altering this important hydrological service, with implications for human well-being and ecosystem structure and function [2,19]. The IPCC AR5 reports with very high confidence that "almost all glaciers worldwide have continued to shrink as revealed by the time series of measured changes in glacier length, area, volume, and mass" [4].…”

“…Mountains are the source of all major river systems, are important centers of bio-cultural diversity, and are conspicuous bellwethers of climate change [1,2]. Climate-related changes in mountain glaciers are already affecting water availability in many regions [3], with Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) AR5 projections indicating further reductions in global glacier volumes of up to 85% by 2100 [4].…”