Rainfall, on the other hand, will cause ice sheets to melt and recede. For many tropical glaciers, scientists are still working out the relative importance of these factors and attempting to determine to what extent anthropogenic factors plays a role. In the meantime, tracking how these changes are leading to ice loss in the tropical regions provides scientists with a means of comparison when studying ice loss in other parts of the world.
Fortunately, the impact will be limited given their small size and the fact that they do not represent a significant water resource. Satellites continue to play an important role in the monitoring process, giving scientist the ability to map glacier ice loss, map seasonal changes, and draw comparisons between different parts on the planet.
They also allow scientists to monitor remote and inaccessible areas of the planet to see how they too are being affected. Click on the posted images to enlarge the ice fields, or follow these link to see image comparisons. Right, and when the last glaciers are gone, we are in deep poopoo… as most other ice will be well on the way to melt as well! Get a house-boat, at least you flow on top of the mess…. Skip to content. Their survival suggests that sunlight and surface water remained available somewhere on Earth's surface, perhaps in patches of open water that formed in the sea ice and provided a refuge for life.
Did the Sturtian snowball Earth stimulate evolution and the origin of animals? Scientists don't know exactly what caused this glaciation or what ended it, but Macdonald says its age of Story by Kathryn Hansen. Though the mountains are located just south of the equator, their elevation is high enough and the air temperatures are cold enough to still support a few small areas of ice. Image of the Day Land Snow and Ice. Better Landsat imaging and creative use of software is allowing scientists to map details of changing glaciers and ice sheets.
Image of the Day Snow and Ice. Rare tropical glaciers in Indonesia are losing ice fast and could disappear entirely within decades. Researchers want to know why. Image of the Day Land. Warmer, more humid air means more rain and less snow, which leads to melting and less accumulation of glacier ice.
However, Mark doubts the Andean glaciers will disappear completely. However, the preservation of this ice will not help villagers in danger of water shortage. Because these steep spots hold very thin ice, they are a less important water resource than the lower, valley glaciers that hold greater volumes of ice.
Because the water flow varies so much from season to season in the tropics, researchers are looking into various options for water storage. Building river dams to make reservoirs of glacier melt may be the easiest way to store large amounts of water. But this approach could leave villages susceptible to flooding and their water supply susceptible to evaporation, according to Mark. Storage in underground aquifers is another possibility currently under investigation.
Groundwater stored in low-lying wetlands and grasslands, called pampas, may already contribute nearly half the water in the streams during the dry season, says Jeff McKenzie, a hydrogeologist at McGill University who works with Mark in the Cordillera Blanca to study the movement of groundwater. According to McKenzie, these underground aquifers will become increasingly important water resources as glaciers melt.
The perception among local indigenous people is that weather has become more erratic and extreme in recent years, with stronger rainstorms that can be damaging to crops. The indigenous people are very concerned about melting glaciers and water resources, according to Bury, because their livelihoods depend on it. Though awareness of climate change is widespread in the region, what to do about it is another question, one that may include future conflicts over natural resources.
This depends largely on the future rate of man-made carbon emissions into the atmosphere. Maintaining a sufficient water supply in the face of global climate change will be an increasingly formidable challenge, says Mark.
How does global warming affect sea level rise? China adapts to climate change.
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