Impacts of Loss of Cryosphere in the High Mountains of Northwest North America

Quaternary

article

John J. Clague¹  Dan H. Shugar² 

[1] Center for Natural Hazards Research, Department of Earth Sciences, Simon Fraser University;Water, Sediment, Hazards, and Earth-Surface Dynamics ,(waterSHED) Lab, Department of Geoscience, University of Calgary

关键词: cryosphere;    geohazards;    river re-routing;    sediment delivery;    ecosystems;    North America;   

DOI  :  10.3390/quat6010001

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Global atmospheric warming is causing physical and biotic changes in Earth’s high mountains at a rate that is likely unprecedented in the Holocene. We summarize changes in the presently glacierized mountains of northwest North America, including a rapid and large reduction in glacier ice and permafrost, a related increase in slope instability and landslides, river re-routing and other hydrological changes, and changing aquatic ecosystems. Atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise and will likely do so for at least the next several decades, if not longer, and mountains will continue to warm, perhaps reaching temperatures up to several degrees Celsius warmer than present over the remainder of this century. As a result, the rate of physical and biotic changes documented in this paper is very likely to dramatically increase and transform high-mountain environments.

【 授权许可】

CC BY