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Importance of studying glaciers (1. Climate Change (Global warming is…
Importance of studying glaciers
1. Climate Change
Cryosphere both responds to drives climate change
Global warming is occurring
Polar amplification
Ice volume ∆s affects sealevel
3. Water resources
Irrigation
Hydro-electric power
signif energy source in Scandinavia
Drinking water supply
Santiago, Chile - runoff from snowpack & glaciers in Andes
Hazards
Glacier outburst floods
Himalaya - lotsa debris due to active uplift/instbaility
Moraine dams = weak & susceptible to burst
Threatens downvalley communities/settlements
Avalanches
Disrupt touring skiing
Closely monitored
Jokulhlaups (Icelandic GLOF)
Glaciers/ice caps sit on MOR / volcanic
Ice melts rapidly via magma eruption & generates LOTSA melt
Lotsa monitoring
4. Understanding landscape evo
active erosion & deposition
lotsa sed in front of glacicers
present landscape = result of repeated glaciations
Satellite altimetry
Satellite flies over ice @ repeat distance allowing msmt of elevation ∆
Thinning @ edges GrIS outweighs interior thickening
GrIS Melt
Surface melt ↑ 25% over past 20 years
2012
= most signif melt season to date
extended right into GrIS interior
whole IS melting
Surface melt = complex
f (many things)
e.g. albedo/surface roughness/insolation
GrIS shows
Satellites allowed observe large scale, long term data collection
= Crucial to have long term records to see real trend
GRACE
degree of deflection of satellite orbit by ice masses
allows inference mass ∆ of ice sheets
SLR Contribution
Glaciers
currently = greatest contributor melt
GrIS
will soon dominate SLR
If all ice sheets melted - SLR = 70m
Polar Amp
Greater rate of warming in Greenland vs elsewhere
Arctic sea ice extent ↓ rapidly
GrIS Patterns
Melt increase
Tidewater acceleration
Tidewater accel/thinning increases ice discharge from interior