even entirely covered Scandinavia, lowering global sea many places, lakes have already started to form. Such
level by more than 100 m, greatly modifying coastlines lakes may replace some of the lost landscape attrac-
of all continents and dramatically affecting the cours- tiveness, but their beauty may come at a dangerous
es of large rivers and the global ocean circulation
60,61
. price (as explained above in the section on natural
This new knowledge constituted a fundamental break- hazards). On slopes, vegetation and soils take dec-
through in our understanding of the climate system as ades and even centuries or sometimes millennia to
an essential part of living conditions on Earth. Ice Age follow the retreating ice and cover the newly exposed
landforms have become a unique heritage, reminding terrain
64
. As a consequence, the zones of bare rock
us of the consequences of global temperature changes and loose debris will expand. Vegetation (especial-
of just a few degrees. ly forests) and ice both have a stabilizing effect on
steeply inclined surfaces. During the expected long
Curiosity and romantic enthusiasm characterize many transitional period between glacier vanishing and
historical reports and paintings of glaciers and high forest immigration, erosion (including large debris
mountain landscapes. Very often, glaciers are portrayed flows) and instability (including large rockfalls and
as an expression of ‘wild, non-destroyable’ nature, landslides) on slopes unprotected by ice or forest will
sharply contrasting with the cultivated landscape of hu- increase substantially
65
.
man habitats. Glacierized mountain areas therefore be-
came – and still are – major tourist attractions in many The perennial ice of glaciers is an important part
parts of the world. In fact, the ‘clean white of the eternal of the water cycle in cold regions. It represents a
snow’ on high mountain peaks is often seen as a beauti- storage component with strong effects on river
ful treasure and used as a precious symbol of intact en- discharge and fresh water supply
66,67
. Such effects
vironments
62
. This is why the current shrinking, decay indeed make high mountain chains ‘water towers’
and even complete vanishing of glaciers evokes such an for many large areas and human habitats. Climat-
emotional response. ic change will lead to pronounced changes in this
system
12
. At time scales of tens and hundreds of
Apart from their symbolic value, glaciers are also among millennia, the growth and decay of continental ice
the best natural indicators of climate change
12,20
. Their sheets, large ice caps and glaciers during periodical
development can be observed by everybody – and the ice ages profoundly affect the global water cycle
61,68
.
physical process, the melting of ice under the influence Within annual cycles of temperature and precipi-
of warmer temperatures, can intuitively be understood. tation, glacial meltwater feeds rivers during the
The impacts of accelerated atmospheric warming are warm/dry season. In the Andes of Peru, the Argen-
thus changing the public perception of glaciers: they are tinean Pampas or the Ganzhou Corridor of China,
increasingly recognized as a warning signal for the state this contribution to river flow is the predominant
of the climate system
63
. source of freshwater for large regions surround-
ing the corresponding mountain areas
69
. Meltwa-
Continued atmospheric warming will inevitably lead ter from glacierized mountain chains with rugged
to the deglaciation of many currently glacierized land- topography is also intensively used for hydropower
scapes, especially in low-latitude mountain chains. In generation (Figure 6B.9).
128 GLOBAL OUTLOOK FOR ICE AND SNOW
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149  |  Page 150  |  Page 151  |  Page 152  |  Page 153  |  Page 154  |  Page 155  |  Page 156  |  Page 157  |  Page 158  |  Page 159  |  Page 160  |  Page 161  |  Page 162  |  Page 163  |  Page 164  |  Page 165  |  Page 166  |  Page 167  |  Page 168  |  Page 169  |  Page 170  |  Page 171  |  Page 172  |  Page 173  |  Page 174  |  Page 175  |  Page 176  |  Page 177  |  Page 178  |  Page 179  |  Page 180  |  Page 181  |  Page 182  |  Page 183  |  Page 184  |  Page 185  |  Page 186  |  Page 187  |  Page 188  |  Page 189  |  Page 190  |  Page 191  |  Page 192  |  Page 193  |  Page 194  |  Page 195  |  Page 196  |  Page 197  |  Page 198  |  Page 199  |  Page 200  |  Page 201  |  Page 202  |  Page 203  |  Page 204  |  Page 205  |  Page 206  |  Page 207  |  Page 208  |  Page 209  |  Page 210  |  Page 211  |  Page 212  |  Page 213  |  Page 214  |  Page 215  |  Page 216  |  Page 217  |  Page 218  |  Page 219  |  Page 220  |  Page 221  |  Page 222  |  Page 223  |  Page 224  |  Page 225  |  Page 226  |  Page 227  |  Page 228  |  Page 229  |  Page 230  |  Page 231  |  Page 232  |  Page 233  |  Page 234  |  Page 235  |  Page 236  |  Page 237  |  Page 238