Photo: Igor Smichkov/iStock
Ice on the Land Glaciers and Ice Caps
Over the past 100 years, and particularly since the es on water resources, especially in regions such as the
1980s, there has been worldwide and dramatic shrink- Himalayas–Hindu Kush, the Andes, Rocky Mountains
age of glaciers. This shrinking is closely related to and European Alps, where many dry-season river flows
global warming. depend on glacier meltwater.
Projected increases in global air temperatures will en- Shrinkage of glaciers leads to the deposition of unsta-
sure the continuing shrinkage of glaciers and ice caps ble debris, the formation of ice and debris dammed
and may lead to the disappearance of glaciers from lakes and it increases instability of glacier ice. These
many mountain regions over the coming decades. conditions pose increased risk of catastrophic flood-
Disappearance of glaciers will have major consequenc- ing, debris flows and ice avalanches.
CHAPTER 1 HIGHLIGHTS 13