Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: Andean glaciers are losing mass rapidly but a centennial‐scale context to those rates is lacking. Here we show the extent of >5,500 glaciers during the Little Ice Age chronozone (LIA; c. 1,400 to c. 1,850) and compute an overall area change of −25% from then to year 2000 at an average rate of −36.5 km 2 yr −1 or −0.11% yr −1 . Glaciers in the Tropical Andes (Peru, Bolivia) have depleted the most; median −56% of LIA area, and the fastest; median −0.16% yr −1 . Up to 10 × acceleration in glacier area loss has occurred in Tropical mountain sub‐regions comparing LIA to 2,000 rates to post‐2000 rates. Regional climate controls inter‐regional variability, whereas local factors affect intra‐region glacier response time. Analyzing glacier area change by river basins and by protected areas leads us to suggest that conservation and environmental management strategies should be re‐visited as proglacial areas expand.
Source: Geophysical Research Letters
DOI: 10.1029/2024gl109154
Institutions: University of Leeds, University of Huddersfield, Newcastle University, British Geological Survey, University of Birmingham, Institut polytechnique de Grenoble, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement, Institut des Géosciences de l'Environnement, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, University of Sheffield
Language: English
Subfield: Atmospheric Science
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
SDG: Climate action
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,900
OpenAlex ID: W4400218230