Global Land Ice Measurements from Space (GLIMS):
Global Patterns of
Changing Glaciers
Glaciers are responding to climate change; the overwhelming
majority of the world's glaciers are losing length, area, and mass. B=
ut
it
is not as simple as that. The climatic parameters that are forcing
glacier
responses are not changing homogeneously around the planet, so there exist =
regional variations in glacier responses. In some regions of the worl=
d,
rising precipitation more than offsets increased melting, so glaciers are <=
br>
growing. In many regions individual glaciers are thickening at high <=
br>
elevations but thinning and shortening at low elevations. Globally, <=
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increased melting dominates, and in some regions glaciers are deteriorating=
exceptionally rapidly because of simultaneous warming and drying. Bes=
ides
those effects, glacier responses differ depending on glacier size and their=
dynamic response time scales (hence, the period of past climate change
relevant to current responses). Hypsometric and environmental
characteristics and chaotic or oscillatory dynamical behaviors of individua=
l
glaciers are also locally important and can result in growth and shrinkage =
of adjacent glaciers. Beyond these details, what is most striki=
ng
are the
regionally varied patterns of glacier responses. I'll present some
examples
of regional response patterns and seek explanations in climate models, whic=
h
will also be used to predict future changes in glaciers, glacier hazards, <=
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and glacier meltwater resources. One size does not fit all.