The Alps' iconic glaciers are melting, but there's still time to save the biggest
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Author
Date
2024Type
- Journal Article
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
Glaciers are the ambassadors of climate change. Their worldwide decline has serious impacts on natural hazards, the water cycle, and sea level rise. The monitoring of glaciers documents the increasingly rapid melting, which has culminated in a suite of extreme years-for example, 2023 in North America and the European Alps. Numerical simulations of future glacier change, supported by a large basis of observational data, allow us to understand the enormous changes ahead and prepare us for a world without glaciers. Technical approaches to reduce glacier melting have been developed and are applicable locally-for example, in connection with tourist activities-but they clearly fail at the larger scale. Show more
Permanent link
https://doi.org/10.3929/ethz-b-000685551Publication status
publishedExternal links
Journal / series
Bulletin of the Atomic ScientistsVolume
Pages / Article No.
Publisher
RoutledgeSubject
Glaciers; ice; climate change; mountain hazards; monitoring; extreme eventsMore
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ETH Bibliography
yes
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