Role of Global Warming
- Although some of the world's glaciers are advancing and in positive mass balance, the rises in global warming has led to unprecedented levels of melting, resulting in negative mass balance, in cold environments
- Periglacial areas will see melting permafrost change the ecosystem and biodiversity of the tundra
- Melting of ice and permafrost will likely change the water cycle, which many people depend on for their main water supplies (Peruvian Andes supplies 30% of all water to the communities in the mountains)
- As glaciers shrink, so will water supplies after a period of gain as the glacier melts
- Increased river discharge, increases flood risk during spring/summer melt, particularly with extreme heating causing ice melt spikes
- HEP dam operations become redundant with lower meltwater levels
- Lower velocities of meltwater cannot remove pollutants and water quality lowers
- Sediment yields change, which will either increase due to excess sediment build up, leading to low flow rates and sudden flood burst or decrease, leaving outwash plains exposed and easily eroded
Exam Tip
Being synoptic in your exam is an important skill the examiner is looking for. Therefore, remember to draw on knowledge of climate change from other parts of the course such as cold environments as a carbon sink and the impact it has on the carbon cycle etc.
