In a 2017 study published in the scientific journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, four researchers wrote: “Glaciers cover 10 percent of the planet’s land surface, but are rapidly shrinking across much of the world with a cascading impact. on downstream systems.
“Glaciers uniquely affect the flow of rivers in times when other water sources are scarce. Changes in the hydrology and morphology of rivers, caused by climate-induced loss of glaciers, are expected to be greater than in any other hydrological system, with important implications for nearby river and marine environments. The reduction of glaciers will alter hydrological regimes, sediment transport and flows of contaminants from rivers to oceans.
“This will profoundly affect the natural environment, including many aspects of biodiversity, and the ecosystem services that glacier-fed rivers provide to humans, particularly the supply of water for agriculture, hydroelectricity and consumption. Human society must plan adaptation and mitigation measures in all regions affected by the reduction of glaciers ”.
An Aberystwyth University study published in 2020 predicted that 92 percent of glaciers in the Alps could disappear before the turn of the century due to climate change.
Neil Glasser, coordinator of the EU-funded Change project, said that “if, as we expect, we see these models replicated on a global basis, the retreat of mountain glaciers will have significant implications for sea level rise. The climate crisis will lead us to more important transformations, but this dramatic disappearance of glaciers from the Alps is one of the most immediate and visible effects ”.
For climate change, Professor Glasser added, glaciers are like canaries in a mine. ◆