New and improved scientific projections of global glacier loss could provide the catalyst needed for quicker and more decisive action on climate change, saving manyhor glaciers. This is one of the conclusions of an article by Guðfinna Aðalgeirsdóttir, professor of glaciology at the University of Iceland, and Timothy D. James, researcher at Queen's University in Canada, published in the latest issue of Science.
The article is a scientific perspective in response to another paper by an international team of scientists published in the same issue of Science, entitled "Global glacier change in the 21st century: Every increase in temperature matter". In this paper, the team shares the most detailed projections of the impact of rising temperatures on global glacier loss to date. They present different scenarios, projecting how glaciers will be affected by 2100 under different global temperature increases, though the research excludes the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
The most detailed model of the impact of global warming on glaciers yet
Guðfinna and Timothy stress that the monitoring of glaciers has improved significantly in recent years through the use of satellite technology, which provides scientists with clearer information about the number and size of glaciers and ongoing changes to their volume and the speed of loss. Models projecting the impact of climate change on glaciers are a comparatively new phenomenon, having developed from rather simple projections of changes in volume into more complex models that consider various factors such as flow and calving.
Guðfinna and Timothy argue that the findings of the international team of scientists highlight the need to act now in order to prevent significant glacier loss. Countries have not acted decisively enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the issue seems to have reached a kind of stalemate. The reasons for this are complex, but possibly those involved in the field, including scientists, need to change the way they talk about it in order to elicit more public support for action.
They argue that the findings of the international team of scientists highlight the need to act now in order to prevent significant glacier loss. Countries have not acted decisively enough to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the issue seems to have reached a kind of stalemate. The reasons for this are complex, but possibly those involved in the field, including scientists, need to change the way they talk about it in order to elicit more public support for action. They could emphasise the benefits of clearly outlined measures, rather than the consequences of a lack of action. "Although it is too late to avoid losing many glaciers, any efforts to limit global mean temperature rise will have a direct effect on reducing how many glaciers will be lost," say Guðfinna and Timothy.
The complete article is available on the Science website.