According to one research, the combination of global atmospheric warming and westerly winds moving toward the poles would certainly accelerate the retreat of mountain glaciers in both hemispheres.
The researchers linked global temperature and wind variations to glacier snowline heights in New Zealand's Southern Alps and Europe's Alps across nearly four decades.
The findings indicated that as the earth warms, the poleward constriction of the westerly wind belts may hasten warming and glacier melting.
These findings illustrate the Earth's mountain glaciers' susceptibility to large-scale atmospheric processes.
Mountain glacier melting is linked to shifting westerlies
(Photo : BARBARA GINDL/APA/AFP via Getty Images)
According to a UMaine study, the combination of global atmospheric warming and westerly winds moving toward the poles would certainly accelerate the retreat of mountain glaciers in both hemispheres, as per ScienceDaily.
When the temperature cools, mountain glaciers freeze and acquire bulk; when the climate warms, they melt and lose mass.
The extent to which oscillations in mountain glaciers reflect local, regional, and even hemispheric climate variations is less obvious, making it more challenging for scientists to utilize glacial data to interpret past climate dynamics and make future forecasts.
A team of researchers from the University of Maine conducted a National Science Foundation-funded study that compared the global temperature and wind changes with glacier snowline elevations (also known as "equilibrium-line altitudes") in the Southern Alps of New Zealand and the European Alps over nearly four decades.
The height of the snowline in the atmosphere, below which ice melts, is regulated by the temperature of the atmosphere.
For the two mountain systems analyzed, the data demonstrated that oscillations in glacial snowlines paralleled temperature changes across wide portions of the atmosphere even on hemispheric dimensions.
Furthermore, the latitudes of westerly wind belts were discovered to be crucial in regulating the percentage of cold vs warm air masses that impact glacier melting and freezing.
This research demonstrated how interwoven the Earth's climate system is.
According to Alexander Audet, lead author of the study and a master's student at the University of Maine, small changes in the condition of the climate system can cause waves across the system with far-reaching implications.
He is presently a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Nevada, Reno.
The findings indicated that as the earth warms, the poleward constriction of the westerly wind belts may hasten warming and glacier melting in the mid-latitudes of both hemispheres.
These findings emphasize the susceptibility of Earth's alpine glaciers to large-scale atmospheric processes.
They are very sensitive physical thermometers that monitor atmospheric variables from the sea surface to the troposphere's top.
Reconstructions of historical glacier change from glacial landforms may so aid in providing quantitative insights into how huge parts of the atmosphere behaved during previous periods of abrupt climate change, and may thus provide hints into the climate dynamics of a warming planet.
Also Read: Collapse of Antarctica's 'Doomsday Glacier' Could Trigger Deadly Tsunamis and Swallow Islands
Sea-Level Rise & Global Climate Change
The physical effects of rising sea levels include beach erosion, delta inundation, floods, and the loss of numerous marshes and wetlands, as per the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions.
As a result of saltwater intrusion, increased salinity will most likely become an issue in coastal aquifers and estuary systems.
There are questions concerning the influence of climate change on storms and hurricanes; nonetheless, increases in the strength or frequency of these storms, as well as changes in their trajectories, may increase storm damage in coastal communities.
The economic and ecological benefits offered by coastal wetlands and marshes, such as flood control, essential biological habitat, and water purification, would be jeopardized if coastal regions were damaged or lost.
According to national estimations, a one-meter rise in global sea levels may have substantial consequences, including the flooding of approximately 35,000 square kilometers (km2) (13,000 square miles (mi2) of land, divided roughly evenly between marshes and upland.
Furthermore, the 100-year coastal flood plain might expand by 38% or at least 18,000 km2. (7,000 mi2).
Estimates of land inundation due to a 0.5-meter rise in global sea levels are closer to 24,000 km2. (9,000 mi2).
Major coastal cities like New Orleans, Miami, New York, and Washington, DC will need to strengthen their flood defenses and drainage systems or face negative effects.
Related article: Landslides Can Influence Glacier Melting and Glacier Movement: New Study
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