COMPLETED PROJECT
The Fate of Our Glaciers
Nearly 50% of the Andes' glaciers have been lost in the past 40 years.
In the Tropics, low-lying glaciers are threatened by warm temperatures year-round.
What controls the fate of our glaciers? How will deglaciation affect those living in the Andes?
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Peru's Cordillera Blanca is the largest glaciated area in the Tropics.
Since 1930, glacier cover has fallen from 800 km2 to less than 450 km2.
Meltwater from the Cordillera supplies a population of 1.7 million people 80% of their freshwater.
In addition to reducing meltwater, climate change threatens to cause flooding, avalanches, and landslides.
CORDILLERA BLANCA
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Peru
We studied the drivers of glacial retreat in the Cordillera Blanca.
How do climate cycles influence the advance and retreat of glaciers in the Andes?
What are the consequences of glacial retreat for freshwater quantity and quality?
Which glaciers are most threatened by warming temperatures?
FINDINGS
El Niño
Warm phases of El Niño Southern Oscillation drive rapid glacial retreat, while cool phases allow the glacier to expand again. But under climate change, interactions between climate cycles are causing ratcheted deglaciation.
Paper coming soon!