Glaciers: Case Studies Flashcards
Zermatt, Switzerland: Sustainable ski resort
- Receives over 2million visitors each year
- Creates huge demand for energy and water resources
- Demand for further urbanisation
- Increase noise and vehicle pollution
- Zermatt marketed as sustainable ski resort
- Town is car free, waste water is collected and reused and hotels and businesses use solar/geothermal energy
- Company responsible for development in area have invested 1million swiss francs into environmental projects
- Proposal for tower on Matterhorn (mountain) and new car park in Zermatt would have resulted in 9000m3 of forest being cut down for construction
- WWF denied this proposal, showing that more can be done, such as restricting future construction and tourist numbers
The Alpine Convention:
-International treaty between Alpine countries and European Union
-Aim is to achieve sustainable development in the Alps by protecting the natural environment, while promoting economic growth
-Has to balance needs of 14million residents and 120million tourists
-Entered into force in 1995
-Consists of a number of protocols that need to be put in place to achieve sustainability
-Not all parties have ratified every protocol, e.g. Switzerland
-Protocols include:
Renewable energy, tourism, sustainable development and conservation of nature and landscape protection
Greenland Climate Change:
- Losing ice 7x faster than in 1990s
- 7cm ocean rise expected by end of century from Greenland alone
- Threatens millions in low lying coastal regions
- Roughly 1billion live less than 10m above current high-tides, with 250million under 1m
- Greenland seen 0.75*C rise in just the past decade
- Lost 3.8million tonnes of ice since start of study period
- This is equivalent to 10.6mm sea level rise
- Losing ice via surface melting and calving
- Even in the ice sheet interior of Jakobshavn glacier, temperatures of 0*C were reached (highest ever recorded)
Iceland: Outburst Floods
- Are particularly frequent due to volcanic activity
- Generates both meltwater beneath glaciers and acts as a trigger for ice instability
- When lake reaches critical size, it forces through subglacial tunnels
- Total discharge range between 0.5 and 3.5km3 every 3 to 6 years
- 1996 eruption of one volcano broke through ice and melted a large quantity of water, causing a glacial outburst flood that caused US$15million infrastructure damage (Nov. 5th)
Sagarmatha National Park: Deforestation
-Caused by farming, firewood for fuel, clearing areas for roads, reservoirs, etc.
-Less than 30% of Nepal’s forests remain
Consequences include:
-Exposure of soil= nutrients washed away= infertile land
-More exposed soil=increased erosion=increased landslide risk
-Disruption of water cycle- less infiltration/interception
-Less CO2 taken in from atmosphere
Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal: Tourism
-Boosted economy, improved standards of living, better healthcare, education and infrastructure
-Largely in hands of Sherpa people
Consequences:
-Water pollution
-Footpath erosion and illegal trails
-Poor waste disposal
-Increase demand for forest products/ new infrastructure
-Changes to Sherpa way of life
Himalayan Glacier Retreat + Avalanches:
- In 2013, found that Himalayan glaciers shrunk 13% in last 50 years
- Creates consequences for farming and hydropower generation downstream
- Glacial retreat causes the growth of lakes dammed by glacial debris
- Natural dams broken by avalanches and earthquakes, leading to catastrophic flooding
- In August 1985, glacial outburst flood led to 10-15m high surge of water that destroyed the Namche Hydropower Project
- In April 2015, 7.8M earthquake struck Nepal, triggering several large avalanches on and round M. Everest
- One swept into South Base Camp, killing 22 people, including 10 Sherpas
- Areas in Peru and Bolivia covered by glaciers shrank by 25% over the last 30 years
- Around 85% of the Himalayan glaciers are in rapid retreat
- In 1949 in Tajikistan glaciers covered 18,500km2 of land by 2012 they covered only 11,000km2 (38% decrease)
Sagarmatha National Park, Nepal: Future Management
- Establishing plant nurseries to re establish forests on hill slopes and reduce erosion
- Setting up projects, including schools, hospitals and bridges
- Banning goats in certain areas to protect vegetation
- Using kerosene for fuel instead of deforesting large areas of forest
- Building micro HEP stations for local use
- Limiting major development projects
Arctic/Antarctic Tourism:
-Polar tourism becoming much more accessible that it was in the Victorian Era
-Annual figures have doubled since 1990s
-1million tourists annually became 2million in 2014
-Greenland tourism up 400% since 2004
-Main issue is landing sites (nearly 200) which could spread damage to uninhabited pristine areas
-Tourist numbers have become too large and need to be limited
Some environmental impacts include:
-Wildlife disturbance
-Litter/waste/fuel spills
-Removing historic artefacts
-Disruption of important research
-Increase GHG emissions in these areas
The Lake District: Tourism
- 16million tourists each year
- Landscape and ecology under threat
- Walking, climbing and camping leads to footpath erosion, trampling and littering
- Local economy benefits greatly, where in 2014, visitors contributed £1.1billion
- Tourism provides 16,000 jobs in the National Park
- Exposed soil washed away by heavy rain, which can wash away nutrients and make the soil infertile
- Therefore, the fragile ecosystem is most under threat from tourism
- Climate change likely to worsen problem due to an increase in non native species, greater risk of extreme weather events and migration of certain habitat upwards
- Environment becoming more fragile
- Walkers are destroying vegetation and compacting the soil, leading to a reduction in infiltration
- Caused localised flooding as well as exposing the soil so that it is being easily washed away in heavy rain, reducing its fertility`
Farming in Bolivia:
- In countries such as Nepal, Bolivia and Ethiopia, the highlands are largely inhabited by indigenous communities who gain their living from subsistence farming
- In Bolivia 70% of people live in the High Andes, growing crops to feed themselves, however only earn 30% of the country’s GDP
- Almost all of the 60% living below the poverty line are Indigenous Mestizo population living in the High Andes
HEP as economic value of glaciated landscapes:
- HEP is a major use of water derived from glaciers
- Both Norway and New Zealand derive over 90% of their electricity from this source from either a natural ribbon lake or a dam/reservoir in a glaciated valley provide HEP
- Switzerland has over 600 HEP stations producing 70% of its electricity
Effect of global warming on river discharge:
- Summer months discharge is highest
- Decrease in the long term as most glaciers have melted
- Will increase in short term as more meltwater will drain downstream
Effect of global warming on sediment yield:
- Decrease in winter
- Increase in summer as ablation is highest which will release trapped sediment
- Short term increase but long term increase as few glaciers left so less sediment release
Effect of global warming on water quality:
- Lower volume of water, worse water quality in long term
- Increased sediment means water increasingly cloudy and sediment laden
