CGRG Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology
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Author : Brugman, M.M.; Raistrick, P.; and Pietroniro, A.
Date : 1997
Title : Glacier related impacts of doubling atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations on British Columbia and Yukon
Publication : Responding to Global Climate Change in British Columbia and Yukon. Volume 1 of the Canada Country Study: Climate Impacts and Adaption. Edited by: E. Taylor and B. Taylor. British Columbia Ministry of Environment Lands & Parks and Environment Canada, Vancouver, B.C.
Issue :
Page(s) : 6:1 - 6:9
Abstract
Climate change could result in the rapid retreat and demise of a number of glaciers in southern British Columbia in the early part of the next century. Paradoxically, in northwestern British Columbia and Yukon, glacier advance that is now taking place is likely to continue unabated with climate change. The projected retreat or advance of British Columbia and Yukon glaciers as a result of climate change will depend largely on their geographic location and their elevation. Changes in temperature and precipitation projected by atmospheric general circulation models suggest that the current retreat of most glaciers in southern British Columbia and the southern Rocky Mountains will continue and perhaps intensify as a result of a doubling of carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere. The relatively low elevation of much of the surface area of these glaciers would be the cause of this projected retreat, since higher temperatures would cause both a higher fraction of annual precipitation to fall as rain as well as an acceleration of summer melting. A minority of glaciers in southern British Columbia have a large portion of their surface area at very high elevations. These glaciers will likely continue to receive adequate snow accumulation during winter and spring as the climate changes and would not undergo this rapid retreat. In northwestern British Columbia and much of the Yukon, increased precipitation, even if a higher percentage of it is in the form of rain, will likely offset any increase in summer melt due to increased temperatures. Therefore, the present glacier advances in the northwest will likely continue as a result of climate change. Many southern rivers and streams that are now fed by glacier runoff could be significantly impacted as a result of climate change. As glacier retreat accelerates, increased summer runoff could occur. However, when the glacier has largely melted, the present late summer and fall glacial input into streams and rivers will be lost, resulting in a significant reduction in flow in some cases. This reduction in stream discharge could occur within only a few years near the end of a glacier's life.
Bibliography of Canadian Geomorphology