
Glacial Melting in High Mountain Asia Has the Potential to Overwhelm Hydropower Systems
Flooding in the region threatens hydropower projects and the safety of downstream populations.
Glaciers may seem remote from the concerns of most people in the world. Their location atop high mountains makes them distant from population centers. Yet they bring new insights at the present time, since they lie at the frontlines of climate change. The mountain communities who take steps to address changing water supplies and natural hazards provide lessons for others who seek new forms of adaptation, policy and advocacy. The researchers who integrate geoscience and ecology in the study of landscapes guide research in sustainability in other areas as well. And the sheer beauty and majesty of glaciers inspire Indigenous peoples, climbers, artists and others, showing the depth of human connection to the natural world. Each week, GlacierHub offers these stories and images, showing the relevance of the world’s high icy places for all humanity.
The GlacierHub blog is managed by Ben Orlove, an anthropologist at the Columbia Climate School and the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions at Columbia University. Writers Aliyah Elfar, Emily Denny, Jaden Hill, Pria Mahadevan, Shea Strippel, and Tymesha-Elizabeth Kindell are currently enrolled at, or recently graduated from, Columbia University. Jenna Travers is a student at the University of Oregon. Lily Roberts is a recent graduate of the University of Exeter. Elza Bouhassira, a current Duke Law student and graduate of the Sciences Po-Columbia University Dual BA Program, is senior editor.
Check out GlacierHub’s archival content here.
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Flooding in the region threatens hydropower projects and the safety of downstream populations.
A Kyrgyz journalist reflects on COP27 and its results for Kyrgyzstan.
Greenland’s majority Indigenous population is in favor of exploring sand extraction, according to an academic research poll.
When monitoring melting glaciers, integrating scientific knowledge with local and Indigenous knowledge may improve data collection as well as local adaptation.
A new book explores the world of wonder contained in Icelandic myth, and considers how it might spill out of storybook pages and into real life.
Glacier-saving campaigns are becoming more popular as ice across the globe disappears at an alarming pace. A new analysis examines the actors, motives, and implications of these campaigns in the fight against climate change.
Unsteady funding streams have caused Mount Everest’s “Pyramid” monitoring station to unravel at the seams. It may be an opportunity to re-envision the station’s purpose.
A conservation biologist writes about his trips to Pakistan over the last 30 years, reflecting on challenges, growth, and connections made over time.
A recent study expands upon previously established tipping points, naming 16 total tipping points and their respective temperature triggers.
A recent study projects that climate change will cause most glaciers on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State to disappear by 2070, threatening water resources, ecosystems, and tourism.