Darkening Peaks: Glacier Retreat, Science, and Society / Edition 1

by Ben Orlove, Ellen Wiegandt, Brian H. Luckman

Overview

Looking up at mountains, people now see bare, dark rock where white snow and ice once stood—dramatic evidence of the accelerating pace of glacier retreat due to climate change. This groundbreaking work is the first to provide an integrated, multidisciplinary, global exploration of the scientific, social, and economic dimensions of this phenomenon. Bringing together contributors from five continents, Darkening Peaks discusses the ways that scientists have observed and modeled glaciers, tells how climate change is altering their size and distribution, and looks closely at their effect on human life.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520253056
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	02/14/2008
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	296
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ben Orlove is Professor of Environmental Science and Policy at the University of California, Davis and Adjunct Senior Research Scientist at the International Research Institute for Climate and Society at Columbia University. His books include Lines in the Water: Nature and Culture at Lake Titicaca (UC Press). Ellen Wiegandt is Lecturer at the Graduate Institute for International Studies in Geneva and Senior Researcher at the University Institute Kurt Bösch, Sion, Switzerland. She is also the editor of Mountains: Sources of Water, Sources of Knowledge. Brian H. Luckman is Professor of Geography at the University of Western Ontario, London, Canada.

Table of Contents

Overview: Glaciers in Science and Society
The Place of Glaciers in Natural and Cultural Landscapes   Ben Orlove   Ellen Wiegandt   Brian H. Luckman     3
Societal Perceptions: Cultures and Institutions
Changing Views of Changing Glaciers   Wilfried Haeberli     23
Challenges of Living with Glaciers in the Swiss Alps, Past and Present   Ellen Wiegandt   Ralph Lugon     33
Environment, History, and Culture as Influences on Perceptions of Glacier Dynamics: The Case of Mt. Shasta   Barbara Wolf   Ben Orlove     49
Glacial Hazards: Perceiving and Responding to Threats in Four World Regions   Christian Huggel   Wilfried Haeberli   Andreas Kaab     68
Scientific Observations: Measurement, Monitoring, and Modeling
Two Alpine Glaciers over the Past Two Centuries: A Scientific View Based on Pictorial Sources   Daniel Steiner   Heinz J. Zumbuhl   Andreas Bauder     83
Long-Term Observations of Glaciers in Norway   Liss M. Andreassen   Hallgeir Elvehoy   Bjarne Kjollmoen   Miriam Jackson   Rune Engeset     100
Alpinewide Distributed Glacier Mass Balance Modeling: A Tool for Assessing Future Glacier Change?   Frank Paul   Horst Machguth   Martin Hoelzle   NadineSalzmann   Wilfried Haeberli     111
Modeling Climate-Change Impacts on Mountain Glaciers and Water Resources in the Central Dry Andes   Javier G. Corripio   Ross S. Purves   Andres Rivera     126
Trends in Natural Landscapes: Climate Change
Glacier Mass Balance in the Northern U.S. and Canadian Rockies: Paleo-Perspectives and Twentieth-Century Change   Emma Watson   Gregory T. Pederson   Brian H. Luckman   Daniel B. Fagre     139
Glacier Fluctuations in the European Alps, 1850-2000: An Overview and a Spatiotemporal Analysis of Available Data   Michael Zemp   Frank Paul   Martin Hoelzle   Wilfried Haeberli     152
Tropical Glaciers, Climate Change, and Society: Focus on Kilimanjaro (East Africa)   Thomas Molg   Douglas R. Hardy   Nicolas J. Cullen   Georg Kaser     168
Impacts on Human Landscapes: Resources, Hazards, and Cultural Landscapes
New Zealand's Glaciers: Key National and Global Assets for Science and Society   John E. Hay   Tui L. Elliott     185
The Impact of Mining on Rock Glaciers and Glaciers: Examples from Central Chile   Alexander Brenning     196
Glacier Changes and Their Impacts on Mountain Tourism: Two Case Studies from the Italian Alps   Claudio Smiraglia   Guglielmina Diolaiuti   Manuela Pelfini   Marco Belo   Michele Citterio   Teresa Carnielli   Carlo D'Agata     206
Mama Cotacachi: History, Local Perceptions, and Social Impacts of Climate Change and Glacier Retreat in the Ecuadorian Andes   Robert E. Rhoades   Xavier Zapata Rios   Jenny Aragundy Ochoa     216
Responses: Adaptation and Accommodation
The Politics of Place: Inhabiting and Defending Glacier Hazard Zones in Peru's Cordillera Blanca   Mark Carey     229
Responses to Glacier Retreat in the Context of Development Planning in Nepal   Shardul Agrawala     241
Glaciers and Efficient Water Use in Central Asia   Urs Luterbacher   Valerii Kuzmichenok   Gulnara Shalpykova   Ellen Wiegandt     249
Research and Development in Mountain Glaciers: An Overview of Institutions and Organizations   Denis Knubel   Greg Greenwood   Ellen Wiegandt     258
Notes     269
Index     271

What People are Saying About This

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" A fascinating and stimulating volume . . . a wonderful reference . . . and a thumping good read."—Journal of Quaternary Science

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A fascinating and stimulating volume . . . a wonderful reference . . . and a thumping good read.

Journal Of Quaternary Science

" A fascinating and stimulating volume . . . a wonderful reference . . . and a thumping good read."--Journal of Quaternary Science

From the Publisher