Melting Glaciers in Andes Could Spell Continental Water Crisis in South America
Published on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 by Common Dreams
Melting Glaciers in Andes Could Spell Continental Water Crisis in South America
Climate change is driving 'unprecedented' shrinking of crucial resource
- Jon Queally, staff writer
The great glaciers of South America are disappearing at rates never seen in modern times and the continents fresh water supply is at serious risk if the trend continues, says a new study.
Driven by global climate change, the report—published in the online academic journal Crysophere—shows that the Andean glaciers have shrunk anywhere from 30% to 50% since the 1970s.
"Glacier retreat in the tropical Andes over the last three decades is unprecedented," said Antoine Rabatel, the lead author of the study and a scientist with the Laboratory for Glaciology and Environmental Geophysics in Grenoble, France.
"Because the maximum thickness of these small, low-altitude glaciers rarely exceeds 40 meters, with such an annual loss they will probably completely disappear within the coming decades," Rabatel added.
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