Tropical Glaciers

Glaciers in the tropics and their environmental consequences.

Georg Kaser (Author), Henry Osmaston (Author)

9780521020961, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 14 December 2006

228 pages, 140 b/w illus. 40 tables
27.8 x 21 x 1.3 cm, 0.532 kg

'… a valuable addition to any university library.' The Holocene

Tropical glaciers are both highly sensitive indicators of global climate and fresh water reservoirs in some fast developing regions. This book gives a theoretical and practical analysis of tropical glaciology including a useful definition of tropical glacier-climate regimes and the analysis of the main glaciological key variables. The Rwenzori and the Cordillera Blanca are investigated as examples of tropical glacierized mountains. The fluctuations of their glaciers since the end of the Little Ice Age are reconstructed and the probable climatic reasons are discussed. The evidence of great expansions of mountain glaciers throughout the tropics on several occasions during the Quaternary are summarised, examined and then applied and contrasted. The accompanying map of the Rwenzori Mountains National Park at a scale of 1:100,000 shows the spectacular retreat of the glaciers during the last century, and their extensions over half the area of the Park in the last 300,000 years.

List of figureas and tables
Preface
Sub-preface
Prologue: the story of a glacial lake
Part I. The Nature of Tropical Glaciers: 1. A brief introduction on the matter
2. The delimitation of the tropics
3. The distribution of glaciers in the tropics
4. Working hypotheses
5. Glaciological key variables: tropics and mid-latitudes in comparison: Part II. Modern Glacier Fluctuations in Tropical High Mountains: 6. Modern glacier fluctuations on the Rwenzori
7. Modern glacier fluctuations in the Cordillera Blanca
8. Modern glacier fluctuations in the tropics and their possible causes
Part III. Former Quaternary Tropical Glaciers: 9. The nature, extents and climates of former Quaternary tropical glaciers, with special reference to the East African mountains
Prospect
References
Index.

Subject Areas: Environmental science, engineering & technology [TQ], Limnology [freshwater RBKF]