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Study: Sacred Glacier Disappearing under Higher Temperatures

December 5, 2006

The villagers on Mount Khawa Karpo in northwest Yunnan, China, have varying explanations for why the village’s sacred Minyong Glacier has been disappearing before their eyes. One man correlated the glacier’s disappearance with the installation of electricity in a nearby monastery, according to Barry Baker, a scientist with the Conservancy’s Global Climate Change Initiative. Others blame an increase in visitors. The most likely culprit for the vanishing glacier: rising temperatures caused by climate change.

"We had evidence that this glacier was changing, and we decided to monitor it," Baker said. "Because it is a sacred glacier, you can’t do a lot of things you would normally do to monitor it. So we mostly used photographic evidence and historic climate data."

Photos of the landscape taken over the past 100 years show that the glacier is retreating, with a loss of more than 200 meters in the past four years. Repeat photography taken by Bob Moseley, former director of science for the Conservancy’s China program, also shows that the alpine treeline—already among the highest in the world—is climbing even higher. Around the globe, rising temperatures and changing patterns of rain and snow are forcing trees and shrubs into polar regions and up mountain slopes. On neighboring mountains, a ban on fire may also be affecting the rising treeline. "Repeat photography is very reliable, but it’s only one piece of evidence," said Baker. "We wanted to see if we could make a correlation between climate and the changes we saw in the photos."

Indeed, climate data showed a trend of higher summer and winter temperatures since the early 1970s, a phenomenon witnessed worldwide. In an upcoming study to be published in the journal Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine Research, Baker and co-author Moseley assert that this warming is causing the retreat of glaciers and is contributing to the vertical migration of alpine trees. The study concludes that land managers need to recognize that climate change is occurring. The Conservancy is helping them adapt their conservation practices accordingly, exploring strategies such as changing grazing patterns and fire management techniques.

Baker's research is supported in part by the Global Climate Change Fund, which helps strengthen the Conservancy’s ability to anticipate global change, reduce its impacts and develop effective ways of managing lands and waters for the benefit of people and nature.

For More Information:

• Climate Change Initiative: The Conservancy's Approach
  

  Global warming poses a challenge to conservationists working to protect places for future generations.

• Where We Work: Meili Snow Mountain
  

  To meet the conservation needs of this area and its people, the Conservancy has completed a draft resource management plan for Meili Snow Mountain that places special emphasis on reducing the threats of future mass tourism projects.

• Where We Work: China
  From the jagged peaks of the Himalayas to the powerful Yangtze River that flows into the Pacific, China’s vast terrain and varied climate make it the sixth most biologically diverse nation on the planet.

• How You Can Help: Donate Now
  With your help, we can reduce the impacts of climate change on our lives, on our environment and on future generations.
• Archive of our Saves of the Week and Success Stories
  Read more about The Nature Conservancy's work to save the last great places on Earth.