Climate Variability and Change in High Elevation Regions

by Diaz, Henry F.

• ISBN13: 9781402013867
• ISBN10: 1402013868
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2003-11-01
• Publisher: Springer Verlag

Summary

The world's mountain systems, including the people in them, have gained international attention in the last few decades. The United Nations' International Year of Mountains-2002 can be regarded as the culmination of a long process involving research, development of research networks, a greater awareness by various sectors of society of the critical importance of mountain regions for a sustainable future, and recognition of that fact by policy makers. This volume reviews recent climatic trends in high elevation regions of the world, assessing the reliability of various environmental indicators that can be used for monitoring climatic change, and assessing whether physical impacts of climatic change in high elevation areas are becoming evident, and to discuss a range of monitoring strategies needed to observe and to understand the nature of such changes.

Table of Contents

HENRY F. DIAZ, MARTIN GROSJEAN and LISA GRAUMLICH
Climate Variability and Change in High Elevation Regions: Past, Present and Future	1	(4)
MARTIN BENISTON
Climatic Change in Mountain Regions: A Review of Possible Impacts	5	(28)
HENRY F. DIAZ, JON K. EISCHEID, CHRIS DUNCAN and RAYMOND S. BRADLEY
Variability of Freezing Levels, Melting Season Indicators, and Snow Cover for Selected High-Elevation and Continental Regions in the Last 50 Years	33	(20)
DIAN J. SEIDEL and MELISSA FREE
Comparison of Lower-Tropospheric Temperature Climatologies and Trends at Low and High Elevation Radiosonde Sites	53	(22)
MATHIAS VUILLE, RAYMOND S. BRADLEY, MARTIN WERNER and FRANK KEIMIG
20th Century Climate Change in the Tropical Andes: Observations and Model Results	75	(26)
G.W.K. MOORE, KEITH ALVERSON and GERALD HOLDSWORTH
The Impact that Elevation Has on the ENSO Signal in Precipitation Records from the Gulf of Alaska Region	101	(22)
MARK F. MEIER, MARK B. DYURGEROV and GREGORY J. McCABE
The Health of Glaciers: Recent Changes in Glacier Regime	123	(14)
LONNIS G. THOMPSON, ELLEN MOSLEM THOMPSON, M.E. DAVIS, P.-N. LIN, K. HENDERSON and T.A. MASHIOTTA
Tropical Glacier and Ice Core Evidence of Climate Change on Annual to Millennial Time Scales	137	(20)
U. SCHOTTERER, M. GROSJEAN, W. STICHLER, P. GINOT, C. KULL, H. BONNAVEIRA, B. FRANCOU, H.W. GALGELER, R. GALLAIRS, G. HOFFMANN, B. POUYAUD, E. RAMIREZ, M. SCHWIKOWSKI and J.D. TAUPIN
Glaciers and Climate in the Andes between the Equator and 30° S: What is Recorded under Extreme Environmental Conditions?	157	(20)
RICARDO VILLALBA, ANTONIO LARA, JOSÉ A. BONINSEGNA, MARIANO MASIOKAS, SILVIA DELGADO, JUAN C. ARAVENA, FIDEL A. ROIL, ANDREA SCHMELTER, ALEXIA WOLODARSKY and ALBERTO RIPALTA
Large-Scale Temperature Changes across the Southern Andes: 20th-Century Variations in the Context of the Past 400 Years	177	(56)
MALCOLM K. HUGHES and GARY FUNKHOUSER
Frequency-Dependent Climate Signal in Upper and Lower Forest Border Tree Rings in the Mountains of the Great Basin	233	(12)
LISA J. GRAUMLICH, MICHAEL F.J. PISARIC, LINDSEY A. WAGGONER, JEREMY S. LITTELL and JOHN C. KING
Upper Yellowstone River Flow and Teleconnections with Pacific Basin Climate Variability during the Past Three Centuries	245	(18)
DANIEL B. FAGRE, DAVID L. PETERSON and AMY E. HESSL
Taking the Pulse of Mountains: Ecosystem Responses to Climatic Variability	263