UKC

A third of Himalayan ice cap doomed, finds report

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 ericinbristol 04 Feb 2019

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/04/a-third-of-himalayan-ic...

The accelerating biosphere catastrophe is terrifying. Everywhere you turn, another disaster unfolding.

"At least a third of the huge ice fields in Asia’s towering mountain chain are doomed to melt due to climate change, according to a landmark report, with serious consequences for almost 2 billion people. Even if carbon emissions are dramatically and rapidly cut and succeed in limiting global warming to 1.5C, 36% of the glaciers along in the Hindu Kush and Himalaya range will have gone by 2100. If emissions are not cut, the loss soars to two-thirds, the report found. The glaciers are a critical water store for the 250 million people who live in the Hindu Kush-Himalaya (HKH) region, and 1.65 billion people rely on the great rivers that flow from the peaks into India, Pakistan, China and other nations."

Full report here: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-3-319-92288-1

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 ianstevens 04 Feb 2019
In reply to ericinbristol:

There is no ice cap in the Himalaya.

They're valley glaciers.

Pertinent bit of journalism which sadly gets the fundamentals wrong.

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 Damo 04 Feb 2019
In reply to ianstevens:

> There is no ice cap in the Himalaya.

> They're valley glaciers.

Yes and no. I agree it's annoying to see terminology used incorrectly in the mainstream media.

But in this instance I think they're trying to get across the entirety of the ice mass, which is not just valley glaciers, but icefields and snowy mountain slopes across all of central Asia.

There are snowfields in Tibet that are melting and will starve rivers and they are not valley glaciers, nor are the snowy mountain slopes in the Karakoram that feed valley glaciers. So I think it's OK as a broad catch-all term to encompass the entire ice mass of the Pamir, Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya.

 

 Timmd 04 Feb 2019
In reply to Damo:

I agree. In essence it's still a shit load of ice, and the melting of it could easily lead to tensions between countries or conflict as people struggle for water. 

 Derry 04 Feb 2019
In reply to ianstevens:

> There is no ice cap in the Himalaya.

> They're valley glaciers.

> Pertinent bit of journalism which sadly gets the fundamentals wrong.

ha, classic bit of UKC forum material - the Earth is DOOMED! ... *thread hijack* "can you please use the correct terminology?" (OP sighs as point is missed.)

 

ps, I realise the irony in this post

 ianstevens 04 Feb 2019
In reply to Damo:

> Yes and no. I agree it's annoying to see terminology used incorrectly in the mainstream media.

> But in this instance I think they're trying to get across the entirety of the ice mass, which is not just valley glaciers, but icefields and snowy mountain slopes across all of central Asia.

> There are snowfields in Tibet that are melting and will starve rivers and they are not valley glaciers, nor are the snowy mountain slopes in the Karakoram that feed valley glaciers. So I think it's OK as a broad catch-all term to encompass the entire ice mass of the Pamir, Hindu Kush, Karakoram, Tibetan Plateau and Himalaya.

But ice cap is a very precisely defined term. There are indeed ice fields and snow, none of which combines to an ice cap. A better, and correct, catch all term to use would be the Cryosphere. 

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 ianstevens 04 Feb 2019
In reply to Derry:

Reduced water storage in the cryosphere and retreating glaciers in the Himalaya isn’t really news though (sadly). Snow and ice in this region are really important for seasonal runoff modulation, and about 1 billion people live in downstream catchments.

I’m a glaciologist by trade, so get riled by incorrect reporting and use of terminology.

Post edited at 21:33
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OP ericinbristol 05 Feb 2019
In reply to Derry:

Yes, actually really depressing. The biosphere *really* is undergoing an accelerating catastrophe. We have a glaciologist on here who should be going 'I can confirm that this is extremely important, that we knew a lot of this already, and the report adds some more knowledge and understanding of the hideous scale of the bad news. PS The headline writer shouldn't have used the phrase "ice cap" as that's not the right term but thank goodness this is being covered, and the newspaper article itself gets it right.'

This is how the biosphere dies - not with a bang but with some bloke banging on about comparatively trivial things.

Post edited at 09:38
 Damo 05 Feb 2019
In reply to ianstevens:

> > I’m a glaciologist by trade, so get riled by incorrect reporting and use of terminology.

You know what Ian? It doesn't matter what you think.

Precisely because you're a glaciologist. You already know the deal. Yay Ian!

What matters is getting across the essence of the message to millions of people who might read the article. Now, picture a lay reader as you capture 30 seconds of their time, and use the words 'Himalayan Icecap' and when you use the term 'Cryosphere' - which gets the idea across best? The aim is communication, not expertise.

What's the cost of The Guardian getting the words wrong here? Will people suddenly stop trying to reduce their emissions because icecap is wrong and cryosphere is right? Will people be more willing to save a 'cryosphere' than an 'icecap'?

I'm usually as pedantic as they come about words and terminology, but in this case I can see industry accuracy needs to take a back seat to mass information on such a critical issue. It's that kind of narrow minded pedantry that held scientists back for years from making a significant contribution to public debate on climate change - I saw that first-hand. You had your chance and you blew it.

And anyway, the Cryosphere refers to the whole mass of frozen water on earth, not specifically the Himalayan regions. A million people won't run short of drinking water because the Seward Glacier melts.


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