The Andean Cordillera runs the length of South America (~10° S to 56° S) and encompasses a wide variety of topographic and climatic zones. Consequently, the Cordillera are cryospherically diverse, ranging from high mountain glaciation in the arid north to large temperate icefields in the humid south. Recent work has indicated that Andean glaciers are among the fastest changing on Earth, posing a threat for regional water security and power generation, ecosystem stability, the prevalence of geohazards, and a potentially substantial contribution to global sea level. The region is also subject to changing patterns of large-scale ocean-atmosphere systems, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Southern Annular Mode, with uncertain future impacts on glaciated basins.
Despite growing interest, assessments of cryosphere and climate change are currently too limited (both spatially and temporally) to constrain past or future ice mass variability with a high degree of confidence across this extensive mountain range. Data-model comparisons are also rare, which limits the ability to establish the regional drivers (e.g. climatic, topographic) of glacier change. With this collection, we aim to draw together knowledge from the fields of climatology, glaciology, and geomorphology, to build towards improved understanding of the variability in, and interactions between, the climate-cryosphere system across the Andean Cordillera, and to promote new links between researchers working in this area. Contributions concerning past, present and future changes and variability of the Andean cryosphere are all welcomed.
This research topic focuses on climate and cryosphere interactions in all regions of the Andean Cordillera over all timescales. Potential contributions may focus on (but are not limited to):
• Contemporary glacier mass balance and climatology from field observations, remote sensing, and modelling;
• The effects of glacier change on ice-marginal processes and environments, glacial lake dynamics, and geohazards;
• Past glacier changes, including ice extent, volume, and dynamics, from field-based (e.g. geomorphological, geochronological, etc.) studies and numerical modelling;
• Past climate variability associated with glacier systems, from historic (e.g. station, reanalysis) records, proxy data (e.g. from lakes, bogs, marine cores, ice cores, etc.), and modelling;
• We especially welcome studies that use data-model comparisons to quantify climate-cryosphere interactions and improve projections of future climate and ice mass behaviour in the Andean Cordillera.
The Andean Cordillera runs the length of South America (~10° S to 56° S) and encompasses a wide variety of topographic and climatic zones. Consequently, the Cordillera are cryospherically diverse, ranging from high mountain glaciation in the arid north to large temperate icefields in the humid south. Recent work has indicated that Andean glaciers are among the fastest changing on Earth, posing a threat for regional water security and power generation, ecosystem stability, the prevalence of geohazards, and a potentially substantial contribution to global sea level. The region is also subject to changing patterns of large-scale ocean-atmosphere systems, such as the El Niño Southern Oscillation and the Southern Annular Mode, with uncertain future impacts on glaciated basins.
Despite growing interest, assessments of cryosphere and climate change are currently too limited (both spatially and temporally) to constrain past or future ice mass variability with a high degree of confidence across this extensive mountain range. Data-model comparisons are also rare, which limits the ability to establish the regional drivers (e.g. climatic, topographic) of glacier change. With this collection, we aim to draw together knowledge from the fields of climatology, glaciology, and geomorphology, to build towards improved understanding of the variability in, and interactions between, the climate-cryosphere system across the Andean Cordillera, and to promote new links between researchers working in this area. Contributions concerning past, present and future changes and variability of the Andean cryosphere are all welcomed.
This research topic focuses on climate and cryosphere interactions in all regions of the Andean Cordillera over all timescales. Potential contributions may focus on (but are not limited to):
• Contemporary glacier mass balance and climatology from field observations, remote sensing, and modelling;
• The effects of glacier change on ice-marginal processes and environments, glacial lake dynamics, and geohazards;
• Past glacier changes, including ice extent, volume, and dynamics, from field-based (e.g. geomorphological, geochronological, etc.) studies and numerical modelling;
• Past climate variability associated with glacier systems, from historic (e.g. station, reanalysis) records, proxy data (e.g. from lakes, bogs, marine cores, ice cores, etc.), and modelling;
• We especially welcome studies that use data-model comparisons to quantify climate-cryosphere interactions and improve projections of future climate and ice mass behaviour in the Andean Cordillera.
