Subscribe free to our newsletters via your
. 24/7 Space News .




WATER WORLD
Global warming endangers South American water supply
by Staff Writers
Sydney, Australia (SPX) Aug 01, 2013


The North Patagonian Ice-field is vital to maintain seasonal water storage capacity for Argentina and Chile.

Chile and Argentina may face critical water storage issues due to rain-bearing westerly winds over South America's Patagonian Ice-Field to moving south as a result of global warming.

A reconstruction of past changes in the North and Central Patagonian Ice-field, which plays a vital role in the hydrology of the region, has revealed the ice field had suddenly contracted around 15,000 years ago after a southerly migration of westerly winds.

This migration of westerly winds towards the south pole has been observed again in modern times and is expected to continue under a warming climate, likely leading to further ice declines in this area affecting seasonal water storage.

"We found that precipitation brought to this region by Southern Hemisphere westerlies played an important role in the glaciation of the North Patagonian Ice-Fields," said Dr Chris Fogwill from the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales.

"Our research has shown this ice-field significantly reduced in size when those winds moved southwards."

The North Patagonian Ice-field is vital to maintain seasonal water storage capacity for Argentina and Chile.

"Worryingly, this study suggests the region may well be on a trajectory of irreversible change, which will have profound impacts on agriculture and the increasing dependency on hydroelectric power in Chile and Argentina," Dr Fogwill said.

The team revealed the importance of the winds on the ice-sheets and consequent water supply by using rare isotopes to uncover changes in the ice-sheet thickness since the last major glaciation. This revealed the decline in the ice-sheet between 15,000 to 19,000 years ago.

Using a separate collection of ocean cores they were then able to determine that this decline coincided with the movement southwards of the westerlies.

The researchers found that a lack of precipitation caused by this movement, coupled with additional warming caused by rapid ice loss saw a sharp decline in glaciers with no seasonal recovery.

Interestingly, the southern part of the ice-field did not appear to be impacted by the movement of these winds. Instead it appeared that ocean currents and temperatures played a more important role in maintaining the ice in this section.

"The ice-field in the Northern and Central region of the Patagonian ice-field are highly sensitive to precipitation and need this to remain healthy," said Dr Fogwill.

Paper: Rapid thinning of the late Pleistocene Patagonian Ice Sheet followed migration of the Southern Westerlies (DOI: 10.1038/srep02118)

.


Related Links
University of New South Wales
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle








WATER WORLD
Suez Environnement stands by targets despite slowing sales
Paris, France (AFP) July 31, 2013
French water and waste management utility Suez Environnement said on Wednesday its first-half net profit more than trebled as last year's results were weighed down by one-off costs. The group said that sales slowed in the six month-period ending June 30, dropping to 7.18 billion euros ($9.52 billion) from 7.32 billion euros a year . But it maintained its targets for 2013 which include ac ... read more


WATER WORLD
Environmental Controls Move Beyond Earth

Bad night's sleep? The moon could be to blame

Moon Base and Beyond

First-ever lunar south pole mission could be attempted by 2016

WATER WORLD
Mars Rover Opportunity Nears Solander Point

Curiosity Mars Rover Gleams in View from Orbiter

Mars Curiosity sets one-day driving distance record

Scientists establish age of Mars meteorites found on Earth

WATER WORLD
First Liquid Hydrogen Tank Barrel Segment for SLS Core Completed

Tenth Parachute Test for NASA's Orion Adds 10,000 Feet of Success

Zero Point Frontiers Delivers Favorable Architecture Assessment to Golden Spike Company

NASA and Korean Space Agency Discuss Space Cooperation

WATER WORLD
China launches three experimental satellites

Medical quarantine over for Shenzhou-10 astronauts

China's astronauts ready for longer missions

Chinese probe reaches record height in space travel

WATER WORLD
Weekly recap from the International Space Station expedition lead scientist

NSBRI Wants Ideas To Support Space Crew Health and Performance

NASA narrows list of possible culprits in spacesuit water leak

Unmanned Russian cargo craft lands in Pacific Ocean

WATER WORLD
SpaceX Awarded Launch Reservation Contract for Largest Canadian Space Program

ULA Continues Rapid, Reliable Launch Rate

Launch Vehicles for Achieving Low and High Orbits

The second satellite arrives for Arianespace's upcoming heavy-lift Ariane 5 launch

WATER WORLD
Pulsating star sheds light on exoplanet

Chandra Sees Eclipsing Planet in X-rays for First Time

A warmer planetary haven around cool stars, as ice warms rather than cools

Solar system's youth gives clues to planet search

WATER WORLD
New Ways To Create Gradients For Molecular Interactions

Hardness in depth at nano scales

Lockheed Martin Completes Long-Range Surveillance Radar Demonstration

How does hydrogen metallize?




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2014 - Space Media Network. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement