Brief communication: A framework to classify glaciers for water resource evaluation and management in the Southern Andes
<p>Over the last 2 decades the importance of Andean glaciers, particularly as water resources, has been recognized in both scientific literature and the public sphere. This has led to the inclusion of glaciers in the environmental impact assessment and the development of glacier protection law...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2022-05-01
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| Series: | The Cryosphere |
| Online Access: | https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/16/1779/2022/tc-16-1779-2022.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>Over the last 2 decades the importance of Andean
glaciers, particularly as water resources, has been recognized in both
scientific literature and the public sphere. This has led to the
inclusion of glaciers in the environmental impact assessment and the
development of glacier protection laws in both Chile and Argentina. However,
these laws are limited in their ability to protect, manage, and monitor
water resources as they do not differentiate between glacier types. We
propose three glacier categories that aim to group glaciers based on their
sensitivity to environmental changes as a framework that could be adopted to
match the level of protection to the current and future needs of society, be
region-specific, and evolve through time. Finally, we review both
national inventories with respect to this classification to facilitate the
evaluation and/or management of water resources.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 1994-0416 1994-0424 |