scholarly journals Future Climate of the European Alps

Author(s):  
Niklaus E. ◽  
Ernst Gebetsroither ◽  
Johann Zuger ◽  
Dirk Schmatz ◽  
Achilleas Psomas
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul S. Wilcox ◽  
Charlotte Honiat ◽  
Martin Trüssel ◽  
R. Lawrence Edwards ◽  
Christoph Spötl

AbstractWarmer temperatures than today, over a period spanning millennia, most recently occurred in the Last Interglacial period, about 129,000 to 116,000 years ago. Yet, the timing and magnitude of warmth during this time interval are uncertain. Here we present a reconstruction of temperatures in the Swiss Alps over the full duration of the Last Interglacial period based on hydrogen isotopes from fluid inclusions in precisely dated speleothems. We find that temperatures were up to 4.0 °C warmer during the Last Interglacial period than in our present-day reference period 1971 to 1990. Climate instability, including an abrupt cooling event about 125,500 years ago, interrupted this thermal optimum but temperatures remained up to 2.0 °C warmer than the present day. We suggest that higher-elevation areas may be more susceptible to warming relative to lowland areas, and that this may hold also for a future climate forced by increasing levels of greenhouse gases.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Draebing ◽  
Till Mayer ◽  
Benjamin Jacobs ◽  
Samuel McColl

Abstract Mountainous topography reflects an interplay between tectonic uplift, crustal strength, and climate-conditioned erosion cycles. During glaciations, glacial erosion increases bedrock relief, whereas during interglacials relief is lowered by rockwall erosion. In the first landscape-scale, multi-process investigation of postglacial rockwall erosion patterns, we show that paraglacial, frost cracking and permafrost processes jointly drive rockwall erosion. Field observations and modelling experiments demonstrate that all three processes are strongly conditioned by elevation. Our findings provide a multi-process explanation for the increase of rockwall erosion rates with elevation across the European Alps. As alpine basins warm during deglaciation, changing intensities and elevation-dependent interactions between periglacial and paraglacial processes result in elevational shifts in rockwall erosion patterns. Future climate warming will shift the intensity and elevation distribution of these processes, resulting in overall lower erosion rates across the Alps, but with more intensified erosion at the highest topography most sensitive to climate change.


2006 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael B. Jones ◽  
Alison Donnelly ◽  
Fabrizio Albanito

2014 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
C Hartl-Meier ◽  
C Zang ◽  
C Dittmar ◽  
J Esper ◽  
A Göttlein ◽  
...  

2002 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 179-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Lal ◽  
H Harasawa ◽  
K Takahashi

2018 ◽  
Vol 599 ◽  
pp. 253-266
Author(s):  
L Krüger ◽  
JM Pereira ◽  
I Ramírez ◽  
JA Ramos ◽  
VH Paiva

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document