IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGES ON THE RUNOFF AND WATER MANAGEMENT OF MOUNTAIN REGIONS: EXPERIENCE AND LESSONS OF THE ALPS FOR THE CAUCASUS

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-63
Author(s):  
Rolf Weingartner ◽  
◽  
Alexey Gunya ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Water Management ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The Alps

Peak Pursuits

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Schaumann
Keyword(s):  
Nineteenth Century ◽  
Sierra Nevada ◽  
Leisure Time ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
The Andes ◽  
New Models ◽  
Late Eighteenth ◽  
The Alps

European forays to mountain summits began in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries with the search for plants and minerals and the study of geology and glaciers. Yet scientists were soon captivated by the enterprise of climbing itself, enthralled with the views and the prospect of “conquering” alpine summits. Inspired by Romantic notions of nature, early mountaineers idealized their endeavors as sublime experiences, all the while deliberately measuring what they saw. As increased leisure time and advances in infrastructure and equipment opened up once formidable mountain regions to those seeking adventure and sport, new models of masculinity emerged that were fraught with tensions. This book examines how written and artistic depictions of nineteenth-century exploration and mountaineering in the Andes, the Alps, and the Sierra Nevada shaped cultural understandings of nature and wilderness in the Anthropocene.

II.—Moraines and Mud-streams in the Alps

1902 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 8-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Canon T. G. Bonney
Keyword(s):  
General Aspect ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
The North ◽  
North Bank ◽  
The Alps

It has often occurred to me during my Alpine wanderings that masses of earthy material containing boulders are too readily identified as moraines. That the latter exist, both here and in other mountain regions, no one would for a moment dispute, but deposits, sometimes very closely resembling till, may be produced in other ways. One is by a bergfall. The result of this in some cases, as at Goldau, Plurs, near San Vito (Ampezzo road), or the Col de Cheville, can be easily recognized; but when the fallen material consists largely of shale and friable rock, when there is a certain admixture of boulders from a distance (formerly perched blocks), its origin is not so readily determined. The enormous mass of débris on the north bank of the Rheinthal, between Chur and Ilanz—a mass which extends from Digg, through Flims, to rather beyond Laax, consisting of earthy stuff, probably mainly smashed shale or slate, and of boulders, apparently limestone—is regarded as bergfall by the Swiss geologists, and yet any section in it might readily be taken for moraine. Even more moraine-like in general aspect are the singular mounds of débris in the valley of the Rhone near Sierre.

Alpine Climate Change Derived From Instrumental Measurements

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuri Brugnara
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
18Th Century ◽  
European Alps ◽  
Alpine Valley ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
The North ◽  
Run Off ◽  
The Alps ◽  
Meteorological Observations

The European Alps have experienced remarkable climate changes since the beginning of the Industrial Age. In particular, mean air temperature in the region increased at a greater rate than global temperature, leading to the loss of nearly half of the glaciated area and to important changes in the ecosystems. Spanning 1,200 km in length, with peaks reaching over 4,000 meters above sea level (m asl), the Alps have a critical influence over the weather in most of Europe and separate the colder oceanic/continental climate in the north from the milder Mediterranean climate in the south. The climatic differences between the main slopes are reflected into different climate changes—whereas the northern slope got wetter, the southern slope got drier. The consequences of these climate changes are not confined to the Alpine region. Being located in the center of Europe, the Alps provide water and electricity for over 100 million people. Alpine run-off is a major contributor to the total discharge of several major European rivers such as the Rhine, the Rhône, the Po, and the Danube. Therefore, climate change in the Alps can have significant economic impacts on a continental scale. Their convenient geographical position allowed scientists to study the Alpine climate since the very beginning of the instrumental era. The first instrumental meteorological observations in an Alpine valley were taken as early as the mid-17th century, soon followed by measurements at higher elevations. Continuous records are available since the late 18th century, providing invaluable information on climate variability to modern-day researchers. Although there is overwhelming evidence of a dominant anthropogenic influence on the observed temperature increase, the causes of the changes that affected other variables have, in many cases, not been sufficiently investigated by the scientific community.

scholarly journals Agritourism Initiatives in the Context of Continuous Out-Migration: Comparative Perspectives for the Alps and Chinese Mountain Regions

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (16) ◽  
pp. 4418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Dax ◽  
Dachang Zhang ◽  
Yanying Chen
Keyword(s):  
World War Ii ◽  
Western Europe ◽  
Economic Transition ◽  
Population Decline ◽  
Economic Incentives ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
Mountain Areas ◽  
Core Element ◽  
The Alps

After World War II, the economic recovery of Western Europe implied a swift economic transition for all regions, including the area of the Alps, although affecting various parts at different paces and stages. The resulting out-migration led to population decline in some mountain valleys and regions since the 1950s. Such negative population development trends are widespread across mountain areas of the world, including China, where out-migration started after its rural reform in the 1970s. The effect was in some cases even more significant than in the Alps, with the first villages being deserted in the 1980s. Current estimations report about 380,000 rural villages in China being abandoned between 2000–2016, particularly in its mountain regions. While lower population densities might alleviate the pressures on ecology and contribute to environmental benefits, these movements aggravate a spiraling-down process of local economies and culture. In the Alps, many regions that were facing challenges of out-migration and economic weaknesses focused on local initiatives, including agritourism schemes that provided both economic incentives and stability to involved mountain farmers, and the continuation of local land management systems. However, China’s interest for promoting rural action and tourism-oriented farm diversification only started more recently, with a range of rural tourism and agricultural tourism initiatives emerging. This paper focuses on lessons from successful initiatives in the Alps that might induce and strengthen China’s search for elaborating agritourism activities in mountain areas. In consequence, agritourism might be assessed as a contribution to mitigate out-migration from mountain regions and a core element of the future sustainable development of the Alps and the Chinese countryside.

scholarly journals Micromorphological features of mineral matter from cryoconite holes on Arctic (Svalbard) and alpine (the Alps, the Caucasus) glaciers

Polar Science ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 100482 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Zawierucha ◽  
Giovanni Baccolo ◽  
Biagio Di Mauro ◽  
Adam Nawrot ◽  
Witold Szczuciński ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mineral Matter ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The Alps

scholarly journals Land-use and climate change effects on water yield from East African Forested Water Towers

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles Nduhiu Wamucii ◽  
Pieter R. van Oel ◽  
Arend Ligtenberg ◽  
John Mwangi Gathenya ◽  
Adriaan J. Teuling
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Water Resources ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Land Use Changes ◽  
Water Yield ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
East African ◽  
Strong Shift ◽  
Climate Change Effects ◽  
Effects Of Land Use

Abstract. East-African forested mountain regions are vital in generating and supplying water resources to adjacent arid and semi-arid lowlands. However, these ecosystems are under pressure from both climate and land-use changes. This study aimed to analyze the effects of climate and land-use changes on water yield using the Budyko conceptual framework. For 9 selected forested water towers in East Africa, the amount and distribution of water resources and their decadal changes were analyzed. Results show that most areas inside and outside the water towers are under pressure from human influences. Water yield was observed to be more sensitive to climate changes compared to land-use changes within the selected East African water towers themselves. However, for the surrounding lowlands, the effects of land-use changes have greater impacts on water yield. We conclude that the East-African water towers have seen a strong shift towards wetter conditions, especially in the period of 2011–2019 while at the same time, the atmospheric demand is gradually increasing. Given that majority of the water towers were identified as non-resilient to these changes, future water yield is likely to also experience more extreme variations.

scholarly journals Civil War in the North Caucasus in the Reflection of the Mountainous Bourgeoise-Democratic Print (On the Materials of “Volnyy Gorets” Newspaper)

2020 ◽  
pp. 109-119
Author(s):  
Timur Matiev
Keyword(s):  
Functional Analysis ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
North Caucasus ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
The Real ◽  
The North ◽  
Main Emphasis ◽  
Method Analysis

Introduction. The article attempts to analyze the attitude of the Mountainous government in exile and the Union of Mountaineers of the North Caucasus and Dagestan in a broader sense to the events of the Civil War in the North Caucasus in 1919–1920 based on local printing. Methods and materials. The main emphasis is placed on the analysis of materials of “Volny Gorets” newspaper of the Mountainous government. The authors use the problemchronological, historical-systemic method and the system-functional analysis method. Analysis. The article analyzes the attitude of the mountainous democrats, expressed on the pages of the newspaper, to such aspects of the Civil War as the union of mountain peoples with the Bolsheviks, the assessment of the white and red plans for the mountain regions, the real policy of the warring parties in 1917–1920, the prospects for a confederative structure of the Caucasus. The split of mountain unity by the Bolsheviks is considered by their prosecutors the main reason why the North Caucasus was not able to resist the Denikin invasion. Results. “Volny Gorets” publication is an important and extremely informative source on the events in the North Caucasus during the Civil War of 1919–1920. The newspaper’s publications are both purely informational and analytical. The analysis given by the newspaper’s authors is deep and sober. The events of the civil war in the North Caucasus attracted the closest attention of the editors and, on the whole, remained the priority topic of publications in each issue of “Volny Gorets” during 1919–1920. The analysis of the publication is relatively free from ideological press and bias that distinguishes both purely “white” and “red” publications of that time.

scholarly journals Microelement Structure of the Cherek-Bezengiysky River Water

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
River Water ◽  
River Basin ◽  
Caspian Sea ◽  
High Mountain ◽  
Clean Water ◽  
Mountain Regions ◽  
The Caspian Sea ◽  
The Caucasus ◽  
River Waters

Urgency of the issues concerning studying water quality in mountain-glacial high-mountain regions of the Caucasus where the rivers feeding the Kabardino-Balkar Republic lowland parts originate has been highlighted. The Bezengiysky Canyon river waters have been investigated for Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ag, Ni, Cr, and Cd content. The high-mountain glacial/mountain fed Cherek Bezengiysky River microelements’ concentration values have been compared from the source to the mouth both during winter low-water and glacial flood periods. It has been stated that river water microelements contamination in the high-mountain region is caused by natural geochemical and geo/morphological background and is connected with the microelements washing out mountain rocks. Earlier investigations have shown that the microelements concentration significantly drops in comparison with the upper reach when the river enters the lowlands. It was found that the Cherek Bezengiysky River waters under study in terms of Mn, Pb, Cr, Cd, Ni, Cu, and Ag content could be classified as clean water excluding Zn which made the water very polluted. Minimal, maximal and average values of the main ion and nitrogen-containing substances concentrations during winter low-water and glacial flood periods have been presented. The value of the conducted investigation is determined by the fact that the Cherek Bezengiysky River inflows to the Terek River and forms the Caspian Sea river basin.

scholarly journals Responses of Indigenous People to the Climate Changes: A Case Study of the Surels of Dolakha District of Nepal

Patan Pragya ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (02) ◽  
pp. 99-114
Author(s):  
Hari Prasad Bhattarai
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Water Management ◽  
Climate Changes ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Community Organization ◽  
Seasonal Migration ◽  
Cropping Pattern ◽  
Weather Patterns ◽  
Indigenous Group

This paper has examined the way the Surels, an indigenous group inhabiting in Suri village of Dolakha district, perceive climate change and also has attempted to document their adaptive strategies to the changes brought about by climate change and global warming. These peoples have developed uniquely insightful ways of observing, interpreting, and responding to the impacts of climate changes through interacting and closely linking their lives with their surroundings. They clearly linked climate change with the changes in the weather patterns over the years indicating erratic rainfall patterns, advancing monsoon, advancing summer and spring, shorter and warmer winter, drier and hotter summer. This paper argues that these people observe and encounter climate and environmental changes immediately and use traditional knowledge and survival skills to adapt to these changes as they occurred. They have devised, though it is not well documented, useful coping mechanisms—modifying cropping pattern and crop types, community-based afforestation and forest management initiatives, improve water management, involvement of community organization in water management and seasonal migration to India- to respond and reduce climate induced risks and impacts which have enabled them to achieve stable livelihoods in their environment.

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