Low latitude glaciers have experienced a drastic retreat since the mid-70s, consistent with the widely documented relationship between increasing temperature and predominantly negative glacier mass balance. The influence of other climate parameters, such as precipitation, humidity and cloudiness, however, remains poorly understood. The importance of low latitudes glaciers for ecosystems, agriculture, freshwater and energy production, as well as risk, is widely recognized but the necessary understanding of their changing dynamics is mostly lacking. This is especially important for future climate change projections and the associated effects on glacier shrinkage and freshwater resources.
This session aims at attracting a broad range of contributions, including the following main research lines:
1) Studies on low latitude glacier (i.e. tropical and sub-tropical) mass balance, surface energy balance, changes in surface-area, volume or ELA over recent years and decades from field measurements or remote-sensing techniques.
2) Research on low latitude climate variability and change, and its relationship with glacier changes on any temporal or spatial scale, including future evolution.
3) Contributions addressing the importance of low latitude glaciers for water resources at local and regional scales for the last decades and for the future.
4) Studies on the ecological response of tropical alpine biodiversity to accelerated glacial retreat.