Relations between climate change and mass movement: Perspectives from the Canadian Cordillera and the European Alps

Abstract

Earth's climate is warming and will continue to warm as the century progresses. High mountains and high latitudes are experiencing the greatest warming of all regions on Earth and also are some of the most sensitive areas to climate change, in part because ecosystems and natural processes in these areas are intimately linked to the cryosphere. Evidence is mounting that warming will further reduce permafrost and snow and ice cover in high mountains, which in turn will destabilize many slopes, alter sediment delivery to streams, and change subalpine and alpine ecosystems. This paper contributes to the continuing discussion of impacts of climate change on mountain environments by comparing and discussing processes and trends in the mountains of western Canada and the European Alps. We highlight the effects of physiography and climate on physical processes occurring in the two regions. Processes of interest include landslides and debris flows induced by glacier debuttressing, alpine permafrost thaw, changes in rainfall regime, formation and sudden drainage of glacier- and moraine-dammed lakes, ice avalanches, glacier surges, and large-scale sediment transfers due to rapid deglacierization. Our analysis points out the value of integrating observations and data from different areas of the world to better understand these processes and their impacts.