The European mountain cryosphere: a review of its current state, trends, and future challenges

• Published in: The Cryosphere
• Main Authors: Beniston, M., Farinotti, D., Stoffel, M., Andreassen, L.M., Coppola, E., Eckert, Nicolas, Fantini, A., Giacona, Florie, Hauck, C., Huss, M., Huwald, H., Lehning, M., López-Moreno, J.I., Magnusson, J., Marty, C., Moran-Tejeda, E., Morin, S., Naaim, Mohamed, Provenzale, Aurélie, Rabatel, Andréane, Six, D., Stötter, J., Strasser, U., Terzago, S., Vincent, C.
• Other Authors: Université de Genève = University of Geneva (UNIGE), ETH ZURICH CHE, Partenaires IRSTEA, Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA)-Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), NORWEGIAN WATER RESOURCES AND ENERGY DIRECTORATE OSLO NOR, Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics Trieste (ICTP), Erosion torrentielle neige et avalanches (UR ETGR (ETNA)), Institut national de recherche en sciences et technologies pour l'environnement et l'agriculture (IRSTEA), Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 ), UNIVERSITY OF FRIBOURG CHE, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), CSIC IPE ZARAGOZA ESP, SLF DAVOS CHE, UNIVERSITE OF THE BALEARIC ISLANDS PALMA DE MALLORCA ESP, Météo-France Direction Interrégionale Sud-Est (DIRSE), Météo-France, CNR PISA ITA, Institut des Géosciences de l’Environnement (IGE), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP )-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes 2016-2019 (UGA 2016-2019 ), UNIVERSITE OF INNSBRUCK AUT, CNR TURIN ITA, University of Geneva
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2018
• Subjects: [SDE]Environmental Sciences; Ice; permafrost; The Cryosphere
• Online Access: https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02608958; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02608958/document; https://hal.inrae.fr/hal-02608958/file/pub00060681.pdf; https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-12-759-2018

[Departement_IRSTEA]Eaux [TR1_IRSTEA]RIVAGE [ADD1_IRSTEA]Hydrosystèmes et risques naturels International audience The mountain cryosphere of mainland Europe is recognized to have important impacts on a range of environmental processes. In this paper, we provide an overview on the current knowledge on snow, glacier, and permafrost processes, as well as their past, current, and future evolution. We additionally provide an assessment of current cryosphere research in Europe and point to the different domains requiring further research. Emphasis is given to our understanding of climate-cryosphere interactions, cryosphere controls on physical and biological mountain systems, and related impacts. By the end of the century, Europe's mountain cryosphere will have changed to an extent that will impact the landscape, the hydrological regimes, the water resources, and the infrastructure. The impacts will not remain confined to the mountain area but also affect the downstream lowlands, entailing a wide range of socioeconomical consequences. European mountains will have a completely different visual appearance, in which low-and mid-range-altitude glaciers will have disappeared and even large valley glaciers will have experienced significant retreat and mass loss. Due to increased air temperatures and related shifts from solid to liquid precipitation, seasonal snow lines will be found at much higher altitudes, and the snow season will be much shorter than today. These changes in snow and ice melt will cause a shift in the timing of discharge maxima, as well as a transition of runoff regimes from glacial to nival and from nival to pluvial. This will entail significant impacts on the seasonality of high-altitude water availability, with consequences for water storage and management in reservoirs for drinking water, irrigation, and hydropower production. Whereas an upward shift of the tree line and expansion of vegetation can be expected into current periglacial areas, the disappearance of permafrost at lower altitudes and ...