Quantcast
ZME Science
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    Menu
    Natural Sciences
    Health
    History & Humanities
    Space & Astronomy
    Technology
    Culture
    Resources
    Natural Sciences

    Physics

    • Matter and Energy
    • Quantum Mechanics
    • Thermodynamics

    Chemistry

    • Periodic Table
    • Applied Chemistry
    • Materials
    • Physical Chemistry

    Biology

    • Anatomy
    • Biochemistry
    • Ecology
    • Genetics
    • Microbiology
    • Plants and Fungi

    Geology and Paleontology

    • Planet Earth
    • Earth Dynamics
    • Rocks and Minerals
    • Volcanoes
    • Dinosaurs
    • Fossils

    Animals

    • Mammals
    • Birds
    • Fish
    • Reptiles
    • Amphibians
    • Invertebrates
    • Pets
    • Conservation
    • Animals Facts

    Climate and Weather

    • Climate Change
    • Weather and Atmosphere

    Geography

    Mathematics

    Health
    • Drugs
    • Diseases and Conditions
    • Human Body
    • Mind and Brain
    • Food and Nutrition
    • Wellness
    History & Humanities
    • Anthropology
    • Archaeology
    • Economics
    • History
    • People
    • Sociology
    Space & Astronomy
    • The Solar System
    • The Sun
    • The Moon
    • Planets
    • Asteroids, Meteors and Comets
    • Astronomy
    • Astrophysics
    • Cosmology
    • Exoplanets and Alien Life
    • Spaceflight and Exploration
    Technology
    • Computer Science & IT
    • Engineering
    • Inventions
    • Sustainability
    • Renewable Energy
    • Green Living
    Culture
    • Culture and Society
    • Bizarre Stories
    • Lifestyle
    • Art and Music
    • Gaming
    • Books
    • Movies and Shows
    Resources
    • How To
    • Science Careers
    • Metascience
    • Fringe Science
    • Science Experiments
    • School and Study
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact
No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

No Result
View All Result
ZME Science

Home → Science → News

Venezuela to become the first country to lose its glaciers to global warming

Things are not looking good in Venezuela.

Mihai Andrei by Mihai Andrei
October 16, 2017
in Animals, News

To make things even worse, political turmoil in the country makes it impossible to adequately study the situation.

Venezuela’s last remaining glacier, on Pico Humboldt. Image credits: Hendrick Sanchez.

When you think about Venezuela, a tropical country with lush rainforests, glaciers aren’t the first thing that comes to mind. But with much of South America crossed by the massive Andes, the continent is no stranger to glaciers. Venezuela itself boasted five glaciers up until 1991. Now, just one remains — and it’s fading away fast. When that happens, Venezuela will become the first country in modern history to lose all its glaciers.

Pico Humboldt is Venezuela’s second highest peak, at 4,940 meters above sea level. It’s part of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida mountain range, which offers much-needed relief from the heat. All of Venezuela’s five glaciers were inside this mountain range. The only remaining one, a shadow of its former self, lies near Pico Humboldt. Measuring just 10% of what it used to 30 years ago, the glacier is expected to completely vanish in ten, maybe twenty years.

Carsten Braun, a glaciologist at Westfield State University in Massachusetts, told The Economist that 2015 was probably the last time pico Humboldt could have been studied. Even then, he says, conditions were “a little dicey.” Venezuela is currently going through a dramatic economic and political crisis, which includes widespread protests and even hunger.

When Braun traveled to Venezuela two years ago, he was pulled off the bus and interrogated by men in military uniforms. Now, as the situation has escalated dramatically, a return would be insane. Braun would like to dot the glacier with sensors, capturing data on wind, temperature, and water run-off. This would offer much-needed information about how things are changing in the area.

Like other countries in South America, Venezuela relies on meltwater from the glaciers and it’s not clear how water availability will be affected without the glaciers. Having access to more data could help protect many declining glaciers. Understanding the situation on Pico Humboldt could help not only locally but across the entire continent but unfortunately, Braun will have to rely only on remote data, with no on-site samples or context. Satellite imagery can only tell how fast the glacier is melting and nothing else.

The retreat of these glaciers was initially a natural process, the final stage of a 20,000-year process which included ice recession. But in recent years, that process has sped up dramatically. Venezuela is extremely vulnerable to climate change, according to Professor Juan Carlos Sánchez, mainly because of its population distribution along coastal lines and unstable terrains. The country’s only Nobel laureate was co-recipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his work within the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He warns that outside of the short-term effects of climate change, the long-term effects will be even more devastating. The water cycle and subsequently, water availability, will also be strongly affected.

Was this helpful?


Thanks for your feedback!

Related posts:
  1. Global warming is causing the ocean to lose its memory
  2. Everest glaciers might be gone thanks to global warming, new study concludes
  3. Venezuela orders 2-day work week in desperate attempt to stave off power crisis
  4. The Alps will lose all their glaciers by 2100 if we don’t do something about it
  5. The Middle East and North Africa might become uninhabitable due to global warming
Tags: climate changeglacierPico HumboldtVenezuela

ADVERTISEMENT
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
  • Reviews
  • More
  • About Us

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

No Result
View All Result
  • News
  • Environment
  • Health
  • Future
  • Space
  • Features
    • Natural Sciences
    • Health
    • History and Humanities
    • Space & Astronomy
    • Culture
    • Technology
    • Resources
  • Reviews
  • More
    • Agriculture
    • Anthropology
    • Biology
    • Chemistry
    • Electronics
    • Geology
    • History
    • Mathematics
    • Nanotechnology
    • Economics
    • Paleontology
    • Physics
    • Psychology
    • Robotics
  • About Us
    • About
    • The Team
    • Advertise
    • Contribute
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact

© 2007-2021 ZME Science - Not exactly rocket science. All Rights Reserved.

Don’t you want to get smarter every day?

YES, sign me up!

Over 35,000 subscribers can’t be wrong. Don’t worry, we never spam. By signing up you agree to our privacy policy.

✕
ZME Science News

FREE
VIEW