气候变化领域集成服务门户(CCPortal): Cascading risks to the deterioration in cryospheric functions and services

CCPortal

DOI	10.1360/N972018-01314
	Cascading risks to the deterioration in cryospheric functions and services
	Xiao, Cunde; Su, Bo; Wang, Xiaoming; Qin, Dahe
发表日期	2019
ISSN	0023-074X
起始页码	1975
结束页码	1984
卷号	64 期号:19
英文摘要	The cryosphere provides a wide range of benefits to human well-being, directly or indirectly and materially or spiritually. They are defined as cryosphere services, including provisioning, regulating, culture, bearing and supporting services. All cryospheric services are supported by cryospheric functions reflected in their processes, structures and properties. Examples may include energy regulation, mass (especially water) storage and transfer, load support, natural cooling, and protection from surface erosion etc. However, as a result of climate warming and corresponding cryosphere shrinkage, the cryosphere functions and their associated services have been deteriorating and would continue or be eventually lost. These are highlighted by the following aspects. Firstly, the meltwater provisioned by glaciers starts to decline once their overall mass is reduced to a tipping point, which indicates the time when the accelerated melting glaciers due to climate warming can no longer supplement the declining meltwater due to the reduction in glacier mass. Meanwhile, before reaching the tipping point, the increase in glacier meltwater causes water discharge becoming more extreme, leading to floods, while the reduced meltwater after the tipping point may exacerbate the likelihood of droughts. The deteriorated freshwater provisioning function and service could pose a serious threat to regional social and ecological systems, especially in the High Asia and Andes of South America, where the increasing population highly depends on cryospheric water supply. Secondly, with the relinquishing cryosphere following warming climate, the cryosphere is gradually losing cooling capacity and incurring reduced albedo, consequently exposing the underlying surface to absorb more and more heat that accelerates the shrinking of the cryosphere. The ocean circulation could be weakened due to increased meltwater of glaciers and sea ices, which increases the volume of freshwater at sea surface and prevent thermohaline circulation at high latitudes. The declining climate regulating function and service of the cryosphere would cause more frequent extreme weather events, such as rapid warming in the Arctic that would significantly weaken polar vortex, affecting mid- and low-latitude circulations that may bring more frequent heat waves in summer and extreme cold events in winter. Thirdly, the cryosphere would gradually lose its water storage (e.g. melting glaciers) and incur land erosion (e.g. thaw slump) following warming climate. The accelerated retreat of the fast ice along coasts of the Arctic Ocean increases the seasonal exposure of coastlines to the impact of waves. Together with the deterioration of frozen ground, the Arctic coasts world experience accelerated erosion. In permafrost regions, the thaw slumps and thermokarst lakes are also the consequences of increased temperature in the cryosphere. These may eventually cause the release of greenhouse gases and further exacerbate climate warming. Finally, landscapes in the cryosphere would become more fragmented and even lost. Correspondingly, those associated cultural functions together with the services, such as aesthetic and recreational uses, religious and spiritual activities, would all be impacted. It would not only seriously affect people's needs, but also impact on local communities. In addition, the livelihood and culture of indigenous people, especially in the Arctic, would be afflicted. The decrease or loss of cryosphere services can also create cascading risks in the eco-socioeconomic systems. It mainly includes: (1) the arid regions relying on cryospheric meltwater resources will face following- on risks such as water conflicts and climate refugees; (2) the subsequent risks in agriculture and public health may increase due to more frequent extreme weather and climate; (3) following on the deterioration of soil and water conservation functions, there would be risks of degrading eco-system and socioeconomic assets. In the case of more lost carbon sinks or even changes to carbon sources, it would more or less affect the implementation of Paris Agreement; (4) there are risks of the disappearance of unique cryosphere cultures, further impacting on culture diversity. Therefore, the cascading risks as a result of cryosphere changes should be highly paid attention to.
英文关键词	cryosphere; cryospheric functions; cryospheric services; cascading risks; climate change; sustainable development
WOS研究方向	Science & Technology - Other Topics
WOS类目	Multidisciplinary Sciences
来源期刊	CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN-CHINESE
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://gcip.llas.ac.cn/handle/2XKMVOVA/158810
作者单位	Xiao, CD (corresponding author), Beijing Normal Univ, State Key Lab Earth Surface Proc & Resource Ecol, Beijing 100875, Peoples R China.; Xiao, CD (corresponding author), Chinese Acad Sci, Northwest Inst Ecoenvironm & Resources, State Key Lab Cryospher Sci, Lanzhou 730000, Gansu, Peoples R China.
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Xiao, Cunde,Su, Bo,Wang, Xiaoming,et al. Cascading risks to the deterioration in cryospheric functions and services[J],2019,64(19).
APA	Xiao, Cunde,Su, Bo,Wang, Xiaoming,&Qin, Dahe.(2019).Cascading risks to the deterioration in cryospheric functions and services.CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN-CHINESE,64(19).
MLA	Xiao, Cunde,et al."Cascading risks to the deterioration in cryospheric functions and services".CHINESE SCIENCE BULLETIN-CHINESE 64.19(2019).