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Climate change in mountains: a review of elevation-dependent warming and its possible causes

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  • Imtiaz Rangwala
  • James Miller

Abstract

Available observations suggest that some mountain regions are experiencing seasonal warming rates that are greater than the global land average. There is also evidence from observational and modeling studies for an elevation-dependent climate response within some mountain regions. Our understanding of climate change in mountains, however, remains challenging owing to inadequacies in observations and models. In fact, it is still uncertain whether mountainous regions generally are warming at a different rate than the rest of the global land surface, or whether elevation-based sensitivities in warming rates are prevalent within mountains. We review studies of four high mountain regions – the Swiss Alps, the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau/Himalayas, and the Tropical Andes – to examine questions related to the sensitivity of climate change to surface elevation. We explore processes that could lead to enhanced warming within mountain regions and possible mechanisms that can produce altitudinal gradients in warming rates on different time scales. A conclusive understanding of these responses will continue to elude us in the absence of a more comprehensive network of climate monitoring in mountains. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2012

Suggested Citation

  • Imtiaz Rangwala & James Miller, 2012. "Climate change in mountains: a review of elevation-dependent warming and its possible causes," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 114(3), pages 527-547, October.
  • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:114:y:2012:i:3:p:527-547
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-012-0419-3
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    1. W. A. Kurz & C. C. Dymond & G. Stinson & G. J. Rampley & E. T. Neilson & A. L. Carroll & T. Ebata & L. Safranyik, 2008. "Mountain pine beetle and forest carbon feedback to climate change," Nature, Nature, vol. 452(7190), pages 987-990, April.
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    1. Libin Yan & Zhengyu Liu & Guangshan Chen & J. E. Kutzbach & Xiaodong Liu, 2016. "Mechanisms of elevation-dependent warming over the Tibetan plateau in quadrupled CO2 experiments," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 135(3), pages 509-519, April.
    2. Xiaohui Fan & Qixiang Wang & Mengben Wang & Claudia Villarroel Jiménez, 2015. "Warming Amplification of Minimum and Maximum Temperatures over High-Elevation Regions across the Globe," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 10(10), pages 1-17, October.
    3. Chi Zhang & Hong Zhang & Fuqiang Zhao & Jing Sun, 2019. "Understanding Thermal Impact of Roads on Permafrost Using Normalized Spectral Entropy," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-10, December.
    4. Yan Chen & Erqi Xu, 2023. "The Spatiotemporal Change in Land Cover and Discrepancies within Different Countries on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau over a Recent 30-Year Period," Land, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-21, September.
    5. Kumar Bahadur Darjee & Prem Raj Neupane & Michael Köhl, 2023. "Proactive Adaptation Responses by Vulnerable Communities to Climate Change Impacts," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(14), pages 1-30, July.
    6. Mifta Shafiq & Ifra Ashraf & Zahoor Islam & Pervez Ahmed & A. P. Dimri, 2020. "Response of streamflow to climate variability in the source region of Jhelum River Basin in Kashmir valley, India," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 104(1), pages 611-637, October.
    7. Yali Zhong & Shuqing Chen & Haihua Mo & Weiwen Wang & Pengfei Yu & Xuemei Wang & Nima Chuduo & Bian Ba, 2022. "Contribution of urban expansion to surface warming in high-altitude cities of the Tibetan Plateau," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 175(1), pages 1-22, November.
    8. Mohammad Reza Alizadeh & John T. Abatzoglou & Jan Adamowski & Arash Modaresi Rad & Amir AghaKouchak & Francesco S. R. Pausata & Mojtaba Sadegh, 2023. "Elevation-dependent intensification of fire danger in the western United States," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-8, December.
    9. Elias Zubler & Andreas Fischer & Mark Liniger & Mischa Croci-Maspoli & Simon Scherrer & Christof Appenzeller, 2014. "Localized climate change scenarios of mean temperature and precipitation over Switzerland," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 125(2), pages 237-252, July.
    10. Gholamreza Roshan & Stefan W. Grab & Mohammad Saeed Najafi, 2020. "The role of physical geographic parameters affecting past (1980–2010) and future (2020–2049) thermal stress in Iran," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 102(1), pages 365-399, May.
    11. Bursa, Bartosz & Mailer, Markus & Axhausen, Kay W., 2022. "Travel behavior on vacation: transport mode choice of tourists at destinations," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 234-261.

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