Glacier – See Animals Wild

March 26, 2025March 25, 2025

A natural reservoir that formed in the Peruvian Andes behind a glacier, in 1941 broke its bank and killed thousands – climate change is making a repeat more likely

It is estimated that 15 million people live in areas which would be flooded, should glacial lakes collapse. As global warming increases the temperatures in these areas, these glacial lake collapses are only going to get more common.

In 1941, lake Palcacocha (which sits high in the Cordillera Blanca range of the Peruvian Andes) broke its banks. The city of Huaraz lies beneath it, and when it collapsed 10 million cubic meters of water was dropped on the city. Apart from changing the areas geography permanently, at least 1800 people died, and possibly as high as 4500.

We are making the collapse of these glacial lakes more likely as time goes by, by our increasing of carbon in the atmosphere – clearly it is not only low lying settlements which are in danger from climate related flooding.

January 16, 2025January 14, 2025

What do we do when carbon offset markets collide with land rights

Stable glaciers are very effective carbon sinks, though if they then melt, they tend to loose all their stored carbon

The problem with carbon offsets, entirely depends on how they are used. When carbon offset money is given to a local project, but many try to buy an area from locals entirely. Kenya currently hosts 11 glaciers within Mount Kenya national park.

The problem is that, many of these projects require a rainforest to be left standing or something similar. Without buying from locals, and an income from the carbon offset to support the people who will loose access to the resource, it is highly unlikely that the deforestation rate will fall at all.

Much of these offset programs are being set up in Africa, on a continent which has the least responsibility for climate change, and yet local people are loosing the rights to land that they have lived on for millennia.

February 10, 2024February 8, 2024

100km long curtain to stop glacier melting, really?

One of the ways in which warming oceans are accelerating the worries of sea-level rise, is through warmer sea water lapping at the underside of glaciers, helping this to melt faster. Furthermore, the glacier moves faster when its base is wetter.

Cougar (Puma, mountain-lion, Catamount even Panther)

Cougar, Puma or mountain-lion

This cat is a large cat that is native to much of North and South America, second only to the Jaguar.

For most classifications, the cougar misses out on being a big cat, as it does not have the vocal structure to roar, as the others do.

It is largely solitary, and is generally a nocturnal or crepuscular cat (that is active at night or in the early morning and late evening). They have been persecuted since the colonization of north America by the Europeans, which has lead to patchy coverage. The Eastern Cougar is extinct, except for a sub-population called the Florida Panther which is isolated from any other Cougars. It is in better state in the west of the USA. In Southern and central America, it is still found in every country. In fact, it holds a classification of being the most widespread mammal to be found in the Western hemisphere.

It is a close relative of the Cheetah, which is believed to have initially evolved in the USA before migrating into Asia and Africa. The only animal which shares the same clade is the jaguarundi is the cougar, though the larger family called a Lineage and does include the cheetah

January 18, 2022June 28, 2022

18 months ago, I wrote about the concern over the breakup of Thwaites glacier – now its getting worse

Cracks and fissures have appeared on Thwaites glacier, leading to fears of it collapsing. If it were to collapse, this glacier alone could raise sea levels by half a meter.

The issue with this glacier, is that it essentially operates as a dam for the vast ice floes behind it.

Cracks like this one may never heal, but instead trigger the start of the entire collapse

Of particular alarm, thwaites glacier operates a bit like a cork, blocking a whole collection of glaciers from collapsing. It is feared that with the collapse of Thwaites glacier, a large amount of the Antarctic ice shelf might slide into the sea – leading to global sea level rises of several meters.

To put this in perspective, if all the west Antarctic glaciers collapse, no coastal city in the world would escape. Over time every single one would be swamped and lost back to the sea. It was thought (until recently) that this glacier loss would take centuries.

In other words, what this does is make it clear – it is not just our children and grandchildren that are going to have to do something about global warming. If we don’t correct our behaviour quickly, we will make life far harder for ourselves as well

Cougar, Puma or mountain-lion

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