[GWSG] Less mt. ice; by measure; 3 glaciers; US heating unequally; Army climate plan; tropical forests recover

[Tilley, Al]

1. Almost 2 billion people depend on melting ice and snow from nearby mountains for their fresh water. In many areas, such as the Andes, there is less water there than we had supposed. The Himalayas have more, but it is melting rapidly. Because overall the meltwater is lower than anticipated, sea level rise projections will be somewhat lower, but because such meltwater is a minor contributor the difference will be slight. The difference in water supply will not be slight. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/02/07/mount-everest-glacier-ice-melt/?utm_campaign=Carbon%20Brief%20Daily%20Briefing&utm_content=20220208&utm_medium=email&utm_source=Revue%20Daily



2. More than 250,000 mountain glaciers were measured for movement and thickness to support the new findings on glaciers and snowpacks. https://phys.org/news/2022-02-atlas-globe-glaciers-ice-previously.html?utm_source=nwletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily-nwletter



3. Three small Antarctic glaciers are losing ice faster than previously documented. The effect will be to further destabilize the much larger Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers. That will, of course, increase rates of sea level rise. Radar technology is giving us new ways to monitor the Antarctic. In 2023 a new satellite will give us yet more data.   https://phys.org/news/2022-02-radar-technology-antarctic-glaciers-ice.html



4. The US is heating, but unevenly. 499 counties are already experiencing 1.5C of new heat since 1895, and a few have gotten a bit cooler. A map indicates who has been lucky and who unlucky. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/05/americans-above-average-temperature-increase-climate-crisis



5. The US Army has released its first climate strategy, describing how it plans to adapt to heat waves and floods as it halves greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and brings them to net zero by 2050. Security risks occasioned by climate will be part of the scenarios and war games of military planning.  https://www.defensenews.com/land/2022/02/08/with-new-climate-strategy-army-aims-to-prepare-soldiers-for-harsher-environments/



6. Tropical forests which have been deforested will recover “surprisingly fast” on their own under most conditions.  Still, “Preservation of old-growth forests is the gold-standard for forest conservation.” https://phys.org/news/2022-02-left-tropical-forests-recover-surprisingly.html

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