Amazon fires 'quicken Andean glacier melt'
NOVEMBER 28, 2019
by Patrick Galey
Images of smoke-filled horizions from blazes burning out of control across the Amazon basin made headlines around the world earlier this year
Fires in the Amazon rainforest are likely to increase the rate of melting of Andean glaciers, potentially disrupting water supply for tens of millions of people, scientists said on Thursday.
Images of smoke-filled horizons from blazes burning out of control across the Amazon basin made headlines around the world earlier this year.
The fires are started deliberately, often by farmers clearing land for grazing or crops, and are made significantly worse by deforestation—a phenomenon currently at its highest level in a decade.
A team of researchers in Brazil studied the effect that smoke from the fires might have on glaciers in the Andes—prevailing winds carry dust particles hundreds of kilometres, allowing them to be trapped in snow and ice.
More:
https://phys.org/news/2019-11-amazon-andean-glacier.html
Also posted in Environment and energy:
https://www.democraticunderground.com/1127134001
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