Bolivian observatory collects data as glaciers melt
59 views · Published 14 November 2018 · 5:45 · Indexed 26 September 2026
Channel: AP Archive · 2018 · News & Politics
(8 Nov 2018) LEADIN: A team of international scientists is collecting data on pollution that has contributed to the rapid disappearance of Andean glaciers They're based at the world's highest atmospheric observatory on the remnants of a glacier north of Bolivia's capital city, La Paz. STORYLINE: The remnants of snow appear to be pristine on the Andean peaks that loom above Bolivia's capital. But even here ash and smog reach up to a remote plateau that is home to the world's highest atmospheric observatory. It's an ideal site for a team of international scientists who collect data on pollution that has contributed to the rapid disappearance of Andean glaciers. Research at the Chacaltaya station, which is located at 17,192 feet (5,240 meters) above sea level, has a pressing urgency: The retreat of glaciers, which is compounded by global warming, threatens the main source of fresh water for residents in the nearby cities of EL Alto and La Paz - and the crops on which they rely. University of San Andres researcher Manuel Roca is one of a team of scientists studying the situation. "If we talk about the glaciers that have been decreasing more and more over time, at the beginning it was said that the de-glaciation could last until 2050, but then it was said that it could last until 2030, every time the de-glaciation time is reducing and something that we must understand clearly is that before there was only talk of "global warming" but as it has been seen that it is not the only factor that affects the environment, it has been changed to the term climate change," he says. The Chacaltaya station is an important place to collect data samples partly due to its own location on the remnants of a glacier. The glacier, which is thought to be about 18,000 years old, once served as the site of Bolivia's only ski resort before it melted a decade ago. Initially, the station was launched as a cosmic ray observatory in the mid-1940s, when just hauling up heavy scientific instruments on the back of llamas was a feat in itself. But Chacaltaya's altitude and location near the Amazon region - and its proximity to Bolivia's capital city - eventually led scientists to obtain information about the pollution released from the burning of forests, coal, oil and gas. In 2012, the site became an atmospheric station used to measure greenhouse gases, reactive gases and particles that can spread all the way to the Pacific Ocean hundreds of miles away. Its altitude is only rivalled by a station recently built by China on the Quinhai-Tibet plateau near Mt. Everest which sits at 17,060 feet (5,200 meters). Glaciologist Patrick Ginot says the widespread melting of glaciers is alarming. Last year, he was part of a team of scientists that transported chunks of ice from a melting Bolivian glacier to Antarctica to be preserved for posterity and future study as part of a global project called "Ice Memory". "The disappearance of glaciers is a global problem that mainly affects the Alps, in Europe and almost everywhere in the world it is possible to see the disappearance of glaciers that are less than 5400 meters, which have been predicted to disappear in the next decades. The main impact it will generate is the water resources generated by the glaciers, which are natural water containers, and thinking about the future we realize that this impact will affect areas like La Paz, we also had a drought since 2016 with problems of agricultural resources here in La Paz and without artificial damming this type of problem will remain and will be extended in the coming years," he says. Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter: https://twitter.com/AP_Archive Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/APArchives Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/APNews/ You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/be806b52d812f315498b5275e10153f1
