Atmospheric Sciences & Global Change Division Mountain Snow
Projected to Melt Dramatically in Some Regions, Moderately in
Others Global climate change is driven primarily by global
changes in greenhouse gas concentrations. However, the climate
response can have a complex spatial structure in regions with
complex terrain because temperature, precipitation, and
particularly snow accumulation are sensitive to surface
elevation. Mountain snow is heavily relied on as a natural
reservoir of water in many regions. Current global climate
models cannot come close to resolving the spatial structure of
snow water in regions with complex terrain, unless they are run
at resolutions that are far too time-consuming to permit century
simulations of climate change. Regional climate models can
provide the necessary resolution, but only for limited areas.
Studies of the impact of global climate change using regional
climate models have projected significant reductions in snow
water in some regions, but many regions have not bee