In the high, cold deserts of the Tibetan Plateau, small glaciers are the primary source of water for small, poverty-stricken villages. The people living in these areas, which receive only about 50mm of rainfall a year and sustain temperatures as low as -30°C, are especially vulnerable to seasonal warming. With their small glaciers receding at an alarming rate of 25% in the past 20 years, these hardy populations are facing a mountainous task, since lack of funding and information make adaptation strategies very difficult to begin.
The technology for creating an artificial glacier at low elevations is simple, and can be replicated all over the world in locations that have:
1. 4-5 months of winter
2. Winter temperature peaks of -15—20°C
For villages that are dependent on glaciers for all their water, these are appealing as they are one of the only possible solutions that would allow the community to stay in place. If they can be achieved, they provide water for human consumption and for agriculture, melting earlier in the summer than the higher elevation, natural glaciers and therefore lengthening the growing season. This would drastically reduce water disputes. However, this solution, which is so expensive and labor-intensive, seems impractical for a long-term view, since we can expect temperatures to continue to rise. The money and energy that would be needed to create artificial glaciers would be better spent on a longer-term solution.
