Canada's Changing Cold Environments The Global Implications

About this book

Changing Cold Environments; Implications for Global Climate Change is a comprehensive overview of the changing nature of the physical attributes of Canada's cold environments and the implications of these changes to cold environments on a global scale. The book places particular emphasis on the broader environmental science and sustainability issues that are of increasing concern to all cold regions if present global climate trends continue. Clearly structured throughout, the book focuses on those elements of Canada's cold environments that will be most affected by global climate change--namely, the tundra, sub-arctic and boreal forest regions of northern Canada, and the high mid-latitude mountains of western Canada. The book considers the implications this will have for similar environments around the world.

Contents

List of Contributors xi
Preface xiii
Glossary xv

PART ONE SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL VARIABILITY OF CANADA'S COLD ENVIRONMENTS 1
1 Cold Canada and the Changing Cryosphere 3
2 The Late Quaternary Glaciation of Northern Canada 26
3 The Evolution of Polar Desert and Tundra Ecosystems 48
4 Remote Sensing and Canadian Snow Climatology 66

PART TWO THE CHANGING CRYOSPHERE 87
5 The Changing Climates 89
6 Snow and Runoff: Processes, Sensitivity and Vulnerability 105
7 Permafrost Distribution and Stability 126
8 Sea Ice in Canada 147
9 Lake and River Ice in Canada 163

PART THREE THE EVER-CHANGING SCENERY 183
10 Climate Change and the Central Canadian Treeline 185
11 Geomorphic Change in Northern Canada 200
12 Geomorphic Change in Canada's Temperate Mountains 222
13 Risk from Cold-climate Hazards in the Canadian Cordillera 247
14 Societal Aspects of Changing Cold Environments 267
15 The Changing Canadian Cryosphere, Globalization and Global Environmental Change 301

Index 313

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