The Mountain that No Longer Shines: Kilimanjaro’s Melting Snow Caps and its Implications on the Environment

by Anonymous #1

Kilimanjaro is known for its large ice caps—getting its name from the Swahili term Kilima Njaro meaning “shining mountain” (UN Economic and Social Council, 2007).  Though a compilation of maps detailing the ice coverage atop Mount Kilimanjaro through the years will tell you that ice cover on the world’s tallest free-standing mountain has melted by  nearly 80%  since 1912.  This suggests that, if trends continue, Kilimanjaro’s ice caps will completely melt before 2020 (Thompson, et al., 2002).  But have these ice caps always existed on Africa’s tallest peak?  Lonnie Thompson and other scientists analyze ice cores from this massive mountain to determine Kilimanjaro’s history. 

            Six ice cores were drilled in the remaining ice fields atop Mount Kilimanjaro in 2000 that trace climate from 11.7 thousand years ago (Thompson, et al., 2002).  Organic material was found at the bottom of the ice cores taken from the Northern Ice Fields; after running radiocarbon dating tests, this organic material was found to carry oxygen isotope (δ¹⁸O) measurements similar to those of the Holocene period.  These ice cores also carry evidence of three drastic changes in climate over this nearly 12 thousand year period: approximately 8.3, 5.2 and 4 thousand years ago. The earliest dramatic change in climate, from 8.4 to 8.2 thousand years ago, mark a period of high sodium and fluorine measurements and sudden drop in methane and δ¹⁸O levels, suggesting an intense dry period with increased temperatures.  The next dramatic change, from 6.5 to 5.2 thousand years ago, marked another period of abrupt decrease in δ¹⁸O levels suggesting another drastic increase in temperature; however at approximately 5.2 thousand years ago, ice cores record a period of quick recovery of levels shortly thereafter—a sort of cooling period.  This cooling period is marked by the largest depletion of oxygen isotopes on the mountain and the largest increase in oxygen isotopes in a nearby cave, Soreq cave, as well as a drastic decline in nearby lake levels and vegetation.  A thick layer of dust represents the last dramatic change in climate at 4 thousand years ago, suggesting an extraordinarily dry period know as one of the longest recorded droughts in Africa’s history (Thompson, et al., 2002). 

            So what does this all suggest compared to our present day temperature change due to global warming? Thompson (2002) notes the major difference between our present climate and the abrupt climate changes from 11 thousand years ago: the Northern Ice Fields that ice cores were drawn from have been able to sustain themselves despite some drastic changes in climate, including a 300 year drought 4 thousand years ago, and yet studies show that these ice fields will completely melt in 7 to 12 years (Thompson, et al., 2002).  This current climate changes, after reviewing such climate histories, proves to be remarkably different from the changes thousands of years ago.

            The recent climate changes on the region surrounding Mount Kilimanjaro has had a significant impact on the ecosystem.  An increase in temperature and a decrease in percipitation exacerbates the region’s threat to fires—which also drastically diminishes the region’s diversity of species and vegetation.  Fires also inhibit water resources, farming, and biodiversity—influencing the ecosystem itself as well as harming the people’s dependent on the resources of this region  (UN Economic and Social Council, 2007 and  Hemp, 2005).  If similar climate changes continue, forests are prediced to disappear by the time the glaciers have completely melted; with a continuously depleting forest from forest fires, the mountain is expected to receive less water.  The UN Economic and Social Council notes that, while the loss of about 0.9 million m³ per year in water flow from the deteriorating glaciers is insignificant compared to the 1.3million m³ per year in water output by vast forests, the environmental implications of the melting glaciers themselves are tremendous  (UN Economic and Social Council, 2007).

            The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Control reported the melting snow caps atop Mount Kilimanjaro as a key vulneranibility in Africa—but this is not the only mountain around the globe that faces threats.  The Himalayans in Asia—the largest body of ice other than the polar ice caps—are shrinking faster than any other body of ice in the world due to global warming; if trends continue, the massive glacier is anticipated to completely deteriorate by 2035 (only 15-20 years after the caps on Kilimanjaro are said to melt)—causing a shortage in river flows and water sources that the region is dependent on  (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II, 2007).  Large glaciers thoroughout Europe are expected to deteriorate by 30-70% by 2050—promoting a drier climate and an increase in avalanches and rock fall (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II, 2007).  The Andes Mountains in Latin American faces sever deglaciation, many glaciers in fact have already disappeared—causing streamflows reliant on once steady source of water to run dry (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II, 2007).  In Northern America, snow a long the western mountains are prediced to be significantly melted by approximately 2050 as well—increasing vulnerability among rivers that depend on this snowmelt flow  (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II, 2007).

            Such a significant retreat in mountain glaciers implies climate change of a global nature—and these other such reported findings in glacier retreat around the world support this pattern  (UN Economic and Social Council, 2007).  The melting of snow caps a top a once shining mountain thousands of miles away is not merely a melting snow cap thousands of miles away; it is a symbol of our changing global climate and of the significant impact on our environment.

Bibliography

Hemp, A. (2005). Climate change-driven forest fires marginalize the impact of ice cap wasting on Kilimanjaro. Global Change Biology , 1013-1023.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Working Group II. (2007). Climate Change 2007. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Thompson, L. G., Mosley-Thompson, E., Davis, M. E., Henderson, K. A., Brecher, H. H., Zagorodnov, V. S., et al. (2002). Kilimanjaro Ice Core Records: Evidence of Holocene Climate Change in Tropical Africa. Science , 589-593.

UN Economic and Social Council. (2007). Energy for sustainable development, industrial development, air pollution/atmosphere and climate change. Commission on Sustainable Development.