Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Melting in the Andes: Goodbye glaciers

Nature volume 491, pages 180–182 (2012)Cite this article

Subjects

Researchers are racing to determine how shrinking glaciers in the Andes will affect the water supply of millions of people.

From the shade of an adobe house overlooking Peru's Santa River, Jimmy Melgarejo squints at the dual peaks of Mount Huascarán looming against a cloudless sky. “The snow keeps getting farther away,” says Melgarejo, a farmer worried about his livelihood. “It's moving up, little by little. When the snow disappears, there will be no water.”

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Learn more

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

References

  1. Rabatel, A. et al. Cryosphere Discuss. 6, 2477–2536 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Baraer, M. et al. J. Glaciol. 58, 134–150 (2012).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Barbara Fraser is a freelance writer in Lima, Peru.,

    Barbara Fraser

Authors
  1. Barbara Fraser
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Related links

Related links

Related links in Nature Research

Tibetan glaciers shrinking rapidly 2012-Jul-15

Rediscovered photos reveal Greenland's glacier history 2012-May-28

Taking the pulse of a shrinking glacier 2011-Dec-30

In the shadow of a melting glacier 2011-Mar-22

Climate: When the ice melts 2009-Oct-21

Blogpost: Don't cry for me Argentina's glaciers

Blogpost: Melting glaciers

Blogpost: Glaciers: going, going…

Related external links

Bryan Mark

Mark Carey's Andes Research

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fraser, B. Melting in the Andes: Goodbye glaciers. Nature 491, 180–182 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/491180a

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/491180a

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing