COP26 | Earth Observations for Monitoring Climate Change Impacts in Mountain Regions

Taking place as part of the COP26 Geneva Cryosphere Hub on 3 November, the focus of this session was on the potential offered by Earth Observation (EO) technology to observe, monitor, and assess the Earth’s Cryosphere.

The event kicked off with GEO Mountains Scientific Project Officer Dr. James Thornton presenting the work GEO Mountains is undertaking to enhance the discoverability and accessibility of existing mountain data and information – both in situ and remotely sensed – across global mountain regions. He also introduced the concept of Essential Mountain Climate Variables (EMCVs) to support the monitoring and understanding of key climate change-related mountain processes.

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GEO at the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP26

The 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, is the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, from 31 October to 12 November 2021, under the presidency of the United Kingdom.

While the Blue Zone at the Scottish Event Campus (SEC) will host the official negotiations and side events restricted to country delegates and admitted observers, a Green Zone has been set up at the Glasgow Science Centre, which will be open to the public via a ticketing system.

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IMPETUS: Time To Turn Climate Commitments Into Action

The EU-wide IMPETUS project aims to turn climate commitments into tangible, urgent actions to protect communities and the planet. As a project partner, GEO Mountains is working alongside Eurac Research on the 'Mountainous' test region. 

The impacts of climate change are being felt here and now. From floods in Germany to wildfires in Greece and Turkey; water shortages in Northern Europe and even heatwaves in Siberia. Intensifying weather events threaten our way of life, with severe impacts on people’s health, livelihoods, and assets.

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Call for Abstracts | Mountain Sessions at EGU 2022

The General Assembly 2022 of the European Geosciences Union (EGU) will be held at the Austria Center Vienna in Vienna, Austria, from 3–8 April 2022. This event includes a number of exciting, mountain-related sessions, including one convened by representatives of GEO Mountains. Abstract submission closes 12 January 2022.

The EGU General Assembly 2022 brings together geoscientists from all over the world to one meeting covering all disciplines of the Earth, planetary, and space sciences. The EGU aims to provide a forum where scientists can present their work and discuss their ideas with experts in all fields of geoscience.

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GEO Mountains Technical Assistant (40-50%)

Mountain Research Initiative, University of Bern, Switzerland

GEO Mountains seeks a temporary Technical Assistant (40-50% FTE) to help us develop our inventories of in situ observational infrastructure and other datasets, tools, and resources related to various disciplines and mountainous regions globally.

Application deadline 1 September 2021.

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An Upgrade of the Global Mountain Explorer Tool – GME 2.0

In June of 2021, the U.S. Geological Survey completed and made available the Global Mountain Explorer Version 2.0. The Global Mountain Explorer (GME) is a web-based visualization and query tool which allows the online exploration of three terrain-based characterizations of global mountain extent. These characterizations are often referred to as K1, K2, and K3, according to the last name of the first author of the research paper which presented the respective analysis.

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Toward a Definition of Essential Mountain Climate Variables

A new article published in the journal One Earth proposes a set of potential Essential Mountain Climate Variables to support the monitoring and understanding of key climate change-related mountain processes. The article builds upon a workshop organized by GEO Mountains and hosted by the MRI.

Climate change is having a range of effects on mountain environments and the critically important ecosystems services they provide. Decision-makers rely on the mountain research community to monitor, understand, and predict possible future changes in these complex, interacting processes. For instance, global assessments, local and regional climate modeling, and climate change adaptation and mitigation all require consistent, long-term, and inter-comparable environmental observations. 

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GEO Mountains: Update and Outlook

The Group on Earth Observations (GEO) Global Network for Information and Observations in Mountain Environments has had a busy last few months.

Firstly, we completed our rebranding exercise, the outcomes of which are a change in our “short name” from GEO-GNOME to GEO Mountains, as well as a new logo (see below!). We sincerely hope that you – the mountain community – appreciate these changes and feel motivated to further mobilise yourselves around our Initiative in 2021!

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