[00:09] Mountains are 'water towers' of the world. At least half of the fresh water we consume comes from mountain ice and snow that melts into rivers and streams.
[00:19] But as Earth's climate warms, changes occur in mountain ecosystems that alter both the amount and timing of available fresh water.
[00:27] Research conducted at Glacier National Park documents the changes taking place across this vast mountain landscape.
[00:35] Dr. Dan Fagre
Our snowpack, for instance, is heavier during the middle part of the winter but melting earlier. That sends a pulse down the streams earlier in the year, meaning that there's less of it for late in the summer when the stream flows are very low.
[00:49] ...And in some cases with those snow packs disappearing so early, the only source of base flow for those streams are these melting glaciers.
[00:59] Changes in the water cycle are not the only result of a warming climate.
[01:03] Dr. Dan Fagre
Our tree lines are changing rapidly, as well. Many of the broad fields of alpine wildflowers are gradually being encroached upon by these trees. As you have these warmer and wetter temperatures you grow more forests, and so our potential for forest fires increases.
[01:20] From warming temperatures, to changes in the water cycle and plant growth, climate change affects the dynamics of the entire mountain ecosystem.
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