Transcript:
In February, an international team of climbers and scientists summitted the highest mountain in the Western Hemisphere: Aconcagua in Argentina.
After weeks of climbing and camping in extreme, rocky terrain along the ascent, Tom Matthews of King’s College London and his team reached the summit.
They took in jaw-dropping views of the Andes.
Matthews: “The landscape is beautiful … and it’s exceptionally barren. … It’s very, very dry, but also stunning.”
And then, they got to work, installing a weather observation station on the snowy, rocky peak.
The station – which is one of five they installed on the mountain – measures temperature, precipitation, and other variables.
The data will help researchers understand how the warming climate is affecting snowpack and the rate of glacial melt on Aconcagua.
Both processes affect communities far beyond the remote mountaintop. Mountain ice and snowpack act as a reservoir – providing much-needed water to downstream communities as they slowly melt over the spring and summer.
Matthews: “As the climate changes, the way that reservoir behaves is changing and therefore everything downstream is potentially at risk. We really need to understand how. The details matter, and that’s what work like this is about.”
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.