A massive new nature reserve has just been declared in South Africa’s Drakensberg mountain range. It’s good news for communities, landowners, the land and local wildlife.
Remnants of Hurricane Fred sent rivers out of their banks across western North Carolina in 2021.
North Carolina DOT
Nita Dyola, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC) and Sergio Rossi, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi (UQAC)
The Himalayas are a beautiful and fragile ecosystem that both humans and non-humans have relied upon for millennia. Protecting them will require careful conservation efforts.
This image of a single crystal shows 30 million years of geological history of the Himalayas by tracing its thorium concentration and age.
Matthew J. Kohn
Measuring the concentration of radioactive elements in a single, sand-size crystal reveals the growth of the Himalayan mountain range over time.
Altitude sickness is rare at elevations of less than 8,200 feet but becomes much more common at higher altitudes.
Maya Karkalicheva/Moment via Getty Images
Brian Strickland, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Whether you’re ascending to high altitudes for casual travel or for adventure tourism, there are specific strategies to help you acclimate and reduce the likelihood of altitude sickness.
Mountain chickadees struggle with snow extremes.
Benjamin Sonnenberg
These tiny songbirds have extraordinary memories for the tens of thousands of spots where they hide food. But that doesn’t help when heavy snow blocks their access.
Skiing is central to the economy of many mountain regions across Europe. How are they coping with climate change and what room for adaptation do they have?
For decades, scientists have tried to uncover the cause of long-term changes in Earth’s biodiversity. New simulations point at geography playing a critical role.
As the climate warms, devastating fires are increasingly likely. The 2020 fires pushed the Southern Rockies beyond the historical average. Is there hope for the Northern Rockies?
Mountain environments are rich in plant and animal species, but the dual threat of human habitation and climate change means urgent action is needed to protect them.
Following historic drought in 2021, reservoir levels dropped down in the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, which gets its waters from the melting snowpack from the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and Wyoming.
(pxhere.com)
Mountain systems are sensitive to climate change. Loss of snow and ice sets off effects which have wide ranging consequences.
Rocca Calascio is a mountaintop fortress in the province of L'Aquila in Italy. It bears witness to the long relationship between humanity and mountains, and how natural landscapes are also culture ones.
UNESCO
Often thought of as eternal, mountains are vulnerable to climate change and tourism. To protect them, they should be recognised for their cultural values, not just their natural characteristics.
Directeur de recherche CNRS, Expert for Conservation Biology, Axa Chair for Functional Mountain Ecology at the École Nationale Supérieure Agronomique de Toulouse, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS)