Climate and Climate Change

Climate and Climate Change

The subsystems of Earth are not independent from each other but are interacting in many ways. The biosphere is strongly influenced by the water from the hydrosphere, the paths of the water depend on the landscapes, and so on.

Climate change is among the most important issues for the coming generations and cannot be related to one of the subsystems, but is an overarching theme involving all subsystems to some degree. Due to these facts climate change is addressed in a separate section here.

Select your Case Study:

Sea level rise
	Venice, Italy To cope with the threat of the rising sea level, the flood protection system MOSE has been installed.
	Alexandria, Egypt Sea level rise and reduced sediments from the Nile river modify the coastline.
	Mississippi Delta, U.S.A. A changing delta due to sea level rise and reduced sediments from the Mississippi river.
Retreating glaciers
	Columbia Glacier, U.S.A. Higher temperatures and the rising sea level lead to a rapid decay of the Columbia Glacier.
	Aletsch Glacier, Switzerland The largest glacier of the Alps is an example of the retreat of alpine glaciers.
	Kilimanjaro Glacier, Tanzania There are not many glaciers in the tropical climate zone, and they are shrinking.
Natural Disaster
	Plattsmouth, U.S.A. Heavy rainfall in the Missouri Basin has caused severe floodings in 2019.
	Derna, Libya Unusually heavy rainfall caused a dam failure and a disastrous flooding in 2023.
	Almendra Dam, Spain Droughts are an increasing issue in southern Europe.
	Lake Oroville, U.S.A. During the recent years reduced rainfalls in the Rocky Mountains led to lower water levels in the reservoirs.
	Southeast Australia, Australia The coastal region of Southeast Australia has been repeatedly affected by bushfires and floodings.
	British Columbia, Canada The 2023 season has seen an unusual high activity of forest fires.