While the prime focus of this book is on how climate change is affecting the snow and ice resources of Canada and hence affecting water resources, Sandford convincingly argues that scientists have an indispensible role to play in understanding and predicting the state of water as a vital resource for the country. He not only methodically tackles the subject of ice in all its various forms – snow, glaciers, ground ice and river-, lake- and sea ice – but he very effectively introduces us to the scientists involved in cryospheric research, their individual and collective endeavours, and the programs that have been so effective in bringing teams of researchers together. His comments on the shortcomings of federal government attitudes to the importance of snow and ice research are of particular importance.
By way of introduction and then throughout the book, Sandford recounts listening to presentations by scientists at a series of recent conferences held primarily in Western Canada about the effects of climate change, particularly through rising temperatures, as they impact on snow and ice masses. He is able through this technique not only to introduce us to changes in the physical landscape and water resources but also, in a very personal way, to familiarize us with the interests and achievements of individual scientists. He focuses especially on the science and implications of the research conducted by the Canadian Foundation for Climate and Atmospheric Sciences (CFCAS) and two networks that have been particularly effective in bringing scientists together to share their undertakings and their results – the Improved Process Parameterization and Prediction Network (IP3) and the Western Canadian Cryospheric Network (WC2N).
In the first main chapter of the book, we are introduced to the way that scientists think and operate and how they attempt to model the elements of climate, ice and liquid water as one interactive system, in order to understand the system and in order to make predictions of future scenarios. Sandford is able to explain in very simple and easy-to-understand language the complexities of the formation, deposition and movement of snow and the way in which glaciers form, move and yield melt-waters to rivers. In scientific papers, this is usually accomplished with complex equations and diagrams that might be difficult for the general public to understand. In this book, we find that the concepts are clearly yet very simply set out – this is science that everyone can grasp! And explanations are given in the words of, or with reference to, individual scientists, which makes the story much more interesting.
Sandford then introduces us to the various elements of the cryosphere as evidenced in Canada. He starts in his home territory of the mountainous west, and first informs us of the state of glaciers and the changes in the world of snow; he then moves east and north to the prairies and to the changes in permafrost in Canada’s north that are having great impact on the lives and livelihoods of societies in those regions.
It is clearly demonstrated that glaciers are diminishing in extent and in thickness, and excellent photographic illustrations are provided. Far more important from the point of view of water resources, Sandford explains that with less ice in glacier storage, not only will total annual flows derived from glacier melt be diminished, but late summer flows will be particularly reduced and, in years of low winter snowfall, when glacier melt usually increases, this buffering effect will be diminished. These changes will have significant influence on the downstream users of water. A particularly good example of the importance of water derived from glacier melt is given by BC Hydro – a company that really needs information on the state and changing state of glaciers when estimating likely water yields for the operation of many major hydro-power producing dams in British Columbia (BC).
The way in which snow packs are formed in terrains with different vegetative covers is explained very lucidly with particular reference to the Marmot Creek watershed in Alberta. The ways in which snow accumulates, is modified by wind transport and then melts at different rates according to slope, aspect and vegetative cover are easily understood through Sandford’s writing. We come to appreciate that a warming atmosphere leads to shorter winters, earlier spring melt and greater influence of rainfall – all of which have important implications for water users and for ecosystems.
Canada’s Arctic regions are given separate attention, and here the particular emphasis is on changes to permafrost and to the sea ice conditions in the Arctic Ocean. Sandford writes of “the impermanence of permafrost – a north no longer frozen” (127). He writes of the effects of permafrost thaw not only on the hydrology of the north, but of the effects on roads, buildings and other infrastructure. Diminishing of sea ice extent will allow polar shipping routes to be opened up and will make mineral exploitation more feasible. The north will, indeed, be a very different place and the lack of cold will matter.
Sandford deals well with explaining a major change in the thinking of hydrologists – from the concept of a “stationary” world in which, over a period of some decades or centuries, there is little deviation from long-term average situations, to an acceptance that we are now in an age when there is a persistent trend towards a warmer world and that, in looking to the future, we must take this trend into account. He makes the case very strongly that, especially in the higher latitudes and higher altitudes, we lack consistent, long-term data – we need far more monitoring of our water resources, both solid and liquid, in order to better understand the science of ice and water and in order to make more informed predictions of future situations.
If this book is to be criticized at all it might be that perhaps too much emphasis has been placed on the research findings of the IP3 and WC2N networks. Clearly, the scientists working within these networks have accomplished a great deal and deserve praise, but their work has built upon and refined the results from many previous researchers and many previous programs hardly mentioned in the book. For example it can be argued that the International Hydrological Decade 1965–1974 was very influential in establishing a series of research basins, many of which are still in existence, and in influencing the work of many cryospheric and hydrologic scientists. However, this is a very minor criticism of a book that is exceptionally well written and highly informative.
This book is a very important addition to the many books on water authored by Sandford. It is eminently readable and highly educational, and should be on the reading list of decision-makers, members of the public and students wishing for a fast but comprehensive overview of the effects of climate change on the water resource situation in Canada. After reading the book, one cannot help being convinced that cold really does matter, particularly for a northern and mountainous country such as Canada.
Emeritus Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University
Executive Director, Canadian Geophysical Union
Past President, International Association of Hydrological Sciences
Former Director, United Nations World Water Assessment Programme
Former Vice President, International Commission on Snow and Ice
© 2014 Canadian Water Resources Association
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07011784.2014.942571