Dolphins for Sentosa Resort Moved to Philippines?
from The Biology Refugia
Life History of the Yellow Banded Awl
from Butterflies of Singapore
Judy Quah’s sunbirds are back
from Bird Ecology Study Group
110109 Noordin, Pulau Ubin
from Singapore Nature
Mangroves of Ubin, Noordin Beach
from wild shores of singapore
Monday Morgue: 10th January 2011
from The Lazy Lizard's Tales
Letter from Marilyn Cromack Today Online 9 Jan 11;
I refer to the letters from Kirst Boo, VP for Communications Resort World Sentosa, and Carrie Kwik of Singapore Tourism Board, published on Jan 8-9. While I respect their vision on putting the Marine Life Park (MLP) in the world map as as leader in marine research, conservation and education, I would like to speak on behalf of the freedom-loving dolphins, especially those in captivity.
I have been involved in marine wildlife protection for so many years, it was a great pleasure to interact and study these magnificent mammals in the wild. It is a fact that marine mammals face many difficulties and dangers in the wild, but this simply does not justify keeping them in a sterile, captive environment and placed in tanks containing chemically treated artificial water and used for entertainment.
Dolphins are highly sociable animals who love to interact with humans. And the best place to learn and enjoy them is in their natural environment.
In any dolphin show, they are subjected to loud music, excited crowds of peopleand artificial light. These are some of the reasons why dolphins in captivity are facing the stress of capture, captivity and early death.
Dolphin loves freedom. No argument can rationalise the forced confinement of these highly intelligent creatures. I believe it is wrong to remove these beautiful marine animals from their natural environment and exploit them for commercial purposes. Dolphins and whales in captivity is not about education or conservation, it is about one thing - profit.
If RWS can reverse their decision on keeping whale sharks, I believe they can do it as well for the dolphins. Let us teach our young generation the true meaning of freedom and let the dolphins be where they should be - with their family and in their own home, the ocean.
See also ACRES responses on their facebook page
Emergency watch system - now at sea
Initiative launched by 18 fish farmers aims to provide quick, efficient help
By Jessica Lim Straits Times 10 Jan 11;
FISH farmers here are banding together to start a neighbourhood watch system specifically for emergencies at sea.
While previously reliant only on the Police Coast Guard for help, a group of 18 Pasir Ris fish farmers are hoping that the new system will allow them to react more quickly and efficiently to emergency situations.
They have already bought a jet boat and a jet ski for rescue operations, and by March they will have a fully functioning sea ambulance - complete with first-aid kits, stretchers, drips and a defibrillator - to launch the initiative.
Although there have not been any deaths in recent years, several recent events have prompted the farmers to act, said fish farmer Philip Lim, who heads the group of 18 farmers under the Singapore Marine Aquaculture Cooperative (SMAC).
'There are many elderly farmers here and we have had a couple of close shaves,' said Mr Lim, recounting a recent incident in which a farmer suffered a heart attack and blacked out for 10 minutes. There have also been instances of fire on the farms after floating drums containing petrol exploded.
While farmers have the option of calling the Police Coast Guard for help, many are poorly educated and unable to accurately describe their exact location at sea.
For instance, when a boat capsizes, most farmers would not be able to effectively communicate their location to the coast guard.
'Fishermen usually describe their location by landmarks and describe what is around them. They don't even know what latitude and longitude is, and most of them don't speak English,' said Mr Lim, who said that it also takes some time for help to arrive.
'We felt that we needed to form a team to help ourselves. We know the waters around here like the back of our hand, so the new system makes more sense.'
The farmers will take turns manning the rescue craft on a 12-hour shift.
Medic Network, a private emergency evacuation company that is in the final stages of negotiation with the SMAC to supply the sea ambulance, will be providing free first-aid and emergency response training for the farmers.
The project will cost the co-op about $400,000 in total, an amount members are forking out from their own pockets.
But SMAC - which was formed in 2009 to help member farmers increase their productivity through bulk purchases and group contracts - is hoping to recoup some of the costs through fund-raising activities later on.
SMAC is in the process of being registered as a business.
While other farmers acknowledge that it is a good idea, they are less enthusiastic about joining the group's efforts.
'I'm not sure I have the time to go for training. Also, when you are on duty you have to be vigilant. It is a big responsibility and is tiring,' said Mr Yeo King Kwee, who owns a fish farm off the Lim Chu Kang coast. 'Also, how will I be able to do my work the next day?'
There are currently 106 licensed coastal fish farms in Singapore, mostly scattered off Pasir Ris beach and on the Lim Chu Kang coastline. The farms breed fish such as sea bass and mullet from fry bought from places like Taiwan and Indonesia. Each farm typically has one to four people on it at any one time, including farmers and farm workers.
Pasir Ris fish farmer K.H. Ho, 50, is just relieved that a system is being put in place.
The father of two teenage children suffered a heart attack on his fish farm off Pasir Ris Park three months ago.
'I broke into a cold sweat and had severe chest pains. I was looking for someone to call, but there was no one around,' he said, adding that he soon blacked out for about 10 minutes from the pain.
'When I woke up, I ferried myself to shore and went to Changi General Hospital. I really thought it was the end for me,' he said in Mandarin, adding that he would have called the neighbourhood watch if there was one then.
'With the new system, I won't be afraid that no one will help me when I need it.'
Watching the waters
Leong Wee Keat Today Online 10 Jan 11;
Singapore - Like security personnel watching out for unwelcome guests via closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, the PUB may soon be using similar equipment to monitor the presence of an unwelcome guest - floods.
The national water agency plans to install six cameras along Bukit Timah Canal and Jalan Haji Alias outlet drain, which will allow the PUB to remotely monitor the situation in real-time in the event of heavy rain.
The PUB currently monitors road situations through the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) network of video cameras, but this is not enough. "We are installing more to ensure that PUB staff are able to monitor critical areas not covered by the LTA network," a PUB spokesperson said.
According to tender documents, the six designated locations are: Pei Wah Avenue, King's Road, opposite Hillcrest Road, Anamalai Avenue, Coronation Road West (near Jalan Haji Alias) and Swiss Club Road.
If the six-month trial proves successful, the PUB says it will eventually roll it out to other flood-prone areas that do not have CCTV cameras.
While residents and tenants welcomed the move, some developments previously affected by floodwaters are not taking their chances. The Tessarina condominium along Wilby Road is installing two waist-high floodgates at its entrance to prevent floodwaters from entering its basement car park.
The gates will close when the nearby Bukit Timah Canal is 90 per cent full, MediaCorp understands.
And works to raise nearby Wilby Road by half a metre are complete.
Drainage improvement works for the stretch of Bukit Timah Canal from Jalan Kampong Chantek to Maple Avenue commenced in late November, last year.
Scheduled to be completed by December next year, this is the first stage of an overall drainage scheme to improve the Bukit Timah First Diversion Canal from Bukit Timah Road to Clementi Road.
Some developments are mulling further flood prevention measures.
Sixth Avenue Centre's estate managing agent, for example, has asked PUB to study the possibility of raising Anamalai Avenue and adjacent roads. A road hump will also be constructed at its car park entrance - the building's "weak point" - to alleviate the flooding.
While he welcomes the measures, restaurant owner Hareesh Kumar, 34, is not leaving things to the authorities or the building management.
Besides attending to patrons' needs, he has been keeping a close watch on the weather and the surrounding drains this past week.
Floodwaters had previously submerged several vehicles in the basement carpark of Sixth Avenue Centre, where Mr Hareesh's restaurant is located and where he parks his van.
He said: "If it rains heavily, I will quickly run a check on the carpark.
"Ultimately, the management is not responsible if something happens. We just have to keep a close eye ourselves."
PUB would do its part to handle flooding issues: Yaacob
Ong Dai Lin Today Online 10 Jan 11;
When asked if he thought he would be in the hot seat at the coming General Elections over the flood incidents, Environment Minister Yaacob Ibrahim replied: "As far as Jalan Besar GRC is concerned, we are always ready."
Speaking to reporters at a community event, Dr Yaacob, who is an MP for Jalan Besar GRC, added: "Since the last election, we have been rolling out our five-year plan. We have been finding ways and means to make the entire place as pleasant as possible. So, we will be ready for the contest."
Asked if the floods would be a factor in the areas that were affected, he said the PUB would continue to do its part to handle flooding issues.
"We have to wait and see. And if it becomes a hot topic, we'll have to deal with it."
Unusually heavy rain triggered three massive floods between June and July last year, damaging homes and property.
Orchard Road saw its worst floods in 26 years, with shops at Liat Towers and the Lucky Plaza basement flooded. On Nov 19, 2009, Bukit Timah was badly affected when almost 110mm of rain fell in two hours. Ong Dai Lin
Will floods be dampener? We'll see: Yaacob
Straits Times 10 Jan 11;
MINISTER for the Environment and Water Resources Yaacob Ibrahim responded to media queries yesterday on whether the recent floods in Singapore will result in a tougher fight for him in the general election, widely expected to be held this year.
In the past nine months, flash floods had hit many areas, such as Jalan Besar, MacPherson, Upper Changi, Shenton Way and, most notably, twice at the premium shopping belt in Orchard Road.
Replied the Jalan Besar GRC MP: 'As far as Jalan Besar GRC is concerned, we are always ready. Since the last election, we have been rolling out our five-year plan, we have been finding ways to make the place as pleasant as possible. So we will be ready for the contest.'
On the floods, he said: 'We will have to wait and see. The PUB will continue to do their part to handle this. PUB has already updated the media on our efforts in Orchard Road and other areas. If it becomes a hot topic, we have to deal with it.'
The opposition National Solidarity Party has shown interest in contesting in Jalan Besar GRC during the next general election. In 2001 and 2006, it contested under the Singapore Democratic Alliance (SDA) banner.
In the 2006 election, the People's Action Party team beat the SDA team by winning 69.3 per cent of the votes.
TEO WAN GEK
PUB to fight floods with CCTV
Straits Times 11 Jan 11;
NATIONAL water agency PUB is turning to security cameras as it extends its network of monitors in the flood-prone area of Bukit Timah.
It plans to install five closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras along the Bukit Timah Canal and one at the Jalan Haji Alias outlet drain near Coronation Road West.
A PUB spokesman said this trial study to monitor real-time conditions in places such as outlet drains and low-lying areas aims to 'allow PUB to respond even faster' to areas prone to flash floods during intense storms.
She added that the CCTV cameras will complement PUB's current flood management initiatives such as water level sensors installed in key canals and drains.
To date, PUB has installed 90 such sensors, including at points in the Bukit Timah Canal near Blackmore Drive and Prince of Wales Road.
PUB's call for tender, which closes today, indicates that it is looking at a system that will allow images captured by the solar-powered CCTV cameras to be accessed via mobile broadband services on devices such as laptops and iPads.
The spokesman added that although it now monitors road situations through the Land Transport Authority's (LTA) network of cameras, the additions will help it 'monitor critical areas not covered by the LTA network'.
If the six-month trial is successful, there are plans to roll it out at other flood-prone areas.
A similar initiative has been undertaken independently by the residents of the Tessarina condominium in Bukit Timah Road. Two months ago, the condominium had a CCTV camera installed on the top floor of one block.
The camera overlooks the Bukit Timah Canal and is monitored by the condo's security guards. Once the canal is 90 per cent full, they will activate the condominium's flood barriers.
The condominium's underground carpark was flooded in November 2009 and again in July last year, causing damage to cars that ran into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Tessarina resident Audrey Tan, 38, said: 'PUB's CCTVs are a good measure to have for real-time monitoring and an excellent addition to our condominium's CCTV monitoring.'
HUANG LIJIE
Richard Anderson BBC News 9 Jan 11;
The world is waking up the fact that it can no longer sit back while the planet's natural resources, and the species that depend upon them, are systematically destroyed.
The economic and human costs of inaction are simply too great.
Much of the groundwork has been laid, not least research that, for the first time in history, has begun to quantify just how expensive the degradation of nature really is.
A recent United Nations study entitled the Economics of Ecosystems and Biodiversity (TEEB) put the damage done to the natural world by human activity in 2008 at between $2tn (£1.3tn) and $4.5tn - at the lower end, roughly equivalent to the entire annual economic output of the UK.
And in October last year in Nagoya, Japan, almost 200 countries negotiated 20 specific targets with the express aim of "taking effective and urgent action to halt the loss of biodiversity".
Among these included massively increasing areas of protected oceans, halving the rate of loss of natural habitats and preventing the extinction of threatened species.
Binding commitments are not due to be signed until February next year, but over the next 12 months momentum will really begin to build upon many of the targets set out in Nagoya.
Forest credits
One of the most important areas will be the development of the reduced emissions from deforestation and forest degradation programme, or REDD, under which forest owners are effectively paid not to cut down trees.
This is seen as one of the key ways in which the essential carbon storage capacity of the world's forests can be preserved.
Much in the same way as with carbon credits, countries will be issued with credits depending on how successful they are in reducing deforestation. They can then sell these credits on to other countries or companies, which can use them to help meet their own emissions targets.
To date, countries have pledged more than $4.5bn to the REDD scheme.
Using its vast North Sea oil riches, Norway alone has pledged $1bn to both Brazil and Indonesia to help them preserve pristine forests.
With cash on the table, "it's amazing how much can be done, and both Brazil and Indonesia are taking [REDD] very seriously and are really moving forward this year," says Pavan Sukdhev, team leader of TEEB.
Many other countries are also embracing the REDD programme to ensure that the current rate of global deforestation, at which an area equivalent in size to the UK is cut down every two years, is drastically reduced.
Sharing benefits
Another major breakthrough at Nagoya was an agreement on what is called Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS), whereby companies share the benefits of discoveries made in developing nations.
For example, a bioprospecting firm that finds a new plant that is then used in pharmaceuticals will have to negotiate with the country in which it made the discovery to share the commercial benefits from the drug.
"This may take the form of a cash payment, or an undertaking to create employment, for example in research and development, in that country," explains Chris Knight, assistant director of forestry and ecosystems at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
The precise details of how ABS will work in practice will be negotiated this year.
Not only will this agreement have a major impact on pharmaceuticals companies, but it will help ensure the continued discovery of vital drugs in developing countries that will be more open to foreign companies using their natural resources.
Marine protection
A great deal of work will also begin this year on identifying areas for marine conservation in order to protect fish stocks that in many areas of the world have fallen by more than 90% since the onset of commercial fishing.
At Nagoya, an agreement was negotiated to increase dramatically marine protected zones from 0.5% to 10% of the world's oceans in the next 10 years.
Fishing quotas and restrictions on time at sea have already had a huge impact on fishing communities, not least on the west coast of Scotland, so identifying new protected zones is a highly sensitive issue that will require many months of careful negotiations.
However, research has shown that protected zones are highly effective in re-establishing fish stocks that in many areas are near total collapse.
Natural accounting
This year will also see real momentum gathering for the value of nature to be reflected in national accounts.
With trillions of dollars being lost to the global economy each year through the destruction of the Earth's natural resources, the World Bank and individual national accounting bodies are working to find the best way in which this money can be accounted for.
Only then will the true value of the services that nature provides - for example vital pollination for crops by bees and storm protection from mangrove swamps - be identified. Only then can proper mechanisms be put in place to protect these so-called ecosystem services.
India has already announced its intention to incorporate natural capital into its national accounts by 2015, and "others will hopefully agree by the end of the year to a framework [to follow suit]", says Mr Sukhdhev.
Indeed a World Bank-led project hopes to sign up 10 to 12 developing and developed nations this year to pilot the programme.
But there is a huge amount of work to be done before the widespread adoption of accounting for nature, as the actual economic benefits of natural resources the world over need to be calculated.
TEEB has so far completed two case studies focusing on the impact of deforestation on the Chinese construction industry and of the drying up of the Aral Sea on the local cotton industry.
Mr Sukdhev says between 500 and 1000 such case studies are needed before natural capital can begin to be widely incorporated into national accounts.
And there are no short cuts - hard graft by researchers on the ground is the only way to secure this essential information.
"It takes a hell of a lot of effort, and therefore money," explains Mr Sukdhev.
And here is where much effort will be expended over the next 12 months - TEEB hopes to have in place by the end of this year a foundation to raise money to support this research, with the Institute of Chartered Accountants taking a lead.
This laborious and in many cases largely unrecognised work is absolutely vital in helping the world understand the economic value of nature.
And this year is the one in which the foundations for much of this research will be laid, research that will help to hammer home just what a vital role nature plays in the global economy.
Antara 9 Jan 11;
Bengkulu (ANTARA News) - Bengkulu province in Sumatra island still had about 100 - 165 elephants but the population of those animals was seriously in danger, a conservationist said.
Spokesman of the province`s natural resources conservation agency (BKSDA) Supartono said here Sunday that the natural habitats of those elephants were around Ipuh river, Mount Sumbing and Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park (TNBBS) in Kaur district.
Four groups of Sumatran elephants were also found in the Kerinci Sebelat National Park (TNKS) areas, namely Air Sebelat-Air Rami (50 elephants), Tumbulan-Air Sebelat Merah (19), Air Madu-Air Retak-Air Ikan (53 - 55), and Air Berau-Air Teramang, he said.
However, the lives of those animals were always threatened by wild hunters and people`s poisoning as a result of ongoing human-animal conflicts, he said.
A number of wild elephants kept entering the people`s palm plantation areas, which were naturally those animals` habitat, he said.
In helping protect the elephants, Supartono said the Bengkulu province needs to have working groups, whose main tasks were to protect, prevent, and preserve the animals` population.
The working groups for elephant and endangered species should have been established as approved by all governors in Sumatra island in 2007, he said.
One of the agreements was revealed in the year 2008 Regulation of Forestry Ministry Number P48/Menhut II about management and mitigation of human and elephant conflict.
However, the enforcement of such this regulation was the most important thing in the field, he said.
Serious intentions of the government and other stakeholders were needed to implement the regulations that could help protect the wild animals, he said.
Each district needs to have a working to avail more well-organized management and to ease fund allocation from regional budget, he said.
Meanwhile, Hary Santoso, director of Biodiversity and Natural Resources of the Indonesian Forestry Ministry, said there had been an agreement among the Forestry Ministry, Public Work Ministry, and Environment Minister in 2007.
The agreement itself was then binding governors of ten Sumatran provinces to preserve and protect the Sumatran elephants and other endangered species.
The agreement focused on city and urban planning in Sumatra especially those which were inhabited by rare and endangered species, he said.
With regard to the extinction of Balinese tigers in 1978, Harry said: "We don`t want that happen to rare and endangered animals in Bengkulu Province."(*)
Noor Ali PlanetArk 10 Jan 11;
Kenya has recovered 81 elephant tusks in the northern part of the country where it is trying to contain a new wave of poaching, officials said on Saturday.
Weighing 249 kg and valued at 2.5 million shillings ($30,830), the tusks and two rhino horns were recovered by a special team of rangers from the Kenya Wildlife Service and detectives in a Friday night operation.
Security officials said six rounds of ammunition, two pairs of night vision binoculars, two jungle rangers' uniforms and a rifle scope were recovered from three people who were arrested.
Senior Warden Aggrey Maumo, who was involved in the operation said nine rhinos have been killed in the region over the past one year.
"At least 20 rhinos were killed across the country since early last year. Northern Kenya reported the highest incidents because poachers killed nine rhinos and a huge number of elephant herds over the past year but we had a breakthrough yesterday and managed to recover this consignment," Maumo said.
The regional administrator for Marsabit district David Rotich said a number of former Ethiopian rebel group Oromo Liberation Front fighters were engaged in poaching of elephants, adding that the government has reinforced security officers around Mountain Marsabit to protect animals.
Kenya's wildlife, which draws tourists from around the world has suffered from poaching, severe drought and floods in recent years.
Jeffrey Jones PlanetArk 10 Jan 11;
Carbon dioxide already emitted into the atmosphere will keep contributing to global warming for centuries, eventually causing a huge Antarctic ice sheet to collapse and lift sea levels, Canadian scientists said on Sunday.
Even the complete abandonment of fossil fuels and halt to emissions cannot prevent devastating ocean warming in Antarctica as well as increasing desertification in North Africa, the research finds.
Even so, many of the negative consequences in the Northern Hemisphere, such as loss of Arctic sea ice, are reversible. That means global efforts to cut greenhouse gases are not a waste of effort and money, said Shawn Marshall, a University of Calgary geography professor and one of the study's authors.
"But there are some parts of the climate that have a lot of inertia and it will take many centuries before they start to reverse," said Marshall.
The study, led by Nathan Gillett of the Canadian Center for Climate Modeling and Analysis, is published in the journal Nature Geoscience.
Using simulations with a climate model, the scientists estimated the effects on climate patterns for the next 1,000 years by stopping emissions completely in 2010 and in 2100.
Major differences of the impacts in various regions lie in the centuries it takes for heat to circulate from the North Atlantic through the world's ocean currents and into the deep sea, Marshall said.
"The atmosphere cools pretty quickly when atmospheric gases go down and surface water will cool, but that doesn't reach the deeper waters of the ocean for a long time," he said.
Wind currents in the southern hemisphere may also play a role.
As a result, in the next 1,000 years, the average ocean temperature around Antarctica could rise by as much as 5 degrees Celsius, triggering the collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet, according to the study.
The elimination of the ice sheet, which covers an area about the size of Texas and is up to 4,000 meters (13,120 feet) thick, could raise sea levels by several meters.
The climate impacts would also dry out the land in parts of North Africa by up to 30 percent.
Simulations show big differences in some parts of the world, however, between cutting emissions in 2010 and in 2100, including long-term temperature variations between 1 and 4 degrees Celsius, an argument for action on carbon dioxide, Marshall said.
"You sometimes hear that defeatist argument that it's too late and there are a lot of changes that are going to happen, so just worry about adaptation," he said. "But I think you do see a big divergence in potential futures depending on if there are some reductions in emissions."
(Editing by Frank McGurty)
Glacier shrinkage will hit European Alps hardest, study claims
Global warming research warns of rising sea levels and threat to water supplies
Sylvia Rowley guardian.co.uk 9 Jan 11;
Glaciers in the European Alps could shrink by 75% by the end of the century, according to new research into the expected impact of global warming.
The study, published in the journal Nature: Geoscience, concludes that, globally, mountain glaciers and ice caps are projected to lose 15-27% of their volume by 2100, although the extent of the damage varies widely. The analysis suggests glaciers in the Alps and New Zealand will shrink by more than 70% but shrinkage is predicted to reach about 10% in Greenland and high-mountain Asia.
The researchers argue this will result in "substantial impacts" on regional water availability, as well as a rise in sea levels. Retreating glaciers and ice caps threaten the water supplies of cities such as Kathmandu in Nepal and La Paz in Bolivia, which depend substantially on glacial meltwater for drinking and farming.
Scientists from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada, who conducted the research, predict that melting glaciers and ice caps will be responsible for increases in sea levels of 8.7-16.1cm by 2100. This broadly confirms the range projected by the UN's climate change body, the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change (IPCC).
"What is surprising here is the contribution to sea level rises of up to 16cm just from the melting of small glaciers and ice caps. This may still be a low estimate as we did not include ice loss from calving – when a piece of ice breaks off into the sea," said Dr Valentina Radic, who co-authored the study with Prof Regine Hock.
Total sea level rise is likely to be considerably higher, however, due to the effects of melting Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets – which make up more than 99% of the water on Earth bound up in glacier ice – and thermal expansion in the ocean.
Dr Murray Simpson, senior research associate at Oxford University's Centre for the Environment, said: "All studies since 2007 clearly show that, in total, sea levels will rise 1-2 metres by the end of the century."
Radic and Hock arrived at the figures by simulating the response of 2,638 ice caps and 120,229 mountain glaciers worldwide to the changes in climate projected by 10 state-of-the-art climate models. These models were developed for the last IPCC report, including models produced by Nasa and the UK Met Office.
The research found that melting mountain glaciers and ice caps have made a growing contribution to sea level rise over past decades. While mountain glaciers and ice caps include only a minor fraction of all water on Earth bound in glacier ice (less than 1%), their retreat has caused half of sea level rises from melting ice over the past 50 years.
"Small glaciers and ice caps will be an important and increasing contributor to sea level rises this century," said Radic.
Warming to devastate glaciers, Antarctic icesheet - studies
Yahoo News 9 Jan 11;
PARIS (AFP) – Global warming may wipe out three-quarters of Europe's alpine glaciers by 2100 and hike sea levels by four metres (13 feet) by the year 3000 through melting the West Antarctic icesheet, two studies published on Sunday said.
The research places the spotlight on two of the least understood aspects of climate change: how, when and where warming will affect glaciers on which many millions depend for their water, and the problems faced by generations in the far distant future.
The glacier study predicts that mountain glaciers and icecaps will shrink by 15-27 percent in volume terms on average by 2100.
"Ice loss on such a scale may have substantial impacts on regional hydrology and water availability," it warns.
Some regions will be far worse hit than others because of the altitude of their glaciers, the nature of the terrain and their susceptibility to localised warming.
New Zealand could lose 72 percent (between 65 and 79 percent) of its glaciers, and Europe's Alps 75 percent, meaning a range of between 60 and 90 percent. At the other end of the scale, glacial loss in Greenland is predicted at around eight percent and at some 10 percent in high-mountain Asia.
Meltwater will drive up world sea levels by an average of 12 centimetres (five inches) by 2100, says the study.
This figure -- which does not include expansion by the oceans as they warm -- largely tallies with an estimate in the landmark Fourth Assessment Report by the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2007.
Geophysicists Valentina Radic and Regine Hock of the University of Alaska base these calculations on a computer model derived from records for more than 300 glaciers between 1961 and 2004.
The model factors in the middle-of-the-road "A1B" scenario for greenhouse-gas emissions, by which Earth's mean surface temperature would rise by 2.8 degrees Celsius (5.04 degrees Fahrenheit) during the 21st century.
The tool was then applied to 19 regions that contain all the world's glaciers and icecaps.
But -- importantly -- it does not include the icesheets of Antarctica and Greenland, where 99 percent of Earth's fresh water is locked up.
If either of these icesheets were to melt significantly, sea levels could rise by an order of metres (many feet), drowning coastal cities.
That very scenario emerges in the second study, which focuses on the inertial effect of greenhouse gases. Carbon molecules emitted by fossil fuels and deforestation linger for many centuries in the atmosphere before breaking apart.
Even if all these emissions were stopped by 2100, the warming machine would continue to function for centuries to come, says the investigation.
It largely bases its forecast on the "A2" emissions scenario, which sees greater carbon pollution by 2100, stoking Earth's temperature by an average 3.4 C (6.1 F) by century's end.
Warming of the middle depths of the Southern Ocean could unleash the "widespread collapse" of the West Antarctic icesheet by the year 3000, it says.
"The inertia in intermediate and deep ocean currents driving into the southern Atlantic means those oceans are only now beginning to warm as a result of CO2 (carbon dioxide) emissions from the last century," said Shawn Marshall, a professor the University of Calgary in Canada.
"The simulation showed that warming will continue, rather than stop or reverse, on the thousand-year timescale."
The two studies are published online by the journal Nature Geoscience.
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