Sensitivity to climate change of cold regions: hazard implications and sustainable development.

Glaciers and permafrost react sensitively to past and present changes in atmospheric
temperature because of their proximity to the melting point. As a consequence, climatic changes have caused pronounced effects in glacial and periglacial terrains at various latitudes. The recent and continuing reduction in glacier ice cover and thaw of permafrost influence the appearance of landscapes, the seasonality of melt-water runoff, the intensity of erosion and sedimentation, the stability of high-elevation slopes and may have an impact on many potentially hazardous processes. This course aims at exploring the causes and the effects of climate changes at present and past times in glacial and periglacial environments, and covers the state-of-art scientific approaches in the field of glacial and periglacial geomorphology.