ABSTRACT

Peak water describes the hydrological response of glacier-fed rivers to climate change, indicating that warming first drives increasing discharge until a glacier mass loss threshold is surpassed and discharge falls below values observed prior to contemporary climate warming. Although the physical principles of peak water are well understood and accepted, there remains little empirical work evaluating how hydrological dynamics associated with peak water are experienced by residents of high mountain communities at the frontlines of glacial change. In response, this study—drawing on 160 household interviews, 34 key informant interviews, and 4 focus groups—uses a contextual vulnerability approach to characterize lived experiences of peak water in communities of the upper Manaslu region of the Nepal Himalaya and the Cordillera Huayhuash region of the Peruvian Andes. It problematizes characteristics of vulnerability postulated in the glacio-hydrological modelling literature by revealing unanticipated experiences of peak water dynamics on both the rising and falling limb of the peak water profile. The study complements existing glacio-hydrology literature, demonstrates the importance of social theoretical perspectives in the evaluation of human vulnerability to peak water, and provides insights that can help appropriately target scarce adaptation resources.

摘要

峰值水描述了冰川补给河流对气候变化的水文响应，表明变暖首先会推动流量增加，直到超过冰川质量损失阈值并且流量低于当代气候变暖之前观察到的值。尽管高峰水的物理原理已得到很好的理解和接受，但仍然很少有实证工作来评估处于冰川变化前沿的高山社区居民如何体验与高峰水相关的水文动态。作为回应，本研究基于 160 次家庭访谈、34 次关键知情人访谈、和 4 个焦点小组——使用情境脆弱性方法来描述尼泊尔喜马拉雅马纳斯鲁上游地区和秘鲁安第斯山脉怀瓦什山脉地区社区的峰值水生活经历。它通过揭示峰值水位剖面上升和下降部分的峰值水动力的意外经历，将冰川水文建模文献中假设的脆弱性特征问题化。该研究补充了现有的冰川水文学文献，展示了社会理论观点在评估人类对高峰水的脆弱性方面的重要性，并提供了有助于适当定位稀缺适应资源的见解。它通过揭示峰值水位剖面上升和下降部分的峰值水动力的意外经历，将冰川水文建模文献中假设的脆弱性特征问题化。该研究补充了现有的冰川水文学文献，展示了社会理论观点在评估人类对高峰水的脆弱性方面的重要性，并提供了有助于适当定位稀缺适应资源的见解。它通过揭示峰值水位剖面上升和下降部分的峰值水动力的意外经历，将冰川水文建模文献中假设的脆弱性特征问题化。该研究补充了现有的冰川水文学文献，展示了社会理论观点在评估人类对高峰水的脆弱性方面的重要性，并提供了有助于适当定位稀缺适应资源的见解。