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The Global Significance of Mountains

Roger G. Barry
Professor of Geography
Director, National Snow and Ice Data Center
Director, World Data Center for Glaciology, Boulder
CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder

Mountains form about one quarter of the Earth's land surface and directly/indirectly impact the lives of millions of people. This presentation provides an overview of the significance of mountains to climate, water resources, and human activities, and examines recent rapid changes that are being experienced in many mountain regions of the world due to global change and anthropogenic factors. The goal is to set the stage for many of the following workshop presentations.