Matthews Tom, Perry L Baker, Lane Timothy P, Elmore Aurora C, Khadka Arbindra, Aryal Deepak, Shrestha Dibas, Tuladhar Subash, Baidya Saraju K, Gajurel Ananta, Potocki Mariusz, Mayewski Paul A
Department of Geography & Environment, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
Department of Geography & Planning, Appalachian State University, Boone, NC, USA.
iScience. 2020 Nov 20;23(12):101718. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2020.101718. eCollection 2020 Dec 18.
Global audiences are captivated by climbers pushing themselves to the limits in the hypoxic environment of Mount Everest. However, air pressure sets oxygen abundance, meaning it varies with the weather and climate warming. This presents safety issues for mountaineers but also an opportunity for public engagement around climate change. Here we blend new observations from Everest with ERA5 reanalysis (1979-2019) and climate model results to address both perspectives. We find that plausible warming could generate subtle but physiologically relevant changes in summit oxygen availability, including an almost 5% increase in annual minimum VO max for 2°C warming since pre-industrial. In the current climate we find evidence of swings in pressure sufficient to change Everest's apparent elevation by almost 750 m. Winter pressures can also plunge lower than previously reported, highlighting the importance of air pressure forecasts for the safety of those trying to push the physiological frontier on Mt. Everest.
全球观众都被那些在珠穆朗玛峰缺氧环境中挑战极限的登山者所吸引。然而，气压决定了氧气含量，这意味着它会随天气和气候变暖而变化。这给登山者带来了安全问题，但也为围绕气候变化开展公众参与提供了契机。在此，我们将来自珠穆朗玛峰的新观测数据与ERA5再分析（1979 - 2019年）以及气候模型结果相结合，以探讨这两个方面。我们发现，合理的气候变暖可能会在山顶氧气可利用性方面产生细微但具有生理相关性的变化，包括自工业化前以来，气温每升高2°C，年度最低最大摄氧量几乎增加5%。在当前气候条件下，我们发现有证据表明气压波动足以使珠穆朗玛峰的表观海拔变化近750米。冬季气压也可能比之前报道的更低，这凸显了气压预报对于那些试图在珠穆朗玛峰挑战生理极限者的安全的重要性。
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