About this Research Topic
High-latitude and high-altitude rivers, particularly their water sources, usually remain covered in glaciers due to prolonged low temperatures. These rivers receive less scientific attention and only periodic monitoring compared to their counterparts in lower-latitude and lower-altitude regions, mainly because of the unique challenges they present in remote and potentially dangerous environments. However, given the escalating and profound impact climate change and human activities are exerting globally, it is pivotal to enhance our understanding of the behaviour and evolution of high-latitude and high-altitude rivers, especially considering their increased sensitivity to climate variations in cold regions.
This Research Topic aims to collate the most recent and state-of-art findings and centralize attention on streams and rivers in cold regions, delineating their unique properties and responses to climate change and anthropogenic interventions. We expect that this Research Topic will enrich our comprehension of river behaviours and responses in the cold regions, foster scientific curiosity, and incubate fresh research ideas within this field. Moreover, it should facilitate the formulation of robust, science-based river management strategies for a changing climatic environment, whilst providing an indispensable basis for understanding the climatic, geohydrological, and ecological evolution of these rivers at larger spatial and temporal scales.
In this Research Topic, we welcome contributions associated with all aspects of streams and rivers in high-latitude and high-altitude regions. We particularly encourage submissions that report on field surveys and both qualitative and quantitative research on how these rivers are reacting to environmental changes in or around polar regions. Comprehensive studies employing varied techniques or data sources, as well as those comparing river dynamics in high-latitude and high-altitude regions, are especially welcome. Equally welcomed are review articles that elucidate the state of the art.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Hydrological process and water temperature dynamics
• Erosion and sediment processes and transport
• Riverscape dynamics in high-latitude and high-altitude regions
• Gas emissions from high-latitude and high-altitude rivers or streams
• Effects of human activities on high-latitude and high-altitude rivers
• Vegetation response to environmental changes in or around polar regions
• Evolution and responses of stream and river biodiversity to environmental change
• Science-based river management strategies
This Research Topic aims to collate the most recent and state-of-art findings and centralize attention on streams and rivers in cold regions, delineating their unique properties and responses to climate change and anthropogenic interventions. We expect that this Research Topic will enrich our comprehension of river behaviours and responses in the cold regions, foster scientific curiosity, and incubate fresh research ideas within this field. Moreover, it should facilitate the formulation of robust, science-based river management strategies for a changing climatic environment, whilst providing an indispensable basis for understanding the climatic, geohydrological, and ecological evolution of these rivers at larger spatial and temporal scales.
In this Research Topic, we welcome contributions associated with all aspects of streams and rivers in high-latitude and high-altitude regions. We particularly encourage submissions that report on field surveys and both qualitative and quantitative research on how these rivers are reacting to environmental changes in or around polar regions. Comprehensive studies employing varied techniques or data sources, as well as those comparing river dynamics in high-latitude and high-altitude regions, are especially welcome. Equally welcomed are review articles that elucidate the state of the art.
Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:
• Hydrological process and water temperature dynamics
• Erosion and sediment processes and transport
• Riverscape dynamics in high-latitude and high-altitude regions
• Gas emissions from high-latitude and high-altitude rivers or streams
• Effects of human activities on high-latitude and high-altitude rivers
• Vegetation response to environmental changes in or around polar regions
• Evolution and responses of stream and river biodiversity to environmental change
• Science-based river management strategies
Keywords: high-latitude river, high-altitude river, climate change, human activities, changing environment, river biodiversity, river management strategies
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
