Historically Unprecedented Retreat Of The Viedma Glacier: Challenges And Opportunities

Abstract

Fresh water is a scarce yet strategic resource. Its availability and accessibility have a great impact not only on human lives, as it is a source of social and economic development, but also on all living organisms on Earth. This is indeed the case in the south of Argentina, in the forests and steppes of Southern Patagonia, where numerous socio-economic activities (including the use of water for human consumption, tourism, agricultural, industrial and agroindustrial activities, and hydroelectric production, among others) depend directly or indirectly on the availability of water from glacier and snow resources.