Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps
Digitized aerial images were used to monitor the evolution of perennially frozen debris and polythermal glacier ice at the intensely investigated Gruben site in the Swiss Alps over a period of about 50 years. The photogrammetric analysis allowed for a compilation of detailed spatio-temporal informat...
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Copernicus Publications
2022
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ftunivzuerich:oai:www.zora.uzh.ch:219683 2024-09-30T14:36:24+00:00 Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps Gärtner-Roer, Isabelle Brunner, Nina Delaloye, Reynald Haeberli, Wilfried Kääb, Andreas Thee, Patrick 2022-05-31 application/pdf https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/219683/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/219683/1/ZORA_tc_16_2083_2022.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-219683 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2083-2022 eng eng Copernicus Publications https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/219683/1/ZORA_tc_16_2083_2022.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-219683 doi:10.5194/tc-16-2083-2022 urn:issn:1994-0416 info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Gärtner-Roer, Isabelle; Brunner, Nina; Delaloye, Reynald; Haeberli, Wilfried; Kääb, Andreas; Thee, Patrick (2022). Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps. The Cryosphere, 16(5):2083-2101. Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology Journal Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion 2022 ftunivzuerich https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-21968310.5194/tc-16-2083-2022 2024-09-04T00:39:06Z Digitized aerial images were used to monitor the evolution of perennially frozen debris and polythermal glacier ice at the intensely investigated Gruben site in the Swiss Alps over a period of about 50 years. The photogrammetric analysis allowed for a compilation of detailed spatio-temporal information on flow velocities and thickness changes. In addition, high-resolution GNSS (global navigation satellite system) and ground surface temperature measurements were included in the analysis to provide insight into short-term changes. Over time, extremely contrasting developments and landform responses are documented. Viscous flow within the warming and already near-temperate rock glacier permafrost continued at a constant average but seasonally variable speed of typically decimetres per year, with average surface lowering limited to centimetres to a few decimetres per year. This constant flow causes the continued advance of the characteristic convex, lava-stream-like rock glacier with its oversteepened fronts. Thawing rates of ice-rich perennially frozen ground to strong climate forcing are very low (centimetres per year) and the dynamic response strongly delayed (timescale of decades to centuries). The adjacent cold debris-covered glacier tongue remained an essentially concave landform with diffuse margins, predominantly chaotic surface structure, intermediate thickness losses (decimetres per year), and clear signs of down-wasting and decreasing flow velocity. The former contact zone between the cold glacier margin and the upper part of the rock glacier with disappearing remains of buried glacier ice embedded on top of frozen debris exhibits complex phenomena of thermokarst in massive ice and backflow towards the topographic depression produced by the retreating glacier tongue. As is typical for glaciers in the Alps, the largely debris-free glacier part shows a rapid response (timescale of years) to strong climatic forcing with spectacular retreat (>10 m a−1) and mass loss (up to >1 m w.e. specific mass loss ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost The Cryosphere Thermokarst University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive Gruben ENVELOPE(14.223,14.223,66.318,66.318) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Zurich (UZH): ZORA (Zurich Open Repository and Archive |
op_collection_id |
ftunivzuerich |
language |
English |
topic |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology |
spellingShingle |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology Gärtner-Roer, Isabelle Brunner, Nina Delaloye, Reynald Haeberli, Wilfried Kääb, Andreas Thee, Patrick Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps |
topic_facet |
Institute of Geography 910 Geography & travel Earth-Surface Processes Water Science and Technology |
description |
Digitized aerial images were used to monitor the evolution of perennially frozen debris and polythermal glacier ice at the intensely investigated Gruben site in the Swiss Alps over a period of about 50 years. The photogrammetric analysis allowed for a compilation of detailed spatio-temporal information on flow velocities and thickness changes. In addition, high-resolution GNSS (global navigation satellite system) and ground surface temperature measurements were included in the analysis to provide insight into short-term changes. Over time, extremely contrasting developments and landform responses are documented. Viscous flow within the warming and already near-temperate rock glacier permafrost continued at a constant average but seasonally variable speed of typically decimetres per year, with average surface lowering limited to centimetres to a few decimetres per year. This constant flow causes the continued advance of the characteristic convex, lava-stream-like rock glacier with its oversteepened fronts. Thawing rates of ice-rich perennially frozen ground to strong climate forcing are very low (centimetres per year) and the dynamic response strongly delayed (timescale of decades to centuries). The adjacent cold debris-covered glacier tongue remained an essentially concave landform with diffuse margins, predominantly chaotic surface structure, intermediate thickness losses (decimetres per year), and clear signs of down-wasting and decreasing flow velocity. The former contact zone between the cold glacier margin and the upper part of the rock glacier with disappearing remains of buried glacier ice embedded on top of frozen debris exhibits complex phenomena of thermokarst in massive ice and backflow towards the topographic depression produced by the retreating glacier tongue. As is typical for glaciers in the Alps, the largely debris-free glacier part shows a rapid response (timescale of years) to strong climatic forcing with spectacular retreat (>10 m a−1) and mass loss (up to >1 m w.e. specific mass loss ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Gärtner-Roer, Isabelle Brunner, Nina Delaloye, Reynald Haeberli, Wilfried Kääb, Andreas Thee, Patrick |
author_facet |
Gärtner-Roer, Isabelle Brunner, Nina Delaloye, Reynald Haeberli, Wilfried Kääb, Andreas Thee, Patrick |
author_sort |
Gärtner-Roer, Isabelle |
title |
Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps |
title_short |
Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps |
title_full |
Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps |
title_fullStr |
Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps |
title_full_unstemmed |
Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps |
title_sort |
glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the gruben site, swiss alps |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/219683/ https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/219683/1/ZORA_tc_16_2083_2022.pdf https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-219683 https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-2083-2022 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(14.223,14.223,66.318,66.318) |
geographic |
Gruben |
geographic_facet |
Gruben |
genre |
Ice permafrost The Cryosphere Thermokarst |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost The Cryosphere Thermokarst |
op_source |
Gärtner-Roer, Isabelle; Brunner, Nina; Delaloye, Reynald; Haeberli, Wilfried; Kääb, Andreas; Thee, Patrick (2022). Glacier–permafrost relations in a high-mountain environment: 5 decades of kinematic monitoring at the Gruben site, Swiss Alps. The Cryosphere, 16(5):2083-2101. |
op_relation |
https://www.zora.uzh.ch/id/eprint/219683/1/ZORA_tc_16_2083_2022.pdf doi:10.5167/uzh-219683 doi:10.5194/tc-16-2083-2022 urn:issn:1994-0416 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess Creative Commons: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5167/uzh-21968310.5194/tc-16-2083-2022 |
_version_ |
1811639464234057728 |