http://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20030025392_2003026276.pdf
ABSTRACT
The tongue of the Pasterze Glacier in the eastern Alps of Austria receded more than 1 152
m from 1880 to 200 1. Landsat and Ikonos satellite data from 1976 to 200 1, topographic
maps beginning in 1893 and ground measurements were studied. Results show that
though satellite images significantly underestimate the width of the Pasterze Glacier
tongue due to the presence of morainal material on the surface, they provide an excellent
way to measure the recession of the exposed-ice part of the glacier tongue. The rate of
change of the terminus as determined using satellite data is found to compare well with
ground measurements. Between 1976 and 200 1, Landsat-derived measurements show a
recession of the terminus of the Pasterze Glacier of 479 +113 rn (at an average rate of
18.4 m a-') while measurements from the ground showed a recession of 428 m (at an
average recession of 17.1 m a-I). Ikonos satellite images from 2000 and 200 1 reveal
changes in the exposed ice part of the Pasterze tongue, and a decrease in area of the
exposed ice part of the tongue of 22,096 m2. GPS points and a ground survey of the
glacier terminus in August 200 1 were plotted on a 1 -m resolution Ikonos image, and
showed the actual terminus shape and location. The nearby Kleines FleiDkees glacier lost
Here's another take on it covering just one glacier, but it is representative of the whole. Please note the cyclic advance and retreat. Please also note the time frames in which they occur.
"INTRODUCTION
There has been a general recession of glaciers in the European Alps since the Little Ice Age
ended around 1850, though the recession has been interrupted a few times by brief advances. The
glaciers are receding in response to a regional climate warming.
The Pasterze Glacier is in the Hohe Tauern, a mountain range in the eastern Alps of Austria
where the Johannisberg (3463 m) and Grossglockner (3798 m) mountains are located. The
Grossglockner is the highest peak in Austria from which some tributary glaciers flowing into the
Pasterze. In this paper, we discuss historical ice-front positions of the Pasterze, show satellite
images, and provide measurements of ice-front position changes from ground and satellite data.
BACKGROUND
A major advance of glaciers in the Austrian Alps occurred around 1600. The glaciers remained in
an advanced position, with only small variations for the next 250 years. Most glaciers in the eastern
part of the Alps reached another maximum in the 1770s, and again around 1850. Since then, at the
approximate end of the Little Ice Age, glaciers receded until about 1965, although there were small
readvances between 1890 and 1920. Most of the glaciers stopped advancing in the mid-1980s due to
warm summers and reduced snowfall. In 1988, about 80 percent of the Austrian glaciers were in
1 Code 974, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland 20771, USA
dhall@glacier.gsfc.nasa.gov
2 Department of Geography, Keene State College, Keene, New Hampshire 03435-2001USA
3 Code 971, NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771, USA
4 Klimaabteilung , Zentralanstalt für Meteorologie und Geodynamik - ZAMG (Central Institute of
Meteorology and Geodynamics - ZAMG), A-1190 Wien, Hohe Warte 38 (A-1190 Vienna, Hohe Warte
38), Austria
recession (Rott, 1993). Böhm (1986) and Bayr et al. (1994) show that there was a general increase
in average (May through September) temperature and a concurrent decrease in the number of days
between May and September with snowfall since 1886.
There are 925 glaciers with a total area of 542 km2 in the Austrian Alps, only five of which are
larger than 10 km2; the majority is smaller than 1 km2. The Pasterze Glacier is the largest with an
area of 19.8 km2, and a length of 9.2 km in 1969 (Rott, 1993). Between 1979 and 1989, the mean
equilibrium-line altitude (ELA) of the glacier was 2880 m a.s.l. (Zuo and Oerlemans, 1997).
The terminus of the Pasterze Glacier has retreated each year since the winter of heavy snow in
1965-66, the total cumulative recession as measured on the ground being 408 m (Österreichischer
Alpenverein, 1999-2000). Previous work showed that between 1984 and 1990, the terminus of the
glacier receded at an average speed of 15 m year –1 according to measurements made using Landsat
multispectral scanner (MSS) and thematic mapper (TM) data, for a total recession of 90 m. Ground
measurements showed a total recession of 102-m over that same six-year period (Hall et al., 1992;
Bayr et al., 1994).
Zuo and Oerlemans (1997) used a one-dimensional ice-flow model to conduct a sensitivity
experiment on the Pasterze Glacier and to simulate the ice-front variation. Their results show that
the glacier has been in a non-steady state from about 1826 to the present, and has a volume response
time of 34-50 years. They also projected the behavior of the Pasterze Glacier over the next 100 years
under various climate scenarios.
According to their model, by the year 2100, the total recession
could range from 3 to 5 km, with a total loss of ice volume of 40-63%, if the rate of regional climate
warming continues to increase. However, if the future climate remains the same as the mean
condition over the last 30 years, the recession of the glacier will be much less."
http://www.easternsnow.org/proceedings/2001/Hall_1.pdf