Austria’s largest glacier, the Pasterze at the foot of the Großglockner, faces another sharp decline after the warm summer of 2022. After 42.7 meters last year, the glacier could lose 50 to 70 meters in length this year.
In addition, the prominent glacier tongue is in danger of being separated from its feeding area in the near future.
“The Pasterze as we know it, with its long glacier tongue and high firn fields, will only exist for a few more years,” explains geographer Andreas Kellerer-Pirklbauer of the University of Graz.
“The ice supplementation from the huge feeding area at about 3000 meters will stop. The lower part is then no longer supplied and melts on site.” That is what the current measurements of the Alpine Club suggest.
In 2021, the eight-kilometer-long glacier in the Eastern Alps lost an average of 4.3 meters in height and about ten million cubic meters in mass. After a winter with little precipitation and a warm summer with intense radiation, up to 15 million cubic meters of ice could melt this year.
The ÖAV has been measuring the length of the local glaciers every year since 1891. To this end, some twenty volunteer observers and their helpers set out at the end of August and the beginning of September of this year. Last year, they observed changes in 91 local glaciers. Measurements were actually carried out in 79 of these.
“can’t do anything”
After the measurement work on the Pasterze was completed, the scientists were convinced that the retreat of the glacier in Austria would take several decades. “But we can’t do anything against him anymore,” explained Gerhard Lieb.
The glacial landscapes that can still be found today will be lost. But if it’s not the glaciers, then at least the rest of the world needs to be saved from the effects of climate change, he stressed.
Source: Krone
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
