Glaciers and permafrost in cold mountain areas are especially sensitive with respect to changes in atmospheric temperature because of their proximity to melting conditions. The 20th century has seen striking changes in glacierized areas of mountain ranges and, hence, in the extension of glacial and periglacial mountain belts all over the world, causing a corresponding shift in geomorphodynamic processes. In the event of future accelerated warming, the cryosphere components of Alpine environments would most likely evolve at high rates beyond the limits of historical and holocene variability ranges. Such a development would necessarily lead to pronounced disequilibria in the water cycle, in mass wasting processes and sediment flux as well as in growth conditions of vegetation. By consequence, living conditions for humans and animals will likely be affected as well. Empirical knowledge would have to be replaced increasingly by improved process understanding and robust computer models for economic planning, hazard mitigation, landscape protection etc. Thereby, high priority has to be placed on application of modern know-how and technologies for preparing corresponding assessments in combination with improved knowledge about the evolution of glacier- and permafrost-related processes based on appropriate monitoring programmes. An energy balance model that calculates surface and ground temperatures from climatic data has recently been developed in the project area (Corvatsch, Upper Engadin) based on a 3-year time series from a microclimatological station. For the successful spatial application and further development of this one-dimensional model, accurate spatial data fields of key surface characteristics are needed. The development of process-based permafrost models is closely connected to the improvement of statistical models that will be applicable in areas where less information is available. For these models, accurate knowledge of vegetation abundance represents a sensitive independent indicator to be used in evaluation as well as a valuable parameter if included. The present project for the first time employs and explores airborne hyperspectral remote sensing as a source of quantitative spatial information for analysis and numerical modelling of permafrost distribution and evolution in an especially well documented test area of the Swiss Alps. The potential to accurately quantify snow-free albedo and sparse vegetation cover in rugged topography makes hyperspectral remote sensing a promising data source. Collaboration of the Physical Geography Division and Remote Sensing Laboratories (RSL) is expected to help in reducing the gap that commonly exists between development of new sensors and technology and their application in research. The application of established remote sensing techniques and, if necessary, their adaptation to high mountain environments, provides a measurable data-basis for this study. (abridged text)
Glaciers are significant agents of physical and chemical erosion; for example, the mechanical denudation of glaciated valleys in Alaska and Norway is an order of magnitude greater than that in equivalent non-glaciated basins. Knowledge about weathering rates and mineral transformation processes is fundamental in analysing the release of nutrients to ecosystems. Element losses and geochemical properties along a chronosequence in high alpine areas of the Wind River Range will be determined empirically. Samples from moraines in 3 separate regions of the mountains (high alpine above 3000m, montane forest below 3000m, and sagebrush steppe below 2100m) along 3 transects (north, middle, and southern) will be studied. Each locality consists of a catena (crest, backslope, toeslope). Stocks of organic matter will be assessed for all sites. Additionally, we focus on the time-dependent evolution of organic matter quality by applying a chemical and the physical density fractionation technique. The chemical and physical fractionation techniques will insight into the development of stable and labile organic matter and into interactions of organic matter with the mineral phase.
Rain-on-snow events with combined snow melting and rainfall is a frequent cause of floods in Europe. Reflecting possible long-term changes in climate conditions, there is the question of climate change impacts on the runoff regime at the regional and local scale. An important part of the research in mountain areas is therefore the issue of possible future changes in snow and glacier melt regimes. The main objective of this project is to contribute to research on processes connected with snow accumulation and melting as a factor of flood risk in the context of changing environment and climate change. The main focus will be possible future changes in snowpack using regional climate models (RCM) and impacts on runoff regime of mountainous basins. The project solution will lean on up-to-date hydrological and geoinformation methods and tools, which are presently applied for modelling the runoff from melting snow. The research will be carried out in selected middle-large basins in Switzerland and in the Czech Republic. Modelling the evolution of the snowpack (snow cover area, snow water equivalent, snowpack duration etc.) will be made by means of energy balance and temperature-index modelling techniques. Simulations using results from RCMs models will be made in order to simulate possible future changes of above mentioned snowpack.
Fast climate changes have occurred in the Lateglacial and early Holocene period. The investigation of this time span therefore gives precise insight into the sensitivity of Alpine areas regarding fast changing environmental conditions. The investigation generally focuses at dating selected Alpine sites of distinct landform surfaces with several absolute and relative methods with the aim to establish an absolute chronology of surfaces, to correlate several dating methods and to improve every ones. The investigation area is in Trentino (Northern Italy). Special emphasis is given to the Lateglacial and early Holocene period. We use several methods (absolute and relative techniques) for dating. A main focus is addressed to moraines and surfaces using soils as an indicator of landscape history. Moraines will be suitable sites for soil investigations where soil chemical and mineralogical techniques can be compared to the absolute age dating techniques. Special aims of the work will be: - 10Be in soil as an age indicator (developing method on Trentino soils and in other sites (e.g. Swiss Alps)) - Dating with 14C and charcoal analyses - Deciphering landscape history in small catchments in Val di Sole using relative and absolute dating techniques. A cross-check of exposure dating, radiocarbon ages and relative methods will allow an extended interpretation, mutual control of the applied methods and a more accurate estimate of possible error sources. A so-calibrated methodology may later also be applied on other characteristic cold-mountain deposits such as debris flows or rock-fall deposits. The whole set of newly developed dating methodologies opens most interesting perspectives for chronological work about late-glacial and Holocene landscape evolution in climate-sensitive high-mountain areas.
The spatial distribution patterns of mountain permafrost is important because of the sensitivity of the upper permafrost layers with respect to decadal climatic changes. In high mountain areas, large variations of topography and thus, permafrost-related factors such as snow cover and the heterogeneity of surface material requires a form of spatial modelling to achieve a realistic picture of permafrost occurrences. Both in the Alps and the Scandinavian Mountains we have realised that knowledge of the thermal fluxes within the active layer is essential for a better understanding of the actual distribution of permafrost. Especially in view to climate change, the coupling of atmosphere with ground thermal models is only possible by an impoved understanding of the processes within the active layer. This project seeks to establish a network of ten shallow bore holes in the Eastern Swiss Alps, measuring the thermal regime in the active layer ('thermal offset'). The application of the thermal offset concept allows the distributed mapping of the mean annual top permafrost temperature, which allows us to estimate spatially distributed permafrost depths by applying standard heat conduction theory. This permits quantitatively better estimates for evaluating impact of climate warming on permafrost distribution in high-alpine environments. This project is carried out in close co-operation with the University of Oslo, Norway.
The Human Geography Division contributes to the scientific support of PARDYP in the field of socio-economic issues of natural resource management. PARDYP (People and Resource Dynamics Project) is a regional research project (operational in Pakistan, India, Nepal and China) based at ICIMOD (International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development) in Kathmandu, and is funded by SDC and IDRC. The project concentrates on livelihood strategies and access to natural resources. It is not only the physical availability that enables people in rural areas to sustain their livelihoods. The institutional setup (in form of laws, rules and traditions) is even more relevant in shaping the access to natural resources like forests and water. Access is understood here as the 'capability to profit' from a specific resource. With the methodological tool of comparative livelihood surveys in three countries, it is aimed to identify distinctions and similarities of livelihood strategies in remote areas of the Himalaya, including non-natural resource based activities like labour migration and trade.
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