Geomorphic and hydrologic implications of permafrost degradation in the Alps (GeoHype)

High-mountain environments are highly sensitive towards a warming climate, which is dramatically reflected by the shrinkage of alpine glaciers. With more and more glaciers disappearing, attention has moved towards the hydrological importance of ice stored in the periglacial environment, projected to exceed glacier ice volume in the European Alps by the mid-21st century. However, surprisingly little is known about the current state of the ice stored in the periglacial zones of alpine landscapes. Our project aims to disentangle the contribution of active layer and permafrost body to the summer runoff from the upper Kaiserberg catchment in the Austrian Alps. To achieve this goal, we combine repeated electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) surveys on the Kaiserberg rock glacier with continuous discharge measurements from two hydrological stations that we installed in the basin. We further collect water samples over the course of the summer that are analysed for δ18O and δ2H isotopes and the radio nuclide 129I , that allow us to differentiate thawing permafrost from active-layer or precipitation derived discharge.

Start of project: 01.06.2018
End of project: 01.06.2024

Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
Blöthe J, Kraushaar S
Physische Geographie

SCHREIBERSTRASSE 20
79098 Freiburg i. Br.
Germany

Phone: ++49(0)761 203-3526
Fax: ++49(0)761 203-3596
http://www.geographie.uni-freiburg.de/
Actual Research Report

• Dr. Hohmann Förderung der Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Köln; Hanna Bremer Stiftung

• Groh T, Blöthe J H: Rock Glacier Kinematics in the Kaunertal, Ötztal Alps, Austria Geosciences, 2019; 9: 373. : https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences9090373