In: Climatic Change, 2011, vol. 110, no. 3-4, p. 845-878
We discuss potential transitions of six climatic subsystems with large-scale impact on Europe, sometimes denoted as tipping elements. These are the ice sheets on Greenland and West Antarctica, the Atlantic thermohaline circulation, Arctic sea ice, Alpine glaciers and northern hemisphere stratospheric ozone. Each system is represented by co-authors actively publishing in the corresponding field....
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In: Hydrological Sciences Journal, 2011, vol. 56, no. 6, p. 981–993
The runoff regime of glacierized headwater catchments in the Alps is essentially characterized by snow and ice melt. High Alpine drainage basins influence distant downstream catchments of the Rhine River basin. In particular, during the summer months, low-flow conditions are probable with strongly reduced snow and ice melt under climate change conditions. This study attempts to quantify present...
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In: Hydrological Processes, 2011, vol. 25, p. -
The Alps are often referred to as the ‘water tower of Europe’. In Switzerland, many branches of the economy, especially the hydropower industry, are closely linked to and dependent on the availability of water. Assessing the impact of climate change on streamflow runoff is, thus, of great interest. Major efforts have already been made in this respect, but the analyses often focus on...
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In: Water Resources Research, 2011, vol. 47, p. W07511
The contribution of glaciers to runoff from large-scale drainage basins in Europe is analyzed for the major streams originating in the Alps: Rhine, Rhone, Po, and Danube. Detailed information on glacier storage change is available from monthly mass balance data of 50 Swiss glaciers for the period 1908–2008. Storage changes are extrapolated to all glaciers in the European Alps. By comparing...
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In: Mathematical Modelling of Natural Phenomena, 2011, vol. 6, no. 05, p. 263-280
A numerical model to compute the dynamics of glaciers is presented. Ice damage due to cracks or crevasses can be taken into account whenever needed. This model allows simulations of the past and future retreat of glaciers, the calving process or the break-off of hanging glaciers. All these phenomena are strongly affected by climate change.Ice is assumed to behave as an incompressible fluid with...
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In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2011, vol. 15, p. 1227-1241
The hydrology of high mountainous catchments is often predicted with conceptual precipitation-discharge models that simulate the snow accumulation and ablation behavior of a very complex environment using as only input temperature and precipitation. It is hereby often assumed that some glacier-wide annual balance estimates, in addition to observed discharge, are sufficient to reliably calibrate...
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In: Hydrology and Earth System Sciences, 2010, vol. 14, no. 5, p. 815-829
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In: Geophysical Research Letters, 2010, vol. 37, p. L10501
Thirty new 100-year records of glacier surface mass balance, accumulation and melt in the Swiss Alps are presented. The time series are based on a comprehensive set of field data and distributed modeling and provide insights into the glacier-climate linkage. Considerable mass loss over the 20th century is evident for all glaciers, but rates differ strongly. Glacier mass loss shows multidecadal...
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In: Hydrological Processes, 2010, p. -
The spatial and temporal distribution of snow accumulation is complex and significantly influences the hydrological characteristics of mountain catchments. Many snow redistribution processes, such as avalanching, slushflow or wind drift, are controlled by topography, but their modelling remains challenging. In situ measurements of snow accumulation are laborious and generally have a coarse...
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In: Geophysical Research Letters, 2009, vol. 36, p. L23501
A 94-year time series of annual glacier melt at four high elevation sites in the European Alps is used to investigate the effect of global dimming and brightening of solar radiation on glacier mass balance. Snow and ice melt was stronger in the 1940s than in recent years, in spite of significantly higher air temperatures in the present decade. An inner Alpine radiation record shows that in the...
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