Université de Fribourg

The bedrock topography of Gries- and Findelengletscher

Feiger, Nadine ; Huss, Matthias ; Leinss, Silvan ; Sold, Leo ; Farinotti, Daniel

In: Geographica Helvetica, 2018, vol. 73, no. 1, p. 1–9

Knowledge of the ice thickness distribution of glaciers is important for glaciological and hydrological applications. In this contribution, we present two updated bedrock topographies and ice thickness distributions for Gries- and Findelengletscher, Switzerland. The results are based on ground-penetrating radar (GPR) measurements collected in spring 2015 and already-existing data. The GPR...

Université de Fribourg

Investigating cold based summit glaciers through direct access to the glacier base: a case study constraining the maximum age of Chli Titlis glacier, Switzerland

Bohleber, Pascal ; Hoffmann, Helene ; Kerch, Johanna ; Sold, Leo ; Fischer, Andrea

In: The Cryosphere, 2018, vol. 12, no. 1, p. 401–412

Cold glaciers at the highest locations of the European Alps have been investigated by drilling ice cores to retrieve their stratigraphic climate records. Findings like the Oetztal ice man have demonstrated that small ice bodies at summit locations of comparatively lower altitudes may also contain old ice if locally frozen to the underlying bedrock. In this case, constraining the maximum age...

Université de Fribourg

Ground-penetrating radar reveals ice thickness and undisturbed englacial layers at Kilimanjaro’s Northern Ice Field

Bohleber, Pascal ; Sold, Leo ; Hardy, Douglas R. ; Schwikowski, Margit ; Klenk, Patrick ; Fischer, a, Andrea ; Sirguey, Pascal ; Cullen, Nicolas J. ; Potocki, Mariusz ; Hoffmann, Helene ; Mayewski, Paul

In: The Cryosphere, 2017, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 469–482

Although its Holocene glacier history is still subject to debate, the ongoing iconic decline of Kilimanjaro's largest remaining ice body, the Northern Ice Field (NIF), has been documented extensively based on surface and photogrammetric measurements. The study presented here adds, for the first time, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) data at centre frequencies of 100 and 200 MHz to investigate...

Université de Fribourg

Mass balance re-analysis of Findelengletscher, Switzerland; benefits of extensive snow accumulation measurements

Sold, Leo ; Huss, Matthias ; Machguth, Horst ; Joerg, Philip C. ; Leysinger Vieli, Gwendolyn ; Linsbauer, Andreas ; Salzmann, Nadine ; Zemp, Michael ; Hoelzle, Martin

In: Front. Earth Sci. - Cryospheric Sciences, 2016, p. 18

A re-analysis is presented here of a 10 year mass balance series at Findelengletscher, a temperate mountain glacier in Switzerland. Calculating glacier-wide mass balance from the set of glaciological point balance observations using conventional approaches, such as the profile or contour method, resulted in significant deviations from the reference value given by the geodetic mass...

Université de Fribourg

Re-analysis of seasonal mass balance at Abramov glacier 1968–2014

Barandun, Martina ; Huss, Matthias ; Sold, Leo ; Farinotti, Daniel ; Azisov, Erlan ; Salzmann, Nadine ; Usubaliev, Ryskul ; Merkushkin, Alexandr ; Hoelzle, Martin

In: Journal of Glaciology, 2015, vol. 61, no. 230, p. 1103–1117

Abramov glacier, located in the Pamir Alay, Kyrgyzstan, is a reference glacier within the Global Terrestrial Network for Glaciers. Long-term glaciological measurements exist from 1968 to 1998 and a mass-balance monitoring programme was re-established in 2011. In this study we re-analyse existing mass-balance data and use a spatially distributed mass-balance model to provide continuous seasonal...

Université de Fribourg

Towards remote monitoring of sub-seasonal glacier mass balance

Huss, Matthias ; Sold, Leo ; Hoelzle, Martin ; Stokvis, Mazzal ; Salzmann, Nadine ; Farinotti, Daniel ; Zemp, Michael

In: Annals of Glaciology, 2013, vol. 54, no. 63, p. 75–83

This study presents a method that allows continuous monitoring of mass balance for remote or inaccessible glaciers, based on repeated oblique photography. Hourly to daily pictures from two automatic cameras overlooking two large valley glaciers in the Swiss Alps are available for eight ablation seasons (2004–11) in total. We determine the fraction of snow-covered glacier surface from...

Université de Fribourg

Methodological approaches to infer end-of-winter snow distribution on alpine glaciers

Sold, Leo ; Huss, Matthias ; Hoelzle, Martin ; Andereggen, Hubert ; Joerg, Philip C. ; Zemp, Michael

In: Journal of Glaciology, 2013, vol. 59, no. 218, p. 1047–1059

Snow accumulation is an important component of the mass balance of alpine glaciers. To improve our understanding of the processes related to accumulation and their representation in state-of-the-art mass-balance models, extensive field measurements are required. We present measurements of snow accumulation distribution on Findelengletscher, Switzerland, for April 2010 using (1) in situ snow...