A short description of the actual and recent main focuses on research of the Commission for Glaciology:

A) Glacio-hydrological investigations of alpine catchments in different climatic regions
 

 Long-term monitoring of the Vernagtferner (Oetztal valley, Austria): compilation of the glacier mass balance with three independent methods (glaciological, geodesic und hydrological); hydrological and climatological measurements, operation of automatic cameras.

 Modelling the water balance of glaciated catchments (precipitation, snow cover, glacier mass balance, evaporation, runoff), using the conceptional precipitation and runoff model HBV3-ETH9  and the physically based energy balance and runoff model PEV.

 Reconstruction of the water balance components of the Vernagtferner back to 1850. To get a better understanding of the relationships between the behavior of a glacier and the local climate parameters, mass balance and runoff are reconstructed continously using hydrological models. First sucessfully steps were done by a diploma theses by Tobias Ellenrieder (original availlable in german lanuage only, in english look for Ellenrieder et al, 2004). He has calculated the terms of the water balance for a longer period using the HBV3-ETH9-Modell. As basis for Input data a partly reconstructed time series of daily mean values of temperature and precipitation was provided.

 Meteorological and hydrological process studies within the DFG -project "Melt water production and glacial runoff at Vernagtferner after considerable mass losses". Extensive field measurement were performed in the summers of 1998 to carry out direct measurements of the surface energy balance components on Vernagtferner (HyMEX98) and 2000 (HyMEX2000). These enable to investigate the options to parameterise melt water production used in hydrological models. The results are published as a dissertation at the University of Innsbruck. (Weber, 2005, in german). Some results concerning the applicability of the temperature-index-method leads to expansion of the Vernagtferner monitoring programme: since 2003 additional measurements of ablation rates and hourly means of snow temperature and air Lufttemperatur at 2 m above the glaciers surface were carried out.

 The Commission for Glaciology works on a project within the research network GLOWA-DANUBE which is called "Modeling snow cover and glaciers within the catchment area of Passau-Achleiten gauge". This project investigates global changes in the water cycle. GLOWA-DANUBE is coordinated by the Department of Geography of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich and is funded by the BMBF (Ministry of Education and Research). The project enters new scientific ground by combining natural scientific and socio-economical questions applied to the investigation area of the upper Danube above Passau. The main contribution from CfG to the project now at its second phase is the modeling of snow accumulation processes and of the snow and ice melt taking into account the variable landuse (urban, agricultural and high mountain) within the entire Danube catchment at Achleiten gauge. The sectoral work focuses also to studies at sub-catchments of the alpine Inn river, with different levels of glaciation. The ongoing project is coordinated by the Institute for Meteorology and Geophysics at the Innsbruck University, directed by Prof. Dr. Michael Kuhn, (member of the CfG). Dipl. Met. Dr. Markus Weber is carrying out the scientific work.

 "Effects of climatic changes on the water balance of partly glaciated alpine areas" were investigated within a project of the Bavarian Climate Research Programme BayFORKLIM, which was finished in 1998. The  final report in German can be found here.

 Comparison of the climate-glacier-runoff-relation for the following climate regions:

 Eastern Alps

   End of the Oetztal valley(Vernagtbach, Rofenache, Venter Ache)

   Ill  (Vorarlberg, Austria)

   National park Berchtesgaden (Klausbach, Wimbach)

   Zillertal (Schlegeis reservoir)

   Zugspitz-area (Partnach/ Garmisch-Partenkirchen)

 Nepal Himalaya

   Langtang, Khumbu, Annapurna (Project of the GEZ, diploma theses by
     M. Konz 2004/05: Application of various hydrol. models)

 Central Asia

   Abramov Glacier (Kirgistan, DFG-project)

   Musculak -/ Fedtschenko-Glacier
      (Exploration expedition carried out in September 2002)

 Tujuksu-Project: In this DFG-funded project the HBV-ETH runoff model was applied in the three central Asian catchments of the glaciers Tuyuksu (Kazakhstan), Abramov (Kyrgyzstan) and No. 1 (China). The work was carried out by W. Hagg during the three years of funding. Daily means of runoff could be simulated successfully for the current situation as well as for modified climate and glaciation representing future conditions. The results have been compared to similar studies from Vernagt- and Rofental in the Ötztal Alps (Hagg 2003). In cooperation with the Institute for Photogrammetry and Cartography of the Technical University in Munich and the Institute for Geography of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Tuyuksu glacier region was surveyed by terrestrial photogrammetry in 1998 and a 1:10000 map was produced. Volume differences to the map from1958 covering the same area allowed a validation of the oldest mass balance series in Central Asia and provided an additional possibility to calibrate the runoff model (Hagg et al. 2005). (WH)

  Aral-Sea-Project: The findings of the Tuyuksu-Project could be expanded by Hagg et al. (2006) to more and larger catchments in this project, that was also funded by the DFG (2003-2004). The availability of hydrometeorological data with high temporal resolution is often a limiting factor foe the application of runoff models in remote mountain regions such as in Central Asia. Therefore, besides the daily time step HBV-ETH model the OEZ model of the University of Innsbruck (Prof. Kuhn) was applied. This model works with longterm means of monthly values and thus is climatological in nature. Investigation areas are Abramov glacier, Ala Archa valley (both Kyrgyzstan) and Oigaing (Uzbekistan). The main objective of the project was the comparison of the two modelling approaches, also discussed by the Masters Thesis of T. Nesgaard. Despite some difficulties with the incomplete data sets both models showed feasible results. Discrepancies of one or another model with measured runoff values clarified the pros and cons of the particular approach and allowed the allocation of potential improvements. Masterarbeit von Thomas Nesgaard. (WH)

 Baltoro-Project: In June/July 2004 the Commission for Glaciology participated in a joint Italian-German expedition to Baltoro Glacier in the Karakoram, Pakistan. The main objective of the glaciological field work was the investigation of melt conditions on a debris covered glacier in central Asia. Baltoro Glacier is 62 km long and it covers an area of 524 km² which makes it one of the largest valley glaciers of the world. More than half of its area is debris covered, where the debris thickness ranges from some millimetres to a few metres. During the field work on the glacier an extensive stake network was installed. This network was used to determine melt rates, ice velocities and ice deformation. High accuracy stake positions have been measured by using GPS instruments during two epochs. In addition topography and glacier geometry have been determined on several profiles and two weather stations collected weather data during the field campaign. For further analysis a GIS of Baltoro Glacier has been compiled, containing the most important data, available maps and satellite imagery. In a close collaboration with the scientists of the University of Milan the data will be processed and analysed. First results have been presented at the "Alpine Glaciology Meeting 2005" in Milan, February 2005 präsentiert werden. For the "International Symposium on High-Elevation Glaciers and Climate Records" in Lanzhou, China, September 2005 further presentations are in preparation.
 
The exchange of scientists between Munich and Milan are funded by the DAAD/Vigoni Programme. (CM)

 Inyltschek-Project: In 2005, staff of the Commission for Glaciology took part in an expedition to Inylchek glacier in the Kyrgyz Tian Shan. The project was organised by the GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam (GFZ) and the Central Asian Institute for Applied Geosciences in Bishkek (CAIAG). Main focus of the research program was the lake/glacier dynamics at Lake Merzbacher, which is dammed by Southern Inylchek glacier. This glacial lake has frequent outbursts, where the water discharge is underneath the ice dam and the glacier tongue. Within two or three days the lake is drained almost completely, reaching discharge values of up to 1000 m³/s. A major part of Southern Inylchek Glacier turns off from its normal flow direction into the side valley where the lake appears and forms the ice dam.

The expedition reached the investigation area shortly after such a glacier lake outburst flood (GLOF). The first task of the glaciological group was the surveying of the ice dam and the inflowing part of the glacier by terrestrial photogrammetry. To evaluate ice transport into the lake, 20 stakes were drilled into the glacier and measured by differential GPS. Ice thickness was detected by ground penetrating radar measurements along a cross section and a longitudinal profile. The stake network was also used to determine ablation, in some cases even twice a day. Since the stakes were set in locations with strongly differing debris cover, these ablation measurements are a valuable continuation to the melt studies on debris covered ice at Baltoro glacier, Pakistan. For meteorological interpretations a weather station was operated on the lateral moraine. To verify some results of the "glacial runoff" project on the relation between air humidity and ice reflectivity (dissertation M. Weber), albedo measurements were carried out on two days. Additional tracer experiments will provide insight into the subglacial drainage system of the glacier tongue. First results were presented at the Alpine Glaciology Meeting 2006 in Munich and further publications are in preparation (WH, CM).

B) Geodetic surveys of selected glaciers
 

 Photogrammetric surveys of the 5 Bavarian glaciers (Höllentalferner, Northern und Southern Schneeferner, Watzmanngletscher, Blaueis) and other selected glaciers in the Eastern Alps (e.g. Zillertal), derivation of digital elevation models, thematic and topographic maps.

 Calculation of glacier volume changes for longer periods with the geodetic method.

 Detailed survey of the Vernagtferner as part of the "Monitoring programme" and "process studies" mentioned under A) .

 Cooperation within the study "Austrian glacier inventory 1996/98"

 New geodetic survey and creation of a new map of the Tujuksu-Glacier (2001), Kasachstan.

C) Arctic and antarctic projects

 DFG-project " Coordinated programme for Antarctic research": Analysis of shallow ice cores from the Ronne Ice Shelf, special investigations within the EPICAreconnaissance project (European Project for Ice Coring in Antarctica). The project is undertaken in cooperation with the GSF-Institut for Hydrology, Munich.

 Lake Vostok Project: The existence of the subglacial Lake Vostok, by far the largest subglacial water mass world wide, underneath the Antarctic Ice Sheet was finally confirmed in 1986. Extending over dimensions of 250 km by 40 km and water depths of probably more than 800, this lake is comparable in size with Lake Ontario, on the border between USA and Canada. The potential existence of microbiotic life forms in the lake led to an increased scientific and public attention for lake investigations. A number of scientists are gathered in a science program coordinated by SCAR (Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research). This program aims on investigating the physical and biological conditions of subglacial lake environments (SALE: Subglacial Antarctic Lake Environments). C. Mayer is a member of this group of scientist and the German representative for this SCAR science program. A DFG-funded research project for the numerical modelling of physical conditions in subglacial lakes (with a special focus on Lake Vostok) will start at the Commission for Glaciology in October2005. A specially adapted ocean circulation model will be used for the investigation of circulation patterns, the chemical composition of the lake water and the determination of melt and freeze regions at the lake/ice interface. For the time being, the project is planned for two years.
 
Funded by the DFG within the priority program 1158: "Antarktisforschung mit vergleichenden Untersuchungen in arktischen Eisgebieten". (CM)

 Island-Project: The volcano Grimsvötn beneath the icelandic glacier of Vatnajökull erupts more or less in regular intervals. The rapid melting of large ice masses creates floods (Jökulhaups) which usually only affect the outwash plains of Southern Iceland. After the last eruptionof Grimsvötn in November 2004, K. Scharrer of the Department for Geo- und Environmental-Sciences at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich observed unusual patterns in the West of the eruption site on radar images of the European environmental satellite ENVISAT. A gradual migration of the volcanic activity towards the West and a connected higher probability of melt water discharges over the western part of Vatnajökull could generate a threat on inhabited areas and farmland. Therefore, glaciological field measurements have been carried out in the caldera of Grimsvötn and the western slope of Vatnajökull in April 2005. Snow pits and shallow firn cores have been used for identifying the unusual low backscatter of the radar signal in some regions. Besides the snow stratigraphy, chemical analyses have been carried out on the collected samples.
 
You can find more information at: http://grimsvoetn.geo.lmu.de/index.htm. (CM)

D) Supervision of student projects, diploma- and Ph.D.- theses, lectures, public relations, excursions