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General information on the Vernagt catchment basin Last up-date 26th of November 2008 |
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General information on the Vernagt catchment basin Last up-date 26th of November 2008 |
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| Country |
Austria |
| County |
Tirol |
| Longitude |
10°49´ E |
| Latitude |
46°52´ N |
| River basin |
Danube: Vernagtbach, Rofenache, Venter Ache, Ötztaler
Ache, Inn, Danube |
|
Natural landscape |
High-alpine,
highly glaciated catchment basin |
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Since the early 6o´s extensive glaciological and hydrological investigations have been carried out by the CfG in the Vernagt catchment basin. The runoff has been continually monitored since 1973 at the gauging station Vernagtbach. It was built with funds of the DFG (German research foundation). Due to continuously rising runoff values, the station needed to be reconstructed in 1995. In June 2000 another renovation was required. Further activities concerning the "long-term monitoring" are refered to the map above. |
Changes in glacier area and mass
| Year | glacier area | rel. area *) | glacier mass | rel. mass**) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1889 | 11,576 km2 | 101 % | 602 ·109 kg | 67 % |
| 1912 | 11,548 km2 | 101 % | 558 ·109 kg | 62 % |
| 1938 | 10,480 km2 | 91 % | 504 ·109 kg | 56 % |
| 1969 | 9,563 km2 | 84 % | 372 ·109 kg | 41 % |
| 1974 | 9,301 km2 | 81 % | 365 ·109 kg | 40 % |
| 1979 | 9,550 km2 | 84 % | 390 ·109 kg | 43 % |
| 1982 | 9,350 km2 | 82 % | 383 ·109 kg | 42 % |
| 1990 | 9,088 km2 | 79 % | 344 ·109 kg | 38 % |
| 1994 | 9,065 km2 | 79 % | 307 ·109 kg | 34 % |
| 1999 | 8,676 km2 | 76 % | 285 ·109 kg | 31 % |
| 2002 | 8,534 km2 | 75 % | 278 ·109 kg | 31 % |
| 2003 | 8,359 km2 | 73 % | 260 ·109 kg | 29 % |
| 2006 | 8,172 km2 | 71 % | 245 ·109 kg | 27 % |
*) Related to the catchment area of the Vernagtbach gauging station of 11,441 km2**) Related to the estimation of the maximum mass of Vernagferner in 1845 of 900·109 kg
Historical view of the Vernagtferner:
The oldest preserved illustrations:
| 1601 | 1772 |
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| Picture of the lake, retained by a natural dam build up by the Vernagtferner´s tongue in July 1601. Watercolor by Abraham Jäger | Ditto at 16th of August in 1772 |
Vernagtferner in 1844 painted by Thomas Ender
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Panoramic view of the Oetztal glaciers in 1869 und in 2005:
The Vernagtferner as seen in 1898 from the summit of Kreuzspitze:
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| information about the advance of the Vernagtferner around 1900 (in german)... |
Rapid advance of the Vernagtferner around 1900 as in the paintings by R. Reschreiter
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| HTML based slide show... | HTML based slide show... |
Animation of historic views of the Vernagtferner
Display detail of the Vernagtferner in 1926 compared with 2001 and 1935 vs. 2005
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Comparison of views within the past two decades
| 1983 vs. 2000 | 1985 vs. 2003 | 1989 vs. 2003 |
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Possible future development of the Vernagtferner
| Mean elevation | 3125 m asl |
| Highest point | 3633 m asl |
| Lowest point | 2635 m asl |
| Vernagtferner | 1979 | 1990 | 1999 | 2003 | 2006 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mean elevation | 3130 m asl | 3115 m asl | 3142 m asl | 3142 m asl | 3598 m NN |
| Highest point | 3633 m asl | 3631 m asl | 3628 m asl | 3628 m asl | 3598 m NN |
| Lowest point | 2747 m asl | 2747 m asl | 2765 m asl | 2780 m asl | 2790 m NN |
Photos taken by an automatic camera on Schwarzkögele (3072 m NN):
Maps of the Vernagtferner from 1889 to 1999, scale 1:10´000:
Collection of data for mass balance determination of the Vernagtferner since 1964:
Current data collection for the mass balance determination of the Vernagtferner...
Photo galleries and panoramas of Vernagtferner:
 | Ludwig Braun: |
 | Ludwig Braun: |
 | Markus Weber: |
 | Thorsten Naeser: |
 | Bernhard Heucke: |
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